I’ve always thought cats are the perfect companion for the bookish. You never have to put down your book to take a cat for a walk. Instead, our feline friends will curl up on our laps while we dive into our latest fantasy obsessions, as though they’re tiny, fuzzy dragons lounging atop their hoard.
While I have nothing but love and respect for dogs—whether they’re real-life canines or fictional good boys—I feel a special kind of appreciation when a fantasy story contains a cat. Below, I’ll list five of my favorite fantasy felines and briefly discuss whether they’d make good real-world pets. After you read this, I hope you’ll take to the comments to (1) tell me your favorite fantasy cats and (2) drop pictures of your pets (there can never be enough cat pictures)!
Mister from The Dresden Files
Harry Dresden’s cat, Mister, plays on a classic fantasy-cat trope. The beast weighs a whopping thirty pounds, leading Dresden to believe he might not be 100% house cat. Perhaps his lineage could be traced back to a bigger wild breed, or even something more magical.
Whatever his origins may be, Mister is an adorable cat. His story is relatable to any of us cat parents: Dresden discovered Mister in a garbage can while the creature was still a kitten. The wizard took Mister in, and the two quickly bonded. Mister saunters into many of Dresden’s mysteries, occasionally giving Bob (a spirit bound to a human skull) a ride on his back during certain missions.
How would Mister fare as a pet in the real world, though? Pretty well, I think. He’s probably the most friendly pet on this list, and he’d be the easiest to care for. If you’re looking for a fantasy cat to bring home, you could do a lot worse than Mister.
The Cheshire Cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
The Cheshire Cat’s appearance differs depending on the Alice In Wonderland interpretation you’re reading or watching. I’m partial to the Disney depiction’s pink and purple stripes with bright yellow eyes.
No matter the form, the Cheshire Cat brings to whimsical life many of the behaviors our real-life felines exhibit, and captures the vibes they convey despite being unable to talk. His conversations with Alice are perplexing to the point of annoyance, though they may contain glimmers of helpful advice. Such is the way of living with or near a cat. They may yowl, meow, growl, or shout, and often those utterances make them woefully difficult to understand. (“I know you want something!” I yell to my cats as they stare at me enigmatically.)
The Cheshire Cat fully embodies this inscrutable quality, and his ability to speak English only makes him more confusing—for this reason, he’d be an absolute nightmare to keep as a pet. Stay in Wonderland, you crazy kitty.
Calliope from The House in the Cerulean Sea
Linus Baker’s temperamental cat companion doesn’t play a huge role in TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, but she certainly makes a mark. She’s the type of feline cat haters use to try to justify their hatred. She doesn’t want to be bothered…unless she does, in which case you’d better bother her!
In the book, Calliope serves as both a comforting presence and confidante for solitary Linus, who will think about his decisions—sometimes aloud—and interpret Calliope’s likely-unrelated reactions as advice. I’ve done it with my cats, using them as a mental sounding board, knowing full well they just want food or pets.
Calliope, like Mister above, is one of the most realistic cats on this list. To a patient and loving owner, she’d make a really good pet.
One Thousand Cats from Sandman: A Dream of a Thousand Cats
One thousand of anything (except maybe dollars) feels like too much. Even I, a cat-obsessed homebody, would be shaking in my boots if I encountered 1,000 felines gathered in the woods, listening to a story about a world once ruled by the beasts.
A Dream of a Thousand Cats opens with a tragic turn for a litter of kittens, lending an air of despair to the collective history of feline-kind at the hands of humans. It’s one of my favorite Sandman stories for its balance of whimsy and darkness, and I certainly don’t mind seeing so many cute cats gracing the page.
Any one of the thousand-plus cats in the story would be great pets. But all of them at once, collectively awakened by the history revealed to them on that fateful night? No thanks!
Church from Pet Sematary
No cat on this list plays as big a role in its story as Winston Churchill, aka Church, from Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (which you might argue is technically horror and not so much fantasy, but it was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, so it’s fine, let’s just focus on the cats).
Initially, Church is just a nice family kitty. He’s particularly close with Ellie Creed, the protagonist’s five-year-old daughter. Then Church undergoes… a transformation of sorts. You know what I mean if you’ve read the book. From then on, Church becomes a pseudo-villain, or perhaps more accurately a harbinger of things to come.
The transformed Church is a far cry from a desirable pet, no matter how friendly he was at the start. If you love your furry friends, try to avoid moving next to a pet cemetery.
Honorable Mention: The Cats From Red Seas Under Red Skies
You know what you did, Locke Lamora. You know what you did.
***
There we have it! Five cats (plus one bonus) you can find in fantasy books! Hit me in the comments with your favorites and—if you feel up to it—pics of your kitties!
Cole Rush writes words. A lot of them. For the most part, you can find those words at The Quill To Live or on Twitter @ColeRush1. He voraciously reads epic fantasy and science-fiction, seeking out stories of gargantuan proportions and devouring them with a bookwormish fervor. His favorite books are: The Divine Cities Series by Robert Jackson Bennett, The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.
I’ve gotta go with the whole crew from Diane Duane’s amazing “The Book of the Night with Moon!”
I’d include Graymalk from Roger Zelazny’s A Night in the Lonesome October.
Hello,
Austin from Keeper’s Chronicles Series by Tanya Huff.
Lying Cat from Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Cheers,
My fav has to be Mogget from Garth Nix’s Sabriel
Let’s not forget dear Mogget from the Old Kingdom!
Mogget from Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom!
Don’t forget Grimbold from Nicholas Stuart Gray’s Grimbold’s Other World.
Absolutely not a pet you want, but Greebo would be an awesome protector. I’d be happy to have You as a pet, but things might get really weird really quickly.
Alanna’s Faithful is definitely on my list
I loved Amity the direcat in Legends & Lattes.
Hey, the cats of Queen Berùthiel could sail a ship by themselves. Seems worth a mention.
Gummitch, from Fritz Leiber’s “Space-Time for Springers”, who made the ultimate sacrifice for a baby.
Gretchen the critic
Ditto on Amity from Legends and Lattes. My new favorite fantasy animal.
How about the Scatter Cat from The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams?
My favorites are Horatio, Leopold, and Harvey from The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West. True, they’re bound as familiars to serve a rather unpleasant family of not-entirely-dead witches, but that won’t stop them from trying to help the new family who recently moved into the not-exactly-haunted house. Lovely YA fantasy mystery, 100% recommend.
Don’t forget Benvenuto, Throgmorten, Proudfoot and the other fantastical cats from Diana Wynnes Jones’ Chrestomanci series about a nine-lived enchanter.
And of course, Morwen’s cats from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.
@13 omg your cat is glorious! I love torties (although she seems to be a dilute tortie), as well as chimera cats!
My first thought was Spot (Data’s Cat) but I guess that’s more SF than fantasy.
Have to show some love for Crookshanks though :)
Holy crap are we forgetting the biggest baddest cat in all of fantasy…? Guenhwyvar from the Legend of the Drow series.
Llyan from the Prydain Chronicles, of course!
I’d include the cats in “The Starless Sea ” by Erin Morgenstern, who are super-inscrutable but essential to the plot. They would likely be OK house cats, unless you had a portal to a magical world in your house, then finding the kitty is a bit tough. And they don’t talk…well, not until, um…read the book.
The Cat that Walked by Himself from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.
Pangur Ban, the monk’s cat.
All the cats in Beatrix Potter.
” the fat cat on the mat Kept as a pet He does not forget.” from “Cat” by JRR Tolkien.
Tolkien’s Tevildo, Prince of Cats, from early versions of the Beren and Tinúviel story deserves a mention. Before Melkor had Sauron, he had Tevildo.
I suppose one could include the whole dramatis personae of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. And don’t forget Tevildo, Prince of Cats from the original version of Beren and Lúthien!
You can all debate what genre might best contain Miaowara Tomokato from the various volumes of Mark Rogers’ The Adventures of Samurai Cat, but he is indeed a feline hero for all times.
I second Lying Cat from Saga.
Also Church from the mortal instruments series.
I assume you didn’t want to give Gaiman two spots, but really we can’t go without mentioning the unnamed cat in Coraline.
I would give a vote for Krosp, the Emperor of all Cats, from Girl Genius.
Gareth from Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander
The unnamed cat from The Last Unicorn: “Because I am a cat. And no cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer.” (But he still provides critical information.)
From “For He Can Creep” by Siobhan Carrol: The Nighthunter Moppet!
ALL HAIL THE NIGHTHUNTER MOPPET!
please add Genghis Cat from Hollow Kingdom (by Kira Jane Buxton)
I’m quite partial to several of the aforementioned felines, but for fun I’ll throw in
Edgewood Dirk, the prism cat. From Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom For Sale Sold!
Pixel, The Cat Who Could Walk Through Walls.
Cordwainder Smith had a number of cats in his stories, which should not be forgotten. There were the Partners in The Game of Rat and Dragon, of course, and the cats involved in The Crime and Glory of Commander Suzdal. And the incomparable C’Mell, who fooled the Lords of the Instrumentality. All worth seeking out.
Carrie Chapman Cat, Martha’s pet in Edward Eager’s Half Magic, who’s the victim of an accidental half-wish that she could talk.
Greebo from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.
Best cat ever.
my fave: Pete, the ginger ale drinking cat from The Door Into Summer (Heinlein)
My immediate first thought was for all of Morwen’s cats in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede! They’re hilarious when you can’t understand them, and hilarious when you can!
My pick is any cat from the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, granted they aren’t the friendliest cats when it it comes to humans. But based on how they will defend one another, care for one another I’m sure they’d make a great companion
Greebo, of course. The cat to (literally) end all other cats…
Oh, and Fenestra the Magnificat in the Nevermoor series. I seem to have a thing for humongous cats (but who wouldn’t?).
Catseye Gomez, the noir cat detective, from “The Nine Lives of Catseye Gomez”
Tybalt, the Prince of Cats, from Romeo and Juliet.
This post made me think of Fritti Tailchaser, whose epic story was penned down by Tad Williams.
Not sure how to answer the pet question regarding him, though.
Blackmalkin from The Midnight Folk, Pangur Ban from the children’s series by Fay Sampson, and all Diane Duane’s wizard cats!
One sweet little black kitten, being petted in the sun for a while by a certain dreamer.
Rowl from Jim Butcher’s “The Aeronaut’s Windlass”. And then there is that short story by Henry Slesar “My Father, the Cat”…
The same Cheshire Cat from Carroll, also shows up in Jasper Fforde’s books, although, due to a change in county boundaries he’s now known as the ‘Unitary Authority of Warrington Cat‘.
And while of course Greebo should be included, there is one cat in the Ramtops that he’s scared of; Granny Weatherwax’s cat You.
To be complete, there’s also Vlad Taltos’ grandfather’s cat and familiar Ambrus, from Stephen Brust’s Dragaera books.
How has no one mentioned Puss in Boots who was an old (pre 17th century) fairy tale long before his movie fame.
No love for the Amazing Maurice? (Of course, including his Educated Rodents might be a bit much for the average household. )
Also a shout out to Cagney and Lacey (and honorary vegetative cat, Spike), in Seanan McGuire’s October Daye stories.
Faithful, from Tamara pierce’s Allana books. When I got my black cat, I could not remember this cats name, so I named my cat pumpkin. Pumpkin however, is extremely faithful in spirit, just not in name.
@45 – or Tybalt, the King of Cats, from the October Daye urban fantasies by Seanan McGuire.
Marcel from the Galactic Milieu series by Julian May is happy many people are telepaths.
“Marcel lifted his gray-maned head, stared at the girl with interest, and decided she was ripe for his scam. He began broadcasting strong telepathic requests for food.”
The unnamed cat from the Chewy Joy commercial: “I feel so accomplished… Now you can pet me… Okay, that’s enough, you’re literally so annoying.” My wife has owned and I have known many of this cat.
(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TK7n5Pj_Wc8)
Any of the cats from Ursula Le Guin’s “Catwings”.
Petronius the Arbiter from A Door to Summer (Heinlein).
And Dr. Livingston I Presume from Farnham’s Freehold.
I think Heinlein liked cats.
Graymalk will always be my favorite.
And for those who haven’t read Siobhan Carroll’s For He Can Creep (on this site) it has a great bunch of cats, especially the awesomely named Nighthunter Moppet.
@Vrouwke – you beat me to it. I immediately thought of Fritti Tailchaser too.
It’s been over 30 years since I read the Thieves” World series but there was back ally bar I think it was call the Broken Hilt Inn, that had a big ol cat that hung out at the bar and was more than what he seemed, but don’t have access to my books right now and can’t find its name for the life of me, but I really enjoyed the stories of that bar and that cat.
Not fantasy per se, but I seem to recall that the TOS Star Trek episode “Assignment: Earth” had one hell of a good cat…
Brindle in the short story “What the cat told me” by Diana Wynne Jones. And the unnamed kitten that Miles traps under a serving dish in A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold. (It’s okay, he lets it out again!)
How has no one yet mentioned the many cats of Ulthar? I am disappoint.
Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (and his beloved Louisa) from Whisper of the Heart, and the Baron, Muta, and Yuki from The Cat Returns.
The kitten trapped by Miles is Zap. Lucky Zap grows up with Ma Kosti’s cooking.
Faithful from the Lioness Rampant books by Tamora Pierce! Also, Lying Cat from Saga.
I second Morwen’s cats in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede!!
You missed Heinlein’s “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls”
@Greg that cat from the Thieves World series is named Notable…and no, I couldn’t remember the name, and had a heck of a time tracing it down without doing a reread. Of course, now I want to. Don’t think I have in at least a couple of decades. It was definitely the first one I thought of.
What about The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint?
Fritti Tailchaser, Pouncequick and the Folk from Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams.
Faithful/Pounce in Tamora Pierce’s Tortall will always be my fave, so allow me to add my voice to the others mentioning this.
Another vote for Greebo, pretty well the uber-cat
Behemoth from The Master and Margarita. Lying Cat from Saga.
The Goddamn Cat from the Art of the Adept series by Michael G. Manning.
I’m loving Tiger the Tabby in The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa. I would follow him into a labyrinth for sure.
Surprised that I didn’t find Lillian Jackson Braun’s “The Cat Who…” mystery-fantasy series listed here…
Two more: the blind cat in The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman (sweet cat who survives more than his share of nine lives) and the white cat/summer goddess in Jane Token’s The Wild Hunt
Kzin
my favourite book has Pete, the driving force behind the time travel premise of the book. The door into summer by Robert Heinlein. Pete is a battle scarred tom cat, best friend of the protagonist and his habit of asking for each door to be opened in winter because he is sure there is summer out of one of them, has to resonate with any feline lover.
Of course Terry Pratchett’ ‘Greebo’, Nanny Ogg’s cat who becomes, briefly human in the most feline way, can give even Pete a run for his tattered ears.
Just chiming in with another plug for Mogget. Just a wonderfully realized character by Nix.
Although they have less personality and are more in the Sci-Fi realm (for old fogies like me who still make that distinciton) the aforementioned Zap the cat from Bujold’s Vorkosigan series and Heinlein’s Pixel.
To go a bit further afield of the article, what about Jones, survivor of the ill-fated USCSS Nostromo.
Lying Cat in the Saga series
Greebo, of course, from Discworld
The Hani from CJ Cherryh’s Pride of Chanur
Tybalt, the King of Dreaming Cats and royal Cait Sidhe from the October Daye series
Fritti Tailchaser, Roofshadow, Eatbugs, and Pouncequick from Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams
Tag, from The Wild Road and The Golden Cat by Gabriel King
Halina, from Michael Peak’s Cat House
Mort(e) in the eponymous novel by Robert Repino
Rhiow and her Worldgate Guardian friends in The Book of Night with Moon and To Visit the Queen by Diane Duane
Do Catmages count? I have a whole series full of them.
If I overlooked these in the SEVWNTY FIVE FREAKIN COMMENTS I apologize.
1. Small Cat from Kij Johnson’s The Cat who Walked 1000 Miles.
2. Dax, the gen-eng telepathic cat from George R.R. Martin’s Tuf Voyaging. Well, Dax and all his compadres.
Barbara Sleigh’s Carbonel.
Gotta show some love for Rowl and his compatriots from The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher.
Classic author Andre Norton had so many great cats! From SF to fantasy. Classic librarian cat lover writer never shied away from them!
I also thought of the Amazing Maurice, and am looking forward to the movie, but the first one I thought of was Thomas, the cat from The Ring of Allaire by Susan Dexter, and its sequels. Thomas kept Tristan the hero on the right path no matter what.
Tick-Tock, Telzey Amberdon’s associate in the novels/ stories by James Schmitz.
Hard to think of a feline friend that other commenters haven’t mentioned, like the Grand Central Station crew from the Feline Wizards series, and Faithful/Pounce from Tamora Pierce, and, of course, Greebo and You.
Not entirely a cat, but Alex Price’s lesser griffin, Crow, in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire is based on the author’s experiences with Maine Coon cats, and then adding a corvid’s native intelligence and ability to use tools, to make a not-quite cat that is somewhat alarming as a pet. McGuire also has a number of Cait Sidhe in her October Daye books, but I tend to think of them as ‘people who happen to also be cats (sometimes more obviously than at other times)’.
S’Kitty and S’Kat, from Mercedes Lackey’s four short stories.
More votes for Faithful and Lying Cat!
I also wanted to throw out a vote for Bully Boy from The Blacktongue Thief, which more people ought to read.
Mani, from Gene Wolfe’s The Knight / The Wizard. “Every cat is royal,” Mani declared in a tone that said he would be mad if you argued. “I am myself.”
The Wildings in Nilanjana Roy’s book of that name are marvellous cats. Mostly not to be made pets, for sure; some ferals are irredeemable if forgivable given their circumstances. Us Bigfeet need to be aware of the difference between ferals and wildings, though. There are also some wonderful birds and other creatures in Nizaduddin.
Robert Heinlein’s “Pixel” (The Cat Who Walks Through Walls/Windshields) absolutely deserves to be on this list. Pixel is such a superior specimen, that he isn’t even subject to the trivial laws of physics that we two-legs are bound by. He not only walks through walls and is a veteran time/reality traveler, but also effortlessly passes through books/storylines and across authors (Spider Robinson, for one). He is telepathically linked to a human (Erin Stonebender-Berkowitz) and speaks fluent dog (Ralph von Wau Wau).
It’s an afront to catdom that he wasn’t properly recognized in a category that he virtually defined.
Throgmorten from The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones (Howl’s Moving Castle)
1) Heinlein cats
2) All the cats from Tailchaser’s Song
3) The cats of Queen Beruthiel who are well known to be the last children of Tevildo to trouble this unhappy world.
(Our Mutual Friend Tevildo!)
Jeoffry! https://www.tor.com/2019/07/10/for-he-can-creep-siobhan-carroll/
Faith Hunter’s ‘Junkyard Cats’ definitely not cute & cuddly!
You cannot forget Narknon, the hunting cat from Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword. Ever faithful, yet so clearly a cat despite being more like a mountain lion who happens to love porridge.
Seconding #49 with Rowl! From Jim Butcher’s Aeronauts Windlass! And ALLLLLL of Andre Norton’s cats… as for ‘pet quality’ we mustn’t forget we are actually generally Servants to Cats? So the Pet Question might be rather irrelevant…
BTW, all my cats at present {erm, 5 because I got a litter dumped on me yikes} are currently named after characters in the Vorkosigan series. Miles, Mark (yes, they are clones) Cordi (Cordelia) and Eli Quinn and Bel Thorne. (Quinn and Bel) We managed to find homes for Ivan and Gregor… Article was fun, thanks!
Oh, forgot! The Hani in the Chanur series! No pets there, heh!
Fun essay, thanks! Will try to attach a pic of our very black (even her whiskers and lips) kitty Hilda.
At the risk of repetition, I just want to say that Tad Williams’ Tailchaser’s Song and Kij Johnson’s The Cat Who Walked A Thousand Miles–mentioned many times above–are both heartbreakingly beautiful works written by writers whose love of cats glows through the pages from one to the next. If you have a relationship with one of our furry brethren, I believe you will find both works an irreplaceable joy, as I did.
Another vote for Greebo, the ultimate cat with attitude. And for the Hani in the Chanur novels of C J Cherryh. But my favourite fantasy cat has to be Carbonel, the witch’s cat in the children’s novels of Barbara Sleigh. I loved him so much that when I got a black kitten, when I was eight, he had to be called Carbonel, and I used to look longingly at the bottles of red and green liquid in our local chemist’s, because I was convinced that drinking from them would make me able to hear Carbonel talk, just like in the book.
Lying Cat and Krosp FTW! Oh, and Kiki’s familiar Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service. (Seriously, if you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and check out the award-winning comic Saga, Phil and Kadja Foglio’s long-running steampunk/fantasy/everything-but-the-kitchen-sink webcomic Girl Genius, and Kiki’s Delivery Service from anime master Hayao Miyazaki. You’re welcome.)
Old school: the cat from The Door Into Summer (Robert Heinlein). Been decades since I read it but cats definitely search for the door into summer.
Carbonel, the King of the Cats [E.G. Sleigh]
The Wonderful Cat of Cobbie Bean [B. Carleton]
I see Cordwainer Smith’s cats have already been given a mention, so I won’t repeat them except to also say that Smith’s tales are well worth searching out.
As for other literary felines; there’s Mikhail Bulgakov’s pistol-wielding, murderous black cat, Behemoth, from The Master and Margarita and the somewhat downtrodden, put-upon but good-natured Sampson from Graham Oakley’s series The Church Mice.
I’ve gotta add Krosp from the Foglios’ Girl Genius comic/novels; big, grumpy, fluffy white cat who was, ah, created to be the King of Cats. Which…sort of worked, except cats are gonna do whatever they heck they want and only follow orders if they feel like it. I feel like he’d be a great pet, though I don’t think it’d be a good idea to call him that and best be prepared for a lot of snark; yes, he can talk, and no, he has no filter. So…like our housecats, but with the capability to speak English.
Also Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service; he’s such a sassy little furball and probably part of the reason I’ve adored black cats since childhood.
And, of course, Crookshanks. Gotta have Crookshanks
As for real life magical kitties, my fluffballs (plus a bonus) in order: Dodger, Hela, Minerva, Madeline, Dimitri, Theodred, my departed Autumn, and a bonus Alastir courtesy of my housemate
@jim – I commend your investigation skills. I’ve been meaning to re-read Thieves” World for the last year or so, but this year I swear I’m going to do it, with reviews. Thieves’ World was such a unique concept.
I so wish someone (Hello Tor ) would get a bunch of the popular SFF authors together for a shared-world anthology series. :)
MOGGET!! From Gart Nix’s Old Kingdom series
“I am not getting used to you”—Locke Lamora to the homicidal and tragically underweight black kitten.
And let’s not forget Crookshanks, deliverer of notes and Galleons for the sake of a godson’s broom (what a pity he didn’t actually catch a certain rat).
Oh, and Professor McGonagall should probably count, too.
(however, let us pass over She Who Has Entirely Too Many Kitten Plates. There are limits).
We’ve come this far without Altra? Not that a Firecat is technically a cat, but of all of Mercedes Lackey’s sapient beasts, they were always the ones I wanted.
Big Orange and the other cats who saved Lillian (turning her into a kitten) in the Vess, De Lint book A Circle of Cats.
The cat whose name I cannot remember in Andre Norton’s “To Say Nothing of the Cat.
Loving all of these suggestions. I’m just getting to know Guenhwyvar firm Salvatore’s The Legend of Drizzt series, and been sent on a HUGE nostalgia trip when Pangur Ban was mentioned. Need to go find those books now
Tiger, the Tabby, from “The cat who saved books”. A cat as a sassy yet friendly mentor figure, and a great read for booklovers everywhere.
Help me out here, folks… Can’t remember the name of the book, or if the cat even had a name, but the cat in question (he was black, as it happens) had actual hands instead of front paws thanks to the efforts of a magician/wizard/sorcerer who labored long to get that spell right, and toward the end of the story it was discovered that the change bred true in a litter of kittens. This is the only thing I can remember about the entire story!
A glaring omission from this list is Maruman, the mad surly cat from the Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/24261/obernewtyn-by-isobelle-carmody/
See also: https://isobellecarmody.net.au/ic-books-series/the-obernewtyn-chronicles/
Tobermory from Saki’s story of that name caused alarm among humans, after he learned to talk, from his knowledge of their doings, You need to keep on the right side of him
SKitty from the short story of the same name by Mercedes Lackey. She stars in a total of four short stories and she’s great.
How about Midway the Tiger from Anne Barrett’s “Midway” and of course Aslan the Lion from C. S. Lewis’s Narnia?
The treecats from the David Weber Honor Harrington series certainly should get a shoutout!
What about that other old fairytale – The White Cat, especially as retold and illustrated by Errol Le Cain. Soooooo beautiful and wise.
Honor Harrington’s treecat Nimitz !
The two cats from Pat Murphy’s About Fairies. In typical cat fashion they understood what was really important.
How about the “big” cats? The Pride of Chanur by CJ Cherryh.
The Cat in the Hat.
The Old Gumbie Cat (Jennyanydots)
Growltiger
The Rum Tum Tugger
the Jellicles
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer
Old Deuteronomy
the Pollicles
the Poms
the Great Rumpus Cat
Mr. Mistoffelees
Macavity: The Mystery Cat
Gus: The Theatre Cat
Bustopher Jones: The Cat about Town
Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat”
Cat Morgan
Gummitch, from Fritz Leiber’s Space Time for Springers has somehow been overlooked. A hyper intelligent kitten saves an infant, but has to make a significant sacrifice to win the battle.
Heinlein’s Pixel, Cordwainer Smith’s partners have already been mentioned but stand out.
Seconding Lying Cat and Morwen’s cats.
Not yet mentioned – the greatcats in L Rowyn’s A Rational Arrangement. They are sentient, more so than is usually recognized. They speak, and participate in cross-country races as mounts for humans as well as more general transportation. Anthser is the main greatcat character.
There’s Lura in Andre Norton’s Star Man’s Son.
Adding Fluffy and PKP from Cats in Cyberspace by Beth Hilgartner (a cute romp!) who I would probably not want as MY pets LOL, and Niffy from Anne McCaffrey’s No on Noticed the cat, which story is adorable and who is nobody’s pet but a fine and loyal equal.
@119/Guy:
I believe you’re thinking of “Fire in the Mist”, by Holly Lisle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_the_Mist
Cat in Red Dwarf; i know, technically not a cat any more after a million years of evolution, and a sf tv series iso fantasy, but i could not resist the temptation
Somehow I got Mercedes Lackey’s S’kitty and S’Cat merged with Anne McCaffrey’s Barque Cats. Both are great.
Hmmm… did not the short story, “The Game of Rat and Dragon”, also involve some very good cats?
Definitely Moggot from Garth Nix’s The Old Kingdom Series! Also basically all the cats from Erin Hunter’s Warriors series, a childhood favourite of mine! :)
what about Pixel?
Fritti Tailchaser from Tailchaser’s Song
by Tad Williams,
The Cats Of Serotser by Robert Westfall. Cats who remember their Egyptian roots and a young man with a decision to make, all set in a town reminiscent of Carcassonne.
Mercedes Lackey’s Skitty.