Gina Lewis-Lee
Brady, resident cat at MacIntosh Books and Paper, Sanibel Island, Florida, likes to get in the middle of things. Here’s Brady on a rainy day, doing what he does best— demanding (and getting) attention. He’s pretty sure everyone’s job is to pet him.
Go to MacIntosh Books + Paper
See more of Brady at MacIntosh Books on Facebook
Spike rules Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Missouri. He terrorizes dog visitors (but runs from small children), and he’s been known to upstage an author in the middle of a reading.
And Spike is an accomplished cat. He’s been featured on Fox 2 News in St. Louis. He makes a cameo appearance in at least two books. He was voted Bookstore Cat of the Year at 2012’s Book Expo America. And that’s him front and center in the store’s logo. All this attention would suggest he’s a charmer.
Find Spike on Left Bank’s Facebook page
Adams Avenue Book Store in San Diego, CA is home to felines Bartleby and Felixia. Here’s Bartleby, a cat who will wear the occasional costume, if properly rewarded. Bartleby has his own Facebook page, like some bookstore pets we know. But this cat goes one better with his own sidelines. Bartleby magnets and Christmas cards, anyone?
Beloved feline Franny resides at Skylight Books in Los Angeles, CA. Here she is surrounded by images from classic films, starring herself. She’s just the sort of bookstore cat that would have her own Instagram account.
Meet Jennie, store cat at Snow Goose Bookstore in Stanwood, Washington. Jennie slipped through the front door one day last year and was invited to “try out for the role of bookstore cat.” After a one-month probationary period, Jennie agreed to stay. Snow Goose staff reports, “We named her Jennie after the very wise and brave tabby in Paul Gallico’s novel ‘The Abandoned.’ She’ll be learning how to run the computers very soon (already very familiar with lying atop keyboards)…”
For some more pics of Jennie, see Snow Goose’s Facebook page…
Visit Snow Goose Bookstore…
Community Bookstore is one of Brooklyn’s oldest indie bookstores. And Tiny is their beloved bookstore cat. Folks at Community have no doubt that “our entire marketing budget goes to cat food.”
For a fun treat, take a scroll down Community’s facebook page to their 6/27/14 post—the store turtle “made a run for it.”
Community Bookstore’s Facebook page
Visit Community Bookstore’s website to see some wonderful animation
Otis joined the staff of Loganberry Books in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 2008– to be adored by customers and staff ever since.
Playful Otis will race his co-worker to the counter where they’ll tag each other at the finish line. And if there’s a ladder in the store, Otis can often be found at the top of it.
Find Otis front-and-center on Loganberry’s Facebook page
Visit Loganberry Books for more about Loganberry’s cats
This is Ash, resident cat at The Escapist Comic Bookstore in Berkeley, California. Ash grew up at Comic Relief, another Berkeley institution, and moved to The Escapist when Comic Relief closed in 2011. Ash likes to curl up on visitors’ laps, and she loves kids. And when she’s had enough, Ash retreats upstairs for a nap.
Parit, bookstore cat at Pegasus Books Downtown in Berkeley, CA, has the catbird seat this New Year’s Eve, helping prepare for the store’s large-scale calendar sale beginning New Year’s Day.
Parit often appears on Pegasus Books Downtown’s Facebook page
Aardvark Books in San Francisco, CA, has a much-adored bookstore cat named Owen. “When a customer sits reading on the floor he’ll frequently curl up on their lap,” says Aardvark’s David Lugn. Owen has also been known to “jump onto customers’ shoulders when they are at the counter, having (the scream would suggest) no idea of what happened!”
Customers have even created a Flickr account, inviting fellow photographers “who love taking pictures of beautiful Owen.”
Exceptional photos of Owen the Aardvark Bookstore Cat! on Flickr
Find Owen on Aardvark’s Facebook page
More pictures of Owen on Aardvark’s Yelp page
