The Writer's Cat

Cats are seemingly the "must have" accessory for a writer. Most every writer I know has one, or three.

Why?

I have cats. More accurately, they have me. Not once have these animals helped me in my writing. They distract me by being cute, they demand to be pet, and they walk over my keyboard and delete things. Accident? Hah!

They are remorseless critics.

Aptly named Loki thinks that my computer is his playground. He only climbs on it while I'm working.

Skitters likes my computer chair. (Excuse me, HER computer chair) Every time I leave to pick up the newspapers Loki and Skitters knock onto the floor, Skitters moves in.

(Hmmm. Do you think they conspired to get me out of the chair?)

Look at that face. Would you evict a cat who is so clearly thinking, "If you make me move, I'm going to come into your bedroom at night and suck the breath right out of you!"

(We titled this picture "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!")

So what is it about writers and cats?

Are other writers mind-linked to their feline familiars? Do those cats inspire? Is there something about them that helps with the writing process?

Maybe my cats are defective.

Of course, Loki and Skitters probably believe that there's something defective about me. "We've been trying to mind-link to her about tuna for years, and she simply doesn't understand!"