Who Are the Cat Writers’ Association: Elise Scott

In conversation with Mollie Hunt.

Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? is a series of interviews with CWA members, but not your usual who, what, and where discussion. I like to ask a different set of questions and am always amazed by the answers. I hope you are too.

Our guest today on Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? is Elise Scott. Elise writes from their lived experiences of queerness, disability, neurodivergence, fat-positivity, and petting three cats with two hands. Their life has been an adventure, from facilitating equine therapy for trauma survivors to counseling at-risk youth with the aid of an inordinately large sub-woofer and beyond. They earned their BA from Mount Holyoke and their MS from Capella University. 

Their debut novel, a cozy mystery featuring three kittens with the ability to bend the laws of physics who must solve a murder to save their rescuer from the human pound, is forthcoming from Crooked Lane. Elise is a 3rd-place Not Quite Write Prize winner and Best-of-the-Net nominee. Their short work has appeared/is forthcoming in The Advocate, Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror, The Not Quite Write Anthology 2025, The B’K, Five Minutes, Knee Brace, All Existing, and Quibble, among others.

Part 1:

About My Craft:

I write novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and poetry. I also write (and love) dark apocalyptic fiction. . Recently, I had a really bad year (I’ll say more about that below), and I decided I needed to write something more life-giving. I started writing mysteries told from the perspective of three kitten sleuths who can bend the laws of physics, and now I never want to stop. My first one was recently picked up by Crooked Lane and will be coming out in 2026.

How Cats Inspire My Creativity:

Not long ago, I had a terrible year where all five of my beloved and very elderly rescue cats, who had been with me their whole lives, took ill, and succumbed to unrelated conditions, one after another.

The thing that helped me most was remembering them as kittens, all snuggly and awkward and impetuous.  I realized that I needed to write something healing. Something as joyful and buoyant as those memories.

Naturally, my first thought was murder.

So I sat by the fire each night with a cup of tea and brought their sweet, curious, fierce spirits to life on the page. The result is my forthcoming debut, which I hope will bring laughter and light to everyone who reads it.

What I Enjoy About Belonging to CWA:

I’m brand new, but so far, I’m really loving how friendly everyone is. I’m excited to make friends with other writers and creators who focus on cats. It seems like a robust, active, friendly network, and I’m excited to get to know everyone!

Part 2:

Mollie: What is your favorite cat movie and why?

Elise: The Cat From Outer Space was my first cat movie love. It came out when I was a kid, and the idea that cats are smarter than we humans will ever know was such a point of fascination for me, and so easy to believe, that I still carry it with me, which you can see in my writing.

Mollie: Did you grow up with cats?

Elise: When I was born, my parents had two cats, Snit and Shadowfax. When I turned 6, I got a cat of my very own (with lots of care support from my parents). He was a rough-and-tumble Persian/Maine coon mix, whom I inappropriately named Muffy because of his luxurious coat. I swear he spent the rest of his life trying to live that name down. 

When I lost him in high school, I was heartbroken, but my parents took me to the humane society to rescue a kitten. I was chosen by the runt of the litter, whom I called Sneakers because she loved to sleep in my shoe. She was my first cat soul-mate and rode around on my shoulder. She saw me through an abusive marriage and helped me find the courage to leave. I will always love her. 

When she became terminally ill, she was with me in the PetSmart and caught sight of a little black kitten in the rescue area inside the store. She would not leave without him, and as soon as the rescue employee let me put them in a room together, she raced up to him and began grooming his face. Sneakers spent the last weeks of her life mothering and nurturing little Trace. 

When Sneakers died, having Trace and navigating that grief together with him was a great comfort to me. He lived for nearly 20 years, and I don’t know what I would have done without him. 

So the short answer is yes. Aside from college, where cats weren’t allowed, I have grown up with cats since I was born, and I hope never to stop (growing up or belonging to cats).

Mollie: What is your earliest memory of being around cats?

Elise: I have a very old memory of being sick when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old, and Shadowfax, who was a deep silvery gray color like a Russian Blue, settled down next to me. I remember the feeling of his purrs reverberating through my whole body and how comforting that was. He stayed with me until I fell asleep, and when I woke up, he was gone and I felt better.

Mollie: What crosses your mind when someone tells you they don’t like cats?

Elise: I always want to know why. People have a lot of different reasons, and I really like understanding what causes people to feel the way they do.

Mollie: What does your cat think of you?

Elise: I am currently honored to belong to a mama cat and her baby, whom I was lucky enough to rescue together.

The mama, Hylia, thinks that I am a reasonably good servant in her queendom, although I do sometimes fail to understand her instructions. I require repetition, patience, and lots of positive reinforcement in order to learn. She’s pleased with how my skills at scratching itchy spots are coming along and appreciates my assistance whenever grooming her extremely long and lavish Tortico coat becomes challenging. 

Most of all, she remembers the times she would bring me her kitten to babysit so she could have a break from mothering, and she appreciates that we help one another with parenting and love each other’s babies as if they were our own. My biggest fault is my woeful inadequacy as a hunter, showcased by my complete inability to swat a housefly out of the air and devour it in a flash, no matter how frequently she demonstrates the technique.

The baby, Mickey, is now nearly twice the size of her mama. She loves purring her way toward me, always confident that pets will materialize as soon as she gets close enough. She has never been hungry or scared and is pleased that I raised her alongside a giant kitten with floppy ears and a strangely waggy, whip-like tail, whom she has trained to be her playmate and servant (Iris is a Pitbull/greyhound mix and Mickey has been play-battling her face since kittenhood). She also adores her human co-kitten. Mickey has never been hungry or cold or afraid, and it shows in the way she flops onto my lap, certain that love and snuggles are her natural due.

Mollie: What cat-themed item is sitting on your desk right now?

Elise: I have a cat candleholder, a cat pencil cup, cat-shaped Post-it notes, a sticker for the Magician tarot card with a black cat wearing a witch hat in its center, a 3cm x 3cm painting of a void cat in a potted plant, and black and white cat salt & pepper shakers on/around my writing desk right now. There is also a silhouette of a black cat holding a big, stabby knife atop the window frame across from me.

Mollie: Do your cats get along with each other?

Elise: There’s something magical about rescuing a mom and her baby so they will never be separated. They adore one another, still groom each other regularly, and get into shenanigans and hijinks together every night.

Mollie: How would you identify your cat in a lineup?

Elise: Mickey would be the one purring even though nobody was petting her. Hylia would opt out of the lineup in favor of supervising the investigation and advising the detectives.

Please give us the names and short descriptions of your cats.

Hylia is a slim, delicate 4-year-old long-haired tortico with preaxial polydactyl “mitten paws,” peridot-green eyes, and a gaze as deep and wise as the universe is vast.

Mickey is a 2.5-year-old broad, muscular, Rubenesque ginger cat with white paws. She’s pretty sure she’s the snuggliest cat ever. She will never stop being a kitten, and she has formed a squad with the puppy (who is actually 4) and the human-kitten (who is 8) for mischief and cuddle-piles.

Visit Elise’s website to find out what they are working on now.

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