Cats (and their Dykes): An Anthology

by Irene Reti (Editor), Shoney Sien (Editor)

What is the connection between lesbians and cats? Short stories, essays, poems, photographs, drawings and cartoons take an honest and fascinating look at the role of cats in lesbian culture.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Poetry, Feminism, Cats

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Irene Reti is a writer and publisher. She is the author/editor of several books with lesbian, feminist, and Jewish themes. From 1984-2000, she ran the lesbian feminist press HerBooks. After the close of HerBooks, Reti continued the press in the form of Juniper Lake Press, a publisher with a feminist, Jewish, and environmental focus.

She directs the oral history program at the university library of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Reti holds a BA in environmental studies and an MA in history from UC Santa Cruz.

Reviews

[shrav · Rating 4 out of 5]

“a woman and a woman are one
a woman and a woman and a cat are one”

i cried multiple times reading this which was unexpected this one’s really for the cat loving lesbians :’)

[Celia T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lesbians in the 90s had Some Takes (no, keeping domestic cats is not analogous to being the abuser in an unhealthy relationship; no, the domestication of cats is also not analogous to colonialism, shut up). However I read this book the evening before moving away from my cat for four months and I did cry :/

[l · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And yet, despite patriarchy, the power of cats persists.”


It's ridiculous but also lovely. Read a run down of the important cat discourse in this collection here:

http://galesofnovember.tumblr.com/pos...

[andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

No other book has made me SOB the way Cats (and their Dykes) did. I found myself crying while hugging my cats and feeling extremely grateful for their existence. This anthology reminded me of the beauty found in the connection between cats and women <3

[Saph]

Some important cat discourse, lovely poetry, and dedications that would make anyone who has loved a cat feel something deep inside.

[Cielo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ayyyy que precioso libroooo. Si pudiera le daria más de 5 estrellas.
Es una antología de poemas, historias, fotografías y ensayos sobre LESBIANAS y GATOS.
Mis dos cosas favoritas en la vida.
Me hizo llorar tanto, no porque sea triste, que lo es a veces porque no puedes evitar pedirle a las lesbianas que escriban sobre sus gatos sin que te mencionen a sus gatos que ya no están :(
pero también es hermoso!!!! hay un par de historias ficticias que me encantaron, dios, lo necesito en físico para leerlo mientras abrazo a Adora porque este libro me hizo extrañarla un montón (lo leí en el trabajo jaja)

TE AMO ADORA, amo a los gatos:(
AAAAAAAAAAAAA.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even having read the summary and back of the book, this still somehow wasn't quite what I expected going into it. It's heavier on cat discourse than I expected.

It does feel very 90s and timeless at the same time (cats are always cats no matter which decade and we love them for that). I wavered between 3 and 4 stars but there's enough endearing stories and illustrations that it got a bump up to 4.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

can’t believe this exists tbh. such an easy read, some unexpected discourse and interesting cat facts. read this with my cats. they approved.

[kazilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I did not want a pet; she was not looking / for a hand-out or a master–/ but you cannot fall off the earth / and you cannot fall out of love.” - Lessons in Love, Amy Edgington

Favorite Poems:
“if I could take you back/to the country/to die/I would/a dark closet/is not/a pile of leaves” - Susan Dambroff

- Mourning A Cat Lady (Virginia E. Smith) [This one actually made me tear up at 2 AM…]
- How Purrs Came to Be (Pamela Gray) [The imagery in this one was so, so wonderful. I love Bastet!!]
- Lessons in Love (Amy Edgington)
- a dark closet is not a pile of leaves (Susan Dambroff)
- C A T S (Janet Harrison)

Favorite Photography(Art):
- (Photo by Cathy Cade, 1982)
- Ours (Cathy Cade)
- Self-Portrait with Lousie (Beth Karbe, 1990)
- New York City Cat and Susan (Beth Karbe, 1983)

Favorite Fiction:
- Catnap (Terri de la Peña) [I love Spanglish!]

Favorite Nonfiction:
“Slowly I began to see that my cats were neither obedient nor disobedient according to the categories I set up for each of these…and they were not prone in any way to internalize systems or designs outside themselves…They were very radical, if by radical one means acting in accord with the root of being.” - Obedience to Being, Mab Maher

Favorite Personal Essays:
- Remembering AH-OOOOO-GA (Jodi)
- Obedience to Being (Mab Maher)
- Big Kitty (Julia Tóth)

Favorite Expository Essays/General Nonfiction:
- Toward a Feminist History of the Cat (Irene Reti)
- Cats, Environmental Illness, and a Feminist Bookstore (Raven)
- Love or Dominance? (Eileen Anderson)

Of course some of the takes were very, very questionable (as are takes from the 1990s). The abandoned pet cat in Amazonia (Ruth Mountaingrove) & domestication of cats being comparable to slavery, colonialism, and/or imperialism in ‘A More Subtle Bondage’ (Zana) and ‘Love or Dominance?’ are certainly choices!

I thought ‘Love or Dominance?’ was very interesting, however. I was very intrigued by the discussion of how access to something directly determines the leverage/power one possesses over it. I also like how Anderson extended this concept beyond humans' access to cats, but also used it to analyze cats' ability to access and hunt native species. I might be a bit biased though because I already believed permitting non-barn cats/cats kept solely for the purpose of being pets to have complete access to wildlife and native species is absurd; all cats should either be (primarily) indoor cats and ‘outdoor’ cats should have belled collars. Overall, I really enjoyed the wide variety of opinions and discourse included.

4.75

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me incomodaron en mi pensamiento y eso es algo que me encanta, porque significa que me hicieron pensar, replantear mi relación con los gatos (como mujer y lesbiana), y recordar mi propia experiencia hablando con los gatos desde los 2 años, insistiendo en que se comunicaban, aprendiendo de límites con ellos, de arte con ellos, del duelo y la compasión.

childless cat lesbian

[theperksofbeingmarissa ;) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow...Just Wow. I absolutely loved this! I cried, I laughed, and I smiled.

I disagreed with some takes, especially one that compared pet ownership to slavery. However, some stories made me think about pet ownership and the control that comes with it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpected read, I came upon it while searching for more lesbian stories and I’m very happy I did. It was very enjoyable and even had me close to tears a few times, I have to go hug my cats now!

[kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

don’t read this if you recently had two childhood cats die in the span of 6 months. i cried. i love cats and i love being a lesbian.

[bibi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"lesbians love cats, we do love our cats"

I consider this a mandatory reading for every lesbian who has or loves cats, as it is always said that lesbians and cats have a deep connection to each other in a way that straight people can't understand.
As a lesbian, who also happens to be a cat lover, I felt related to each of the stories, poems and essays written here, and I even cried with some of them!

[Rameen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed opinions about this. Most of the cat discourse was... questionable?? It left me a little confused, to say the least. However, a lot of the pieces included in here were so sweet and endearing. Some of them even brought me to tears :(

I have a hard time forming a solid opinion about this, so I'll give it three stars, something right in the middle!

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

always fun to read older queer zines and remember that people have always had batshit wild opinions and it isnt a new phenomenon created by the internet

in other words, no, owning a cat does not have you the same as a slaveholder

[jarriet · Rating 4 out of 5]

местами сомнительные тейки но overall хорошая книжка на вечер стихи фотографии даже эссе с сомнительными тейками все это очень ценно <3 ( письмо-жалоба в книжный где жил кот от покупательницы с аллергией и их ответ ей мои фавы в этой разношерстной подборке )

[abby ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

“a woman and a woman are one. a woman and a woman and a cat are one.”

[Sarah Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book about two of my favorite things

[aerialimp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book warmed my heart more than I could imagine. I wish it were in print, plastered across every dyke bookshelf. Thank you.

[mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[kat]

mostly delightful and sometimes annoying but always very special

[Agne · Rating 4 out of 5]

perhaps there is no purer love than that between a cat and a dyke… one day…

[catalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unos que odié, muchos otros que amé.
Una carta de amor hacia los gatos. Una carta de amor lesbiana hacia los gatos.

Lloré mucho. Los amo mucho gatitos

[Esmée · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's an interesting approach to connect the lesbian experience and cats, in both symbolism and real life. It also gives some good viewpoints on keeping pets and the way we keep them (really made me think about how i take care of my cat and also made me realise why he doesn't really like men (but can i blame him?)). It's wholesome, it's cute, it's relatable and i'll always be a crazy lesbian cat lady.