Given that libraries have kept cats as far back as Ancient Egypt, it’s probably safe to assume that bookstores have had resident cats for as long as there have been bookstores. Besides stopping rodents from destroying the books, cats are a soothing presence to (non-allergic) staff and visitors, act as a store’s (or library’s) public face, and add life to what can be a sterile environment. On top of all that, cats and book people are simply a natural combination. Here’s a small sampling of the bookstore cats who keep books safe and hearts warmed…
“Magnificent” Spike lives at Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Missouri. Spike has his own page here, where you can find out fun facts about him, like his one-word description mentioned above.
Parrot, from Pegasus Books in Oakland, California, may be grumpy but she still gets fan mail.
The Wild Rumpus (Minneapolis, Minnesota) kitties:
Booker T (who loves strollers)…
Trini Lopez (has a thing for tasty crickets)…
…and Walter Dean (the youngest and the biggest of the three). Wild Rumpus has several other store animals too, including Ferdinand the Ferret and Thomas Jefferson the tarantula (my kind of place!)
Kona Stories on Kailua-Kona in Hawaii also has two cats in residence:
Noble (once a twosome, along with “Barnes,” who found a forever home with a garden)…
…and Chloe (who adores attention). They have their own page on Kona Stories’s website.
Copperfield’s in Healdsburg, California, is also a multi-cat store:
Sweetpea (who lives up to her name, although she thinks she’s tough)…
…and Jack (who’s a bit of a bully to visiting dogs).
Coincidentally, all these stores carry Love Lies Bleeding in paperback (and some also offer it and my FREE short story Blood Magic in ebook–check their sites.) You can also get Blood Magic here.
Does your favourite bookstore (or library) have a cat? Share in the comments 🙂 You can read more about the history of library cats here.
Aspasía S. Bissas 
Our bookstore downtown has a dog named Scout. She’s a doll, but there’s something about books and a cat.
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Books and cats just go together. I think maybe because most dogs are a touch too hyper to be appropriately serious around books 😉
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Yes, I think that’s it. Although, Miss Scout is pretty chill she does greet everyone. There is much to be said for the quiet dignity of a cat.
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These cats are so cute! I wish the libraries and bookstores around where I live had cats.
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I sympathize with people with allergies, but if I had my way, every shop would have a cat 🙂
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