All of my Love in Wine Country books have quotes at the beginning of the chapters. Usually, they have something to do with what’s going on in the chapter although some of them are part of a book’s over-all theme.
Chapter One in my upcoming release, A Pinot for Your Thoughts, has this quote from Sigmund Freud: “Time spent with cats is never wasted.”
My book has a cat who is a prominent character, and the book opens with a 15-pound housecat kneading the chest of his owner, trying to get him to wake up. But the quote leads me to believe that good old Sigmund never owned a cat.
I cannot think how many times I’ve stood in front of an open door, waiting for a cat to decide if he really wants to go outside or not. When I close the door, the cat wanders back and stands in front of it. I open the door again and the cat stands there, licking his paws, swishing his tail, and then goes back into the house. Maybe only ten minutes has lapsed, but I could have been doing something productive.
Dogs, on the other hand, rush outside the minute the door is opened, tugging at their leash, pulling you along at a nice clip, eager to get to their walk. They strut along the sidewalk, stopping to sniff a plant or two, seeking the perfect bush to receive their morning iattention. All the while you’re getting exercise, just like the dog is.
And then there’s fish. My only experience with fish is my Granfish, Gilmore, an Oscar. If you stand in front of the aquarium, the fish will come right up to the edge and make faces at you. It does. I kid you not. It’s, er, humbling.
We had a Granlizard, too, but he went to his great reward. If he wasted our time it was because we let him. We’d sit near his cage and exclaim…look, Fred moved! I guess we needed to get out more if that was what we considered entertainment.
Back to cats.
The cat in my book gives comfort, changes his affections (say treat), and leads the hero and heroine on an adventure, one they are not eager to experience. I won’t say more than that.
I have one other animal quote in this book, this one from Robert Heinlen: “Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
He must have had both dogs and cats in his household because, by gosh, he got it.
LOLOLOL!!!