A Comfort of Cats

I make no apologies for this blog post being entirely based on cats. If you are not a cat lover, please read on as, hopefully, you will discover more than you expect in this serendipitous selection of writing and illustration.

First to explain, my title comes from a fascinating book I have entitled A Compendium of Collective Nouns. This book is a beautifully illustrated collection of collective nouns from A to Z, which has been meticulously researched by the authors (collectively called Whoop Studios). Many of the words seem invented but they are all real. Their sources range from the 15th century Book of St. Albans to John Kersey's A New English Dictionary of 1702 and more modern sources found on the internet. The book is fascinating for adults and children alike and much fun can be had browsing its pages, children in particular love the sound of words when they are first learning language. Interestingly, most nouns have just one collective term but cats have nine! One for each life perhaps! You can choose from a Clowder, a Clutter, a Destruction, a Glaring, a Kindle, a Litter, a Pounce, a Rain but my favourite was definitely a Comfort.

The idea for the post came from the British Library's current free exhibition entitled Cats on the Page which is a fascinating look at cats in literature over many centuries. As we know, the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats and many writers since then have celebrated the relationship between humans and cats. Mysterious, playful, companionable and creative, the domestic cat prowls many a page. We know them in the rhymes and picture books we love as children and in the novels and other works read as adults. Here's just a few any family with children (and cats?) should have on their shelves:

Mog's Christmas by Judith Kerr

One of the many stories about Mog, the cat who always seems to be in trouble. A family favourite of ours and, I am sure, many others.

Slinky Malinki by Lynley Dodd

The story of a bad cat told in witty and imaginative rhyme.

The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter

One of the earliest of Beatrix Potter's 23 little books, this is another firm favourite. In the British Library exhibition I discovered another - The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots was written in 1914 but the un-illustrated text was not published until 1971. In 2016 the story was published with illustrations by Quentin Blake to mark the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss has become a modern classic. Originally written to make learning to read fun, these great rhyming nonsense stories are favourites with children and adults alike.

And not forgetting the wealth of poetry. Edward Lear's wonderful

The Owl and the Pussycat:

The owl and the pussycat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat,

they took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy my love,

"What a beautiful Pussy you are,

"You are, You are,

"What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Or the immortalised McCavity: the Mystery Cat from T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, beautifully illustrated in 2010 by Axel Scheffler. Read them aloud to yourself or your children!

And then, of course, there's Alice ... as part of the British Library's 'Cats on the Page' I attended a workshop on 'the Cheshire Cat', one of literature's most famous, and enigmatic cats. The Cheshire Cat is the wry observer of Alice's adventures, above the action, involved yet removed, often vanishing slowly "beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin". A Russian lady at the workshop observed that there is no word for 'grin' in Russian so their word would be 'smile' which rather loses the ambiguity of the Cheshire cat I think. It is apparently a Russian children's favourite story. I am the proud owner of a lithograph of John Tenniel's original illustration, reprinted as a limited edition of 250 in 2008. It bears the words:

'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where ...' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go', said the Cat.

'... so long as I get somewhere' Alice added as an explanation.

'Oh, you're sure to do that' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough'.

For the more serious reader, Michele Sacquin's

The Well-Read Cat introduces the reader to hundreds of books and manuscripts (belonging to the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris) in which the lovely feline is represented. The cat has been the main character of many tales, but also the inhabitant of the most diverse books: from natural histories to household manuals, from medieval prayer books to famous writers' manuscripts. A wonderful selection for all who love cats and books!

I shall finish with a poem from an excellent literary anthology published by the British Library. It ranges widely across world literature and includes classic authors as well as less familiar voices. I've chosen this poem by Eleanor Farjeon (who loved cats), which I think anyone who owns a cat will recognise.

Cats sleep anywhere

Any table, any chair,

Top of piano,

Window-ledge,

In the middle,

On the edge,

Open drawer,

Empty shoe,

Anybody's lap will do,

Fitted in a cardboard box,

In the cupboard

With your frocks -

Anywhere

They don't care!

Cats sleep anywhere.

And just to prove it -