Although Shelf Awareness has highlighted the charms, professionalism, and reading tastes of bookseller cats for decades, one of the lesser-known, negative bookish habits of the feline species has been gaining more attention of late: book-banning.
 |
|
| Molly has some thoughts on what you're reading. | |
Recent studies have shown that cats generally interact with books in two primary ways, chewing the pages or sitting on the laps of owners trying to read, blocking their view. About half of the cat owners taking part in the survey said their pets were inclined to exhibit both misbehaviors.
One respondent said they have two cats in their house, Molly and Maisie, noting: "While Maisie is a lap book banner by nature, Molly's a multitasker. There are a lot of books in our house, and if a stray one is left in a vulnerable position (open with pages flapping), Molly is likely to gnaw it into submission. But either of them will jump into my lap the moment I start reading and block my view of the pages."
In a related 2024 article headlined "The (not so cute) reason your cat loves sitting on your laptop," animal psychology expert Dr. David Sands told BBC Science Focus magazine: "It's more probable your cat wants to deposit its own scent and supplant yours. It's all about ownership--by doing this your cat is effectively saying 'I own you!'.... Remember: cats are evil geniuses--they're in that swiveling chair in the James Bond films for a reason."