Cat Women

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Since there are rumblings against cat women on the other side of the Atlantic, I thought this was a good time to publish this fine collection of portraits of females and their felines assembled by Alice Maddicott  author of CAT WOMEN : An Exploration of Feline Friendships and Lingering Superstitions.

“I became a cat woman the moment I was hit with a thud of love that I’d never realised a creature could produce,” Alice admitted to me. “I never thought I’d become a cat lady but, as I think of it now, the strangest thing is that it is something you can become.”

“It is easy to miss the second cat, he disappears into the white of her floral dress, next to the tabby stripes of his friend.”

“Girl and cat are all the life of this photograph – her happiness so bright.”

“A mother sits, her daughter stands, made one by the curve of her arms. The cat has been grabbed to make a triptych – their little family – a tumble of curves.”

“Look at me and Mary, he says, we are one and you can never tear us apart.”

“Rosalind lifts Marmalade out of the pram – her precious patient.”

“There are some pains only cats can make better.”

“The invisible ribbons that bind her and Sadie are stronger than any threat. She will not leave her.”

“He’s wrapped in arms, she frames him, a tender representation of perfect teenage dreaminess, when the world was vast and full and for the taking.”

“The kitten she holds is Gretel, her brother Hansel is elsewhere, a black blur battling the wire fence.”

“This is not their first Christmas together and each year they pose together by the sparkling tree.”

“On her dress near her shoulder, that could be a tear from naughty claws and teeth.”

“She is smiling but it is the love for her cat that stands out. She cuddles him properly.”

“He’s going doolally, blissed out as she holds him so protectively.”

“Cradling the loose end of a washing line, she rests. A well-earned sit on the steps and a bowl of food for the cat.”

“Her neatly parted hair, clips in place, hides her true wildness, how much she and Moppet share and the joy of freedom waiting for them.”

“She doesn’t look mean, more frustrated and worn out, the feeling any parent of toddlers would understand.”

“This cat is somewhat grander and gazes more at ease than her owner, who is strangely still, arms obscured, buckled feet neatly turned out.”

“Her garden is beautiful and full of sun. Her cat is white and all candyfloss despite the strange grip she has on her.”

“She could have forgotten the strength of the bond she had with her cat then suddenly be flooded with the memory, months or years later.

Photographs and text copyright © Alice Maddicott

Click here to order a copy of CAT WOMEN : An Exploration of Feline Friendships and Lingering Superstitions by Alice Maddicott from the publisher, September Books

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