Our Spoiled Cat Rules From His Throne

March Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Pet People”

The cat: a dilettante in fur.

This is a slightly revised quote from 19th century writer, painter, and poet Théophile Gautier.

His wide travels brought him in contact with influential people in world of the visual and literary arts. He was a fixture in French high society and in 1862 was elected as chairman of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

Gautier was far from being a dilettante — as he was successful in his crafts, and not merely a dabbler.

Our cat Willie Morris was another story. He shared the name with the famous southern writer and author of such books as My Dog Skip and my favorite, My Cat Spit McGee. My Dog Skip was made into a satisfying tear-jerker film.

P.S. Cat Lovers: Willie Morris’s book My Cat Spit McGee is an absolute must-read. It’s a slim volume packed with lush prose on how Morris was transformed from a cat-hater into a cat-lover. You will read this book in one sitting.

Our Willie Morris was indeed a dilettante. He was an amateur mouser. He pretended to have knowledge of squirrels, and he never engaged in any activity with serious intentions.

He did excel in pretentiousness and imagined everyone around him existed to serve and cater to his every desire. Which, of course, being the subservient humans we are, we usually did.

Dear Willie Morris left us for more elegant living in January of 2012. We imagine he might be sitting on the lap of the other Willie Morris, who also gave us so much pleasure through his writing.

May both continue to rest in peace.

If you love fun, true cat and dog stories — and others on a full range of interesting, sometimes quirky but hopefully entertaining topics, please follow me on Medium at https://medium.com/@deborah.camp