15 Feline-Loving Scribes: Famous Writers Who Found Inspiration in Their Cats

Mark Twain Was a Well Known Cat Lover

They say that a dog is a man’s best friend, but these writers found solace — and sometimes even inspiration — in their feline companions. If you’re a cat lover like these , you’ll appreciate their love for their feline friends.

1. Mark Twain — the famous humorist and writer was also a devoted cat lover. When his beloved cat Bambino went missing, Twain even took out an ad in the New York American offering a reward for the cat’s return.
2. T.S. Eliot — not only did Eliot pepper his poetry with references to cats, he also wrote a book of light verse called Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, dedicated to his godchildren. The poems and characters in the book were the inspiration for the Broadway musical, Cats.
3. Ernest Hemingway — Hemingway and his family became infatuated with cats while living in Cuba, and Hemingway even had a colony of six-toed cats at his Key West home. These polydactyl cats are now known as “Hemingway Cats.”
4. William S. Burroughs — the wild and drug-induced writer had a soft spot for his cats and even wrote an autobiographical novella called The Cat Inside about the cats he owned throughout his life.
5. William Butler Yeats — Yeats’ love for cats can be found in poems like “The Cat and the Moon,” where he uses the image of a cat to represent himself and the moon to represent his muse.
6. Samuel Johnson — this 18th century polymath was known to be a general cat lover and even had a cat named Hodge, whom he indulged with oysters.
7. Edgar Allan Poe — Poe was known to have a pet cat named Catarina, who he referred to as his “favorite playmate.”
8. Lewis Carroll — the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland had a pet cat named Dinah, who inspired the character of the Cheshire Cat in his famous novel.
9. Raymond Chandler — the detective novelist was a self-proclaimed “cat person” and even had a character in his novels who was a cat lover.
10. J.R.R. Tolkien — the Lord of the Rings author was a cat lover and even had a feline character in his books, the talking tomcat Tom Bombadil.
11. Andre Breton — the Surrealist leader was known to have a pet cat named Minou, who he referred to as his “muse.”
12. George Orwell — the 1984 author was a cat lover and even wrote an essay called “A Nice Cup of Tea” about the joys of owning a cat.
13. Gertrude Stein — the famous author and collector was known to have a pet cat named Basket, who she often referred to in her writing.
14. Sylvia Plath — the poet and author was a cat lover and even had a pet cat named Muffin.
15. James Joyce — the Ulysses author was a cat lover and even had a pet cat named Lilly.

These writers found solace and inspiration in their feline companions, just like many cat lovers do today. Whether they wrote about their love for cats in their work or simply enjoyed the companionship of their furry friends, these scribes show that a love for cats is timeless.