Famous Writers with Cats: Philip K. Dick

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Philip K. Dick

Considering Philip K. Dick's stories have been made into movies like Blade Runner, Minority Report, and Total Recall, there's a strong chance this cat is just some sort of android that had vengeance and murder on its mind. Look at it. You can't tell me that cat wasn't wondering about murder.

Okay, and maybe catnip.

Famous Writers with Cats: Jean Cocteau

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  Jean Cocteau

Mr. Whiskers has had enough Cocteau for one day. If you had to listen to him babble about avant-garde novels all the time, you would, too.

Look at those murder claws! There's a 50/50 chance Cocteau was bleeding from his pelvis ten seconds after this photo was taken.

Famous Writers with Cats: Haruki Murakami

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  Haruki Murakami

The cat's face says panic, but Murakami's sense of style says mimosas and $50 Eggs Benedict.

I'm not sure why we're in a carpet store, though. Everyone knows white cat hair is going to do a number on those rugs.

Famous Writers with Cats: Edward Gorey

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  Edward Gorey

Who spiked the water supply?

This wouldn't be the first time that some of Gorey's work put someone to sleep.

Apparently the photographer moonlights as a ninja in their spare time, as they somehow managed to keep everyone asleep while snapping away with their camera. The Bruce Lee of photographers? The Bruce Lee of photographers.

Famous Writers with Cats: Patrick White

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  Patrick White

What's going on here? Is Mr. Whiskers smiling for the camera? Sneezing? Maybe he's just trying to mimic his owner? One thing is for certain, Mr. Whiskers is probably reveling in that deep chest massage.

Couldn't a guy with the last name "White" get, you know, a black or brown cat, though?

Famous Writers with Cats: V.S. Naipaul

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  V.S. Naipaul

Mr. Whiskers' eyes are pleading for you to intervene.

Little known fact: This is how doctors recommend you hold newborn babies as well, like a slab of salami.

With all the blood rushing to Mr. Whiskers' head, he probably passed out ten seconds after the picture was taken.

Famous Writers with Cats: W.H. Auden

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  W.H. Auden

What are the odds Mr. Whiskers is smoking at least a pack-a-day by hanging with Auden? You can almost hear a wheezy purr and smell the Parliaments wafting off the fur.

There's no way that cat is smoking Parliaments though, not with that dirty paw. That's a cat who smokes Lucky Strikes, or maybe some Kools if it wants a touch of menthol after a tough day chasing street mice and pigeons.

Famous Writers with Cats: Eugene O'Neill

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Eugene O'Neill

I know what you're thinking. You can't see the cat because your eyes are captivated by Eugene's geometric fireworks wardrobe. Are trapezoids connected in a line a thing? Sure! They are on a sweater! Match it with a cubist tie while you're at it! Is he wearing polka dot pants to complete the ensemble? Maybe! Très chic!

This is why the cat is staring into your soul.

It can't look at such fashion sense any longer.

Famous Writers with Cats: Charles Bukowski

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  Charles Bukowski

Miss Kitty wouldn't be the first female to want to get away from Bukowski. You can almost smell the Marlboro Reds and cheap vodka wafting off him.

Is she trying to snatch his eyeglasses from his pocket while he's distracted by the camera? She's a cat burglar! ((rim-shot!!))

But what about happier times between these two?

She's not relaxing with stiff rear legs like that. That's a death stare coming from Miss Kitty.

Or she's about to be asphyxiated by her obesity squeezing her lungs. One or the other.

Famous Writers with Cats: Robert Graves...special National Cat Day edition!

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Robert Graves

Today is National Cat Day, where we honor our feline companions for not eating us in our sleep.

Here we see a prime example of why a gang of cats is more dangerous than the Bloods and Crips.

If Robert Graves with his hands in his pockets isn't the model enthusiastic cat owner, I'm not sure what is. Behind the wife and a small tree. YOU MUST BE SAFE!!

Look at the little one to the right. He's ready to pounce like Simba in The Lion King. And the black one on the left? Pure murder in his meow.

Anytime a hungry posse of pussycats get get together at dinnertime, you might lose a limb. Their bone-straight tails collectively suggest Graves and his wife were both eaten alive shortly after this photo.

Trees can't stop Mr. Whiskers. Only cans of Fancy Feast.

Famous writers with Cats: Joyce Carol Oates

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Joyce Carol Oates

Even the Mr. Whiskers finds blindly staring out a window to be more entertaining than Joyce Carol Oates.

It's a pretty bad sign when the most animated thing in this photo is the wicker table.

Everything about this photo screams what was horribly, horribly wrong about the 1980s. Eyeglasses, wicker tables, Mr. Whisker's inability to step away from a free buffet of cat food--take your pick. He has about a half inch clearance before his belly is scraping off the floor.

Famous Writers with Cats: Jorge Luis Borges

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today: Jorge Luis Borges

Here the cat shows Borges how to play dead, since it looks like it's going to happen soon.

Imagine the hours of (non-existent) fun this cat must have playing at the stationary feet of Borges.

There's a solid debate over who has skinnier legs, the Argentine writer or his feline companion.

Famous Writers with Cats: William Butler Yeats

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today: William Butler Yeats

That. Cat. Is. Passed. Out. It must have read some of Yeats' work.

You know you have bad heating in your house when you start using the cat as a thigh warmer.

Yeats was usually clean shaven, but the goatee and Colonel Sanders look work on him.

Ernest Hemingway still has a lot of six-toed cats on his Key West property.

Six-toed cats were considered good luck amongst fishermen at the turn of the last century, and those littlle felines became all the rage in port towns.

As Yahoo reports, by the time Ernest Hemingway moved to Key West, FL, in 1928, its own port town was overrun by a slew of six-toed cats--and Hemingway, never one to avoid jumping on a bandwagon, wanted his own six-toed cat. 

The cat did come, from the brood of a sea captain named Stanley Dexter whose feline, Snow White, had a litter of kittens. That litter offered Hemingway his first six-toed cat, Snowball. Within years, Snow White and her progeny left 50 different six-toed cats on the Hemingway property.

Today, the extra-digit cats still exist at Hemingway's former estate, roaming inside and out, and generally avoiding the rules. As this one photo from the Hemingway House Shows:

Photos: Hemingway House, Jo Piazza, via Yahoo

Famous Writers with Cats: Truman Capote

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Truman Capote

We're one ripped shirt away from this being the most awkward Harlequin novel cover ever.

"No--no, Truman, I love Gore Vidal instead!"

Famous Writers with Cats: William S. Burroughs

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  William S. Burroughs

This is not what Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had in mind when they sang 'Ebony and Ivory.'

It's rare that a cat and its owner have strikingly similar faces, and from the enthusiasm he shows, Mr. Whiskers isn't thrilled with the comparison.

That, and a Vulcan nerve pinch never won over any cat.

Famous Writers with Cats: Jacques Derrida

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Jacques Derrida

Sometimes a cat is the only thing that can put up with a French philosopher's musings.

Clearly the cat is just as freaked out as anyone should be by the creepy, vacant stares coming off those statues in the background. Don't look into their eyes! Turn away!!

Famous Writers with Cats: Hermann Hesse

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Hermann Hesse

This is what happens when someone doesn't keep an eye on Grandpa around the pets.

The real concern here is that Hesse doesn't have a Life-Alert monitor on. If he can't get up off the floor, we've got a medical emergency on our hands, and the cat sure as hell isn't going to notify anyone.

Famous Writers with Cats: Stephen King

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Stephen King

This is a subtle photographic representation of every novel Stephen King has written.

The real danger here? The kitten on King's shoulder. Don't let its miniature feline form fool you. It's got Baby Cujo written all over it.

Famous Writers with Cats: Neil Gaiman

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  Neil Gaiman

Gaimain says on his website that this cat is named Zoe, she's blind, and lives in the bedroom in an attic. It's like a V.C. Andrews plot come to life.

A fun game to play in your spare time is to guess who has more hair on their body, the cat or Gaiman.




photo: Neil Gaiman's Journal