It's a cat, cat, cat, cat world!

You have to admire cats. They saw an opportunity for free food and massages and they grabbed it, mousing their way into the hearts of humans the world over.

Of course, I have rarely seen a cat chase or capture a mouse (though the few occasions I have have been memorable). Indeed, it seems most cats I've encountered spend the better part of their day napping... often on my desk... while I am trying to work. (As I type this, my black cat, Felix, is passed out on my desk, his head and shoulders on top of my work notes and his hind legs and paws resting atop the keyboard on my laptop.)

But cats' preference to nap rather than work has not stopped us humans from adopting cats as mousers or ratters, or in the hopes of scaring away birds. Indeed, in my travels around the world, I am constantly surprised (and delighted) by the presence of one or more cats, ostensibly "hired" by the hotel, farm, or shop to keep away pests (of the four-legged or winged variety).

As you can see, these "working" cats have a very hard life...being unbearably cute...

 [How do you like the ferocious new barn kitten hired by Amber Waves Farm? I'm sure all that purring and cuddling will terrify the local mouse and bird population.]

sunbathing...

 [This is Victoria, who lives at the Villa Victoria Hotel in Nice. She was hired to keep the birds away from guests dining or relaxing in the garden. Clearly, it is exhausting work. Also, she wishes the manager would hire someone to keep guests away from her.]

guarding things... like their food bowls...

 [This is Trixie, the resident cat at the Ocean House in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys. Don't even think about touching her food.]

napping...

 [Above and below is Fats Waller, one of the 45 or so six-toed cats at the Hemingway House in Key West. According to our guide, Joe, Fats's napping prowess is only exceeded by his appetite. Also, I'm pretty sure rolling over counts as exercise.]

 looking cute and begging for food...

 [We named this kitten "Big Mouth." If you met him, you would understand why. Big Mouth could be the poster cat for how to wrangle food out of humans. The hotel where he (and many other previously stray or abandoned cats) resides, the Grand Case Beach Club in St. Martin, feeds him plenty. But you would never guess by his plaintive meows. Indeed, walk down any hallway at the hotel and you will see at least one food bowl placed just outside a door, specifically to nourish Big Mouth, who, in return, will allow you to pet him or even pick him up and cuddle him. Maybe we should have called him "Genius" instead.]

Cats are also very adept at minding the store (or hotel)... though they have a habit of sleeping on the job...

 [Above, one of the many cats at the Grand Case Beach Club, perched on top of the Activities desk, where petting and feeding the cats is one of the most popular activities.]

 [The tabby above is one of several feline denizens of the guavaberry rum stand on St. Martin. You would think they were selling catnip, though, by the look on his face.]

 [And finally, this is Minnie, who despite her look of intense disapproval, I recall as being somewhat affectionate, or at least tolerant of meddling humans. She is, or was, the mouser in residence at the Colonnade Hotel in London. Though I suspect she would only attack a mouse if it tried to steal her spot on that chair.]