Who Are the Cat Writers’ Association: Kathy M. Finley

By 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 Kathy M. Finley.

Part 1

About My Craft:

I retired several years ago from the nonprofit sector and decided to pursue a lifelong dream of helping animals – particularly cats. Since writing was part of my job when I worked, I thought through the “power of the pen” I could advocate for animal rescue by showing that when we rescue animals, they, in turn, rescue us. 

My book entitled My One-Eyed, Three-Legged Therapist: How My Cat Clio Saved Me (about one cat who did that for me) was published in October 2023 by Purdue University Press as part of their Human-Animal Bond Series. It is the story of how a spunky cat who I received for my fortieth birthday changed the way I viewed myself and the way I viewed the world. Clio lived life to the fullest despite being the runt of the litter, having a heart murmur, and surviving cancer twice, which left her with one eye and three legs. She helped me restore my self-esteem after an abusive marriage and helped me face life’s many challenges.

I’ve written several blog posts about her and other cats who have graced my life (on sites like Lola the Rescued Cat, Elderly Pet Blog, Cat Care Solutions, and cats.com) and write for my own blog, Cat Scratches & Scribbles (but lately have been remiss about that). 

I’m working on a book about lessons we learn from our pets. It’s tentatively called Pet Teachers. I’m also working on a humorous book about my tech-savvy cat Benny, who recently passed away. Benny was my inspiration for both of these books, so I’ve struggled a bit to get back into them since his passing.

How cats inspire my creativity:

Cats definitely inspire creativity, though I’m not sure how. It may be their antics or their approach to various situations. It may be their unconditional love that helps us believe in ourselves and lets our creativity flow. 

I know Clio’s antics, combined with her resilience, were an inspiration for me. I felt I needed to tell her story. And Benny’s antics inspired me to develop a Facebook page and post his thoughts. I truly miss doing that for him, since he had a small but loyal following.

What I Enjoy About Belonging to CWA:

I joined CWA in 2020 (during the pandemic). I was working on my book about Clio and was delighted to find there was an association of cat writers. For years, I worked in association management running all types (professional, trade, and academic) and realized that no matter what someone did for a living, supported as a cause, or enjoyed as a hobby, there was an association of like-minded people to support them. 

I am now on the CWA Council and stepped into the secretary position. CWA provides many incredible benefits for its members (and I’m not just saying that because I’m on the board, but because I ran associations where their dues were much higher and the benefits much less). However, I think the biggest benefit of CWA membership is meeting other like-minded people and networking. I just hope that one day, I’ll be able to meet many of our members in person.

Part 2

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

Kathy: When someone says he or she doesn’t like cats, it’s immediately a non-starter for me. I have friends who are allergic to cats or tend to be more dog people but still like cats, so I can deal with that. However, to me, not liking cats is an immediate turn-off. 

In fact, I am not friends with anyone who doesn’t like cats or is a cat hater. To me, friends have shared values, and if a person doesn’t like cats, then I feel we have no shared values. Maybe that’s not fair, but that’s the way I feel. I just can’t understand not liking cats.

Mollie: Have you ever seen a ghost cat?

Kathy: I have not actually seen a “ghost cat” but have been in the presence of one. As I noted, my sweet Benny passed away in January. He had a larger-than-life-personality. When he died, I was devastated. Benny was always doing something that made me smile and laugh. In the mornings when I was getting ready in the bathroom, he would jump up on the sink and want water (or at least pretend he wanted water). As I got him water out of one of the sinks, he would walk to the other sink and grab my makeup brush, jump down, and run through the house with it. 

A few days after he died, I was by the sink with the medicine cabinet open. I hadn’t taken anything out yet, but all of a sudden, my makeup brush flew out of the cabinet. I felt like it was Benny’s ghost on the sink.

Benny also had a habit of chewing greeting cards, and at one point, I bought some sturdy colored paper and let him chew away. Friends thought his “chewings” were cute, so I decided to frame a few of them as his artwork. We had them hanging in our previous home but then moved to our condominium. I put them away for safekeeping, and they didn’t get hung on the wall (which I’m sure Benny was not too happy about). 

Right after he died, I started thinking about his artwork and wondered what happened to it. I asked my husband if he remembered where I put Benny’s artwork. My husband said, “Strange you ask about that today. Just this morning I was in the spare bedroom looking for a book, and I heard this crash in the closet. When I opened the closet, a box had fallen off the shelf and all the contents spilled on the ground. One of the items was Benny’s framed artwork. So, yes, I know exactly where it is!” 

I think in both cases, Benny was sending us a message and, as always, put a smile on our faces with his antics.

I’ve had other “encounters” with Clio and Dickens (my two previous cats), but you can read about those in my book (I don’t want to give everything away 😊).

Mollie: What’s the craziest thing your cat has ever done?

Kathy: All cats do crazy things, but Clio seemed to excel in that department. One day, I was cleaning the kitchen and using strong cleaners. Clio always had a knack for getting into things she shouldn’t. I was afraid she would lick the surfaces, so I found a small ball of yarn that she loved to play with. She chased it all over the house, and I was glad I distracted her. However, after about 45 minutes, I realized I hadn’t heard or seen her for a while.

I looked for her and found her in the bedroom tied to the bedpost. She literally wrapped the yarn around herself and tied herself to the bedpost. She couldn’t free herself. I think she was too embarrassed to meow and “ask for help.” It took a while to extricate her.

*Note from the CWA: There are many dangers associated with yarn and cats, so we advise to never let your cat play with yarn. 

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

Presently, I have one cat (Trixie), but early this year, I had three cats. I lost Jackson in June and lost Benny in January. Before I lost Benny and Jackson, we called our three cats “The Three Cat-kateers.” The dynamic among them was interesting since they each had such unique personalities. I still feel Benny and Jackson are with me (albeit in spirit only). Here’s a bit about each of them:

Trixie is a calico and part Munchkin (she has very short back legs, and they are bowed). I call Trixie my “boomerang” cat because she was offered to me while my cat Clio was suffering from kidney failure, and I couldn’t adopt her because I felt it would not be good for Clio. I found a friend who had lost one of her three cats, and she agreed to adopt her. That was Trixie’s third home. She was previously in a shelter as a kitten and then was adopted by an elderly lady who had to go into a nursing facility and couldn’t take her. 

My friend had her for about three years, and then she had to go into assisted living. I tried to find a home for her and fostered her. However, I’m a “foster failure,” and I adopted Trixie. Trixie is adorably cute and believes that she is the “queen of the universe.” She is quite a talker. She was called Trixie because she stands up on her hind legs and begs with her front paws (which is the one trick that always has gotten her adopted). We are not sure why she does it. She’s not begging for food because sometimes I’ll find her in the middle of the room doing her “begging trick” all by herself.

Benny passed away in January from congestive heart failure, but his spirit is still with us. He was the “ringleader” of the Cat-kateers. He was a black and white stray, and we adopted him from PetSmart just before they were ready to send him back to the shelter because no one wanted to adopt an older cat (he was only three). Anyway, he was such a delight to be around,was a larger-than-life purr-sonality, and always kept us laughing. He would always “steal my seat” when I’d get up from the couch and would actually steal my make-up brush as well as other items like pens and pencils from my desk. He immediately became best friends with Jackson and until last year, the two of them would chase each other endlessly around the house. 

Despite his fun-loving, live-life-to-the-fullest attitude, he was one of the most loving cats I ever had and was always loyal. Sometimes he acted more like a dog because, not only was he built like a bulldog, but he would greet us when we came home and would run and fetch toys. My sister-in-law always called him the perfect cat-dog.

Jackson was a gray shorthair and passed away in June from chronic kidney failure. He was found in a field by a friend of mine after my cat of 16 years (Clio) passed away. He immediately adopted my husband. He was the sweetest, most laid-back cat I’ve ever seen. He constantly purred and loved all animals (including wild animals that he saw through the window). Jackson never quite mastered being a cat, and never got the hang of kneading (he tried to do it with all four paws standing up). 

He became best friends with Benny, and they were inseparable. Every woman who met Jackson fell in love with him. In fact, he had so many “girlfriends” we lost count. But who could blame them? When Jackson sat on the table with me for breakfast (and yes, my cats sit on the table), he put a paw on my arm, stuck out his tongue a little, cocked his head, and looked at me longingly with his beautiful green eyes. 

I miss both of them so much but know that Jackson is now with his beloved companion Benny, and they are probably having fun on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

You can find Kathy on her website.

---