Cats and Dogs Living Together

Hi, I'm Karen, and I'm a cat person.

This does not mean that I don't like dogs. Dogs are perfectly fine. However, I choose not to own one. Dogs are far more work than cats, who are delightfully independent. They clean themselves, they use a litter box, and they are affectionate—on their terms. They are not that far away from their wild cousins, with predatory instincts that are useful if there are mice in the basement. Although admittedly, they will play with their prey first because, well, they're cats. And there is nothing better than a purring cat on your lap. Studies have shown that it can reduce blood pressure. Goodness knows, we need some of that these days.

I bring this up because we have a houseguest—of the canine variety. My daughter has two corgis and she has gone on vacation, leaving one of them with us. We have stipulated that we will take only one, as our cat Seamus is not used to sharing his territory and Ocean—the corgi—is not cat-trained. He is a pleasant dog, very eager to please—as are most dogs—and has very stalker-like qualities as he follows us around the house waiting to either play or go outside. He also likes to herd us, since he is, by nature, a herding dog. He's a generally happy dog, and he really is adorable.

We have hoped that cohabitation would be peaceful, but after a couple of lunging/barking incidences, it hasn't been easy. Neither animal is used to sharing space with another species. Gates have been set up to avoid any injury.

It's funny, but I have never had any of my book characters own a pet. I realized this when I went to see Kristan Higgins speak at my local library last week. She talked about how she's got dogs and cats in all of her books.

Granted, I did have fiberglass cows and tic-tac-toe playing chickens in my Annie Seymour books, but those were not pets. Annie certainly wouldn't have bothered with having a pet. And then Brett Kavanaugh (it's still astonishing that I chose that name for my tattoo shop mysteries protagonist) had a small business to run. She wouldn't have time for an animal. At least that's what I told my editor, when she said the publisher wanted to put a cat on the cover of the book—a common cozy mystery trope. So in Pretty in Ink, the second in the series, I had a mangy, feral cat walk through the parking lot at a drag queen club. "There's your cat," I told my editor, and that was that. They never put a cat on the cover.

Do you think book characters are more sympathetic if they've got a pet? Does it make them more human? Or does it not matter?