My novel Stray Cats has been out for almost a year, and many people have read and loved it. A question I get asked is, “Are the cat characters real?” Unlike the canines from its predecessor, Lost Dogs, the felines from Stray Cats are all based on actual pets I’ve known.
All of the real-life cats were so complex and interesting, that I could only portray them in broad brushstrokes in the book. If you’re a cat lover, spare me a few moments, and I’ll tell you all about them and how they made the transition to the page.
If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 of this series, where I talked about the main character, Pimmi, the black cat that’s featured on the cover; and Part 2, where I discuss Pharaoh (also known as Mister Muffins) an important feline character. In this part, I’ll finish up this series with some minor characters.
“Rheylenna”/Clawdia & Sophie
In her adventures across the “Ancient World” section of Stray Cats, Pimmi encounters not only Pharaoh, but also “Rheylenna,” a vain and unfriendly calico, who lives aboard a sailing ship.
She stood, flicked her tail once, twice. When you see me coming, she told Pimmi, you turn and go the other way. And you had better see me coming, because if you don’t, you’ll get this!
Rheylenna lashed out a paw, cuffed Pimmi’s face. The black cat tumbled backward, started to fall from the stack of sacks until, flailing, she gripped it with her claws and held on.
Except there’ll be these, Rheylenna warned, extending her own claws. Tail high, she turned, sauntered a few feet, and stepped off, dropping and landing easily on her feet. She looked over her shoulder at Pimmi, feigned a yawn, and stalked off into the darkness of the hold.
Why is she like that? Pimmi asked. I’ve never done anything wrong to her.
Calicos, Pharaoh replied. It’s in their nature to be bad-tempered.
from stray cats
Rheylenna is based on our cats Clawdia (no, that’s not a misspelling) and Sophie. We found Clawdia as a kitten, abandoned at a state park in 2004(?), and took her home, where she lived until 2018. A few months before Clawdia passed away, we adopted Sophie from a rescue shelter where she had spent her whole life. We think she’s about 16 years old. [Update: Sophie passed away in September 2023, after this post was initially published]
Clawdia and Sophie were both regal, dignified, and quiet. They were not overly fond of the other animals in our home (in particular, Sophie and Pimienta are not friendly). Each had one human that they favored: our daughter Elizabeth was Clawdia’s; my wife Joni was Sophie’s. They were so alike in temperament that even years after Clawdia had been gone, we’d accidentally call Sophie by Clawdia’s name.
“Lukha” & “Fhralla”/Loki and Freya
In the summer of 1988, a few months before my wife and I got married and moved into our first home, we adopted two kittens–brother and sister–who been born just a few weeks before to the cat of a friend’s neighbor.
My wife instantly fell in love with the male, a tuxedo cat, and I adored the beautiful, fluffy tortie. I was finishing up college and had studied Norse mythology, so I named them Loki and Freya. And they certainly lived up to their names.
Loki grew to be very smart, and very troublesome, fond of tipping over full water glasses, knocking things off counters (he once broke a very expensive microwave tray), and of terrorizing our dogs with random, unprovoked beatings, sometimes launched while the poor pooch was sleeping.
Freya was sweet and loveable, but not very smart, sometimes getting “lost” inside our two-bedroom, one-level apartment, mewing plaintively until someone “found” her. She had the habit of waking me every morning at about 2:00 by sniffing my ears, tickling me with her whiskers until I got up and fed her.
Freya died in 2000 from kidney failure, and Loki (Joni’s “hunka-hunka”) followed her in 2003 from an abscess. Losing pets is never easy, but it was especially hard with those two, who were the first cats that Joni and I had as a married couple.
To honor them, I put them in Stray Cats as “Lukha” and “Fhralla,” two of Pimmi’s children in a part of the book (“An Untamed World”) set in the Old West of an alternate Earth, from my first novel, Dragontamer’s Daughters.
The cock and his hens came in through the barn doorway. Behind them stalked Roland, a young, slim tom, his striped fur the same color as the rising sun. He had strolled onto the farm early this past spring, before the prairie began to flower, but from where he had come, he never said. Sometimes cats would slink out of the grass and stay for a few days, perhaps even a season, before moving on. Roland, mouthy, insolent, always looking for trouble, showed no signs of going away, despite all the fights he picked—and lost—against Lukha.
There was her son now, ambling from the rear of the barn, a mouse dangling from his jaws. Lukha, sleek black fur on top, white beneath, as were his paws. He was in his prime years, and nigh on twenty pounds, all of it strength. Roland shrank as Lukha went by, giving the orange striped cat a contemptuous glance. He trotted to the stack of hay bales, and easily bounded his way up beside Pimmi, where he dropped the morsel.
Here, Lukha told her. Take it. You haven’t come down in days. How long has it been since you last ate?
She gave no answer. He batted the mouse toward her. Take it!
Don’t make demands of me.
You need to eat.
There’s no reason for that.
Roland hopped up between them, lunged for the mouse. If she won’t—
Lukha cuffed him across his face, toppling him from the stack, Roland yowling and flailing. He bounced off a bale and tumbled, tail over ears, until he got his feet under him and landed on the floor.
You mush-headed grunter! Roland spat at Lukha. He slunk off, glaring, the other barn cats—Fhralla and Duchess—flicking their tails, laughing at him.
You could have let him have it, Pimmi said.
I’d rather give it to the dog.
From Stray cats
“Roland”/Ron
Finally, we come to “Roland,” one of the barn cats in Stray Cats. He’s modeled after our neighbor’s cat Ron (whom I always used to call “Ronald,” for no particular reason). Ron recently passed away at a very ripe old age of 20.
He was one of three cats, all siblings, that our neighbors had (their Kooky was the reincarnation of Freya). Ornery on a good day, Ron would often come over to me, rubbing himself on my legs, meowing to be patted–and as soon as I did, he would hiss and scratch me. A master of the dick move, Ron was one of those cats that make people not like cats.
Ron spent years battling our cat Gandalf (and his predecessor, Champy) for supremacy on our street. Several times a week, either Ron or Gandalf (usually Gandalf) would wander across the narrow road separating our houses to go start some nonsense with the other cat.
As they got old and decrepit (both of them had slow-motion kidney failure), Ron and Gandalf settled into a détente, content to stay in their own driveways and stare sullenly at each other, as if silently urging their rival to drop dead.
Despite not liking each other for most of his time, Ron and I reconciled in his final years. He loved his people very much, often sleeping on my neighbor Andy’s chest. I was sorry that he passed on, and I hope that he doesn’t mind that I included him in Stray Cats.
Kenton Kilgore writes killer sci-fi and fantasy for young adults, and adults who are still young. He also dabbles in children’s books. Follow Kenton on Facebook for frequent posts on sci-fi, fantasy, and other speculative fiction. You can also catch him on Instagram.
I love that you based characters on real cats. Thanks for including pictures. Loved Stray Cats and Lost Dogs.
Did you ever track down Tailchaser’s Song?
No, I never did read that book, but I definitely need to! I’m glad you liked STRAY CATS and LOST DOGS.
Enjoyed reading these cat bios! We once had an orange tabby like your neighbor’s Ron– our Tom, adopted when he showed up unannounced and hungry on our twins’ 7th birthday, was also one of those cats who gives felines a bad name!
He, too, mellowed some with age. He went from whaling on his younger gray adopted brother to lying on the driveway eyeing him skeptically and twitching his tail at him. 😊