Fiction – What the Cats Are Reading

Missives from the Messenger Cat Café

Diana Artemis, Guest Author If only our cats could live forever! Ganesh and Shiva, 17-year-old best feline friends with medical needs, have been with me since they were six months old. My story with them began 17 years ago. Having lost the oldest of five feline rescue kitties, I went to the Alexandria, Virginia, AnimalContinue reading “Missives from the Messenger Cat Café”

Reading the Waters of Sanibel Flats

With tail flicking and head outstretched to receive an ear scratch, CiCi Brennan thought I was jesting when I reported that I had recently read Sanibel Flats, the first book by Randy Wayne White. Although it was published in 1990, it was my first foray into his, eh, storied career. “You’re a writer who’s beenContinue reading “Reading the Waters of Sanibel Flats”

Cameo Finds Solace

When she arrived at her new home with Kacy Cooney a year ago, then-three-month-old Cameo was distressed. She didn’t know where she came from—maybe Alabama, maybe Mississippi; she didn’t know her mama—she was one of two litters nursed by one mama when the other died; she arrived at the rescue site in a Chick-fil-A drinkContinue reading “Cameo Finds Solace”

On Vacation with the Estrogen Club

Peanut Hartofelis is surrounded by males—two cats and a dog as brothers; a cousin dog; and a cat and a dog who live with grandparents. She gets along quite nicely with the pack, but sometimes she craves female company. “The Estrogen Club!” She purred aloud with anticipation of female companionship when she saw the novelContinue reading “On Vacation with the Estrogen Club”

Molly and the Feline Siam

When Siam arrived in our household, he let us know he didn’t belong. “I want to be a terrifying tiger,” he mewed from what has become his favorite spot on the sun-drenched ottoman. His voice was so high-pitched I almost couldn’t hear it. Could it be that I imagined it? While I pondered that possibility,Continue reading “Molly and the Feline Siam”

Catatonic Mafia Dreams

Not that he wants to be an assassin or even a low-class goon, but when Beamer Baclawski heard that Ginger Wakem’s book, Trust No One, Promise Nothing features the mafia, he couldn’t wait to get his paws on it and nose into it. Call it mafia envy. Or attribute it to the mouser’s fascination withContinue reading “Catatonic Mafia Dreams”

Waiting for Angels

“Angels?” Miss Kitty asked when I suggested she might like Odyssey of Angels by Joan La Blanc. She accepted the book and then looked at me with more antipathy than confusion. “I thought you meant the Christmas kind. You know, with wings and harps. I’m ready for mistletoe and holly. Not nurses on a mission.”Continue reading “Waiting for Angels”

Fostering a New Habit

Any cat can tell you that a comfortable habit is hard to break. Miss Kitty, for example, loves to lounge on the lanai with a favorite book. Not that she has the time to read it, mind you. She’d like to, but life is complicated. There are so many other things to do, you know.Continue reading “Fostering a New Habit”