I’ve always loved cats, having grown up with a number of feline pets (as well as a couple of dogs). But it’s always cats I’ve felt an affinity with – independent, affectionate when they choose, and they love their sleep!
My current moggy is a petite little black and white girl called Frida – named by my daughter after Frida Kahlo. Like the artist often painted in her self-portraits, my cat sports a little black moustache on her otherwise white nose. And Hitler didn’t seem like a good choice.
Frida is fiercely loyal and follows me around the house, but she’s also annoyingly aloof. Go to pick her up for a cuddle and she shoots up the stairs. But it’s almost guaranteed that just as I’m about to get up off the sofa, she’ll jump on my lap for some fuss.
She epitomises the term ‘scaredy cat’, running away if a bird lands anywhere near her or she hears a loud noise, yet, most oddly, she growls like a dog if the doorbell rings or someone walks past the house. Does anyone else have a ‘guard cat’? I almost expect her to let out a bark when she does it!
Like most cats, she’ll do ‘anything for Dreamies’, a tasty little snack, and she goes crazy for catnip toys. She loves chowing down on my houseplants, too – so much so that I have to keep them all out of her reach – and she adores being groomed in the sunshine. Oh, and it’s true of many cats that they don’t like a closed door – but this is no problem for Frida. She’s learnt to open them herself by jumping up and pulling down on the handle before somehow swinging the door back. Now… if only I could train her to make me a cup of tea.
Frida is always there at the front door to greet me when I come home, and she likes to sit on a chair beside me when I write. Though her favourite place to be while I’m working is on my shoulder – she climbs up there herself and it’s a tricky balancing act when I’m in full flow. But I like to think of her as my muse as she seems like a wise little soul. Just knowing she’s there is somehow calming and yes, I admit to thrashing out plot lines with her, though her response is always the same – a deep purr.
It’s hard to believe she’s eight now – older than me when converted to human years. I remember the day my daughter and I went to choose her from the litter. A friend’s cat had had kittens – who coincidentally lived opposite the house in the village where I grew up. Frida stood out to us as ‘the one’ for a couple of reasons – she was the smallest of the kittens, and we liked the way she stuck by her mum the whole time, following her about while the others were off playing. She looked like she needed a friend.
And that’s what she’s been to me and my (now adult) children over the years – a sweet-natured little friend. She never ventures far from the house, preferring to sit on the back of a chair and stare out of the window watching the world go by – growling and snoozing – drifting off to the sound of me typing out my next novel, perhaps dreaming of when she gets to be in a book. So, if you ever come across a little black and white cat with a deep growl and maybe a bark in one of my psychological thrillers, you’ll know who it’s based on!
Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.
When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.
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