It's Not a Zoo Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elizabeth Peters

Generally referred to as "the cat Bastet", this female feline appeared in several books in Peters's "Amelia Peabody" mystery series, largely set in Egypt between the late 1880s and the 1920s. Amelia and her husband Radcliffe Emerson were archaeologists who spent a great deal of time in Egypt, and their son Walter came to be known as Ramses. He was a precocious child who early on became integral to the doings of his parents and the cat Bastet, who lived to a goodly age, became his closest companion. She also became mother to a number of other cats who featured in some of the books, as did the feline father, Anubis.

Elizabeth Peters was a pen name of American author Barbara Mertz (1927-2013), who besides the 20 books in the "Peabody" series, wrote a 7-book series about a character named Vicky Bliss. She also wrote under her birth name and as Barbara Michaels.

Answer: Truman Capote

In "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Holly Golightly was presented by Capote as an "American geisha", who made her way in the world by dating wealthy men who would buy things for her. Cat was a stray that she brought home, who she insisted had no emotional hold upon her, though this was probably less than true. Nevertheless, Holly refused to name the beast. The 1960 film version, in which Cat was portrayed by Orangey, invented a romance that did not exist in the novella, which was in part based on Capote's own experiences in New York as a young man.

New Orleans-born Capote (1924-1984) also wrote "In Cold Blood", "Other Voices, Other Rooms" and many other works.

Answer: Lewis Carroll

Alice's pet cat Dinah appeared as a minor character in both "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass". She was described by Alice as being very good at hunting. The very strange cat met by Alice was, of course, the disappearing (but for the grin) Cheshire Cat.

Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Englishman Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), who as well as the stories already named wrote poetry and other fiction for children. He was also skilled at photography and mathematics, and was an Anglican clergyman.

Answer: T. S. Eliot

Eliot's poem "Macavity the Mystery Cat" appeared in "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" and described the feline as a master criminal who was conveniently "not there" whenever the police appeared at the scene of a crime. It is generally regarded that Macavity bears a resemblance to Sherlock Holmes's nemesis Moriarty.

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) was American-born, but moved to England when he was in his twenties, and became a British subject after having lived there for several years. His other works included "The Waste Land" and "The Hollow Men" and the play "Murder in the Cathedral".

Answer: Rita Mae Brown

Mrs Murphy has appeared in a whole series of mystery novels, set in Virginia and known as the "Mrs Murphy Series" in which she has helped Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen to solve each mystery. Other member of the crime-solving team have included Pewter (another cat) and Tee Tucker (a corgi). Oh, yes, Rita Mae Brown's co-author was also a cat, named Sneaky Pie Brown.

Rita Mae Brown was born in Pennsylvania in 1944 and, besides the "Mrs Murphy" series, has written numerous other novels, many of them also mysteries as well as poetry and non-fiction. She moved to Virginia in 1980. Sneaky Pie Brown has NOT listed a birth date on her Facebook page.

Answer: E. B. White

In "Stuart Little" (the book, not the movies), a child the size and appearance of a mouse was born into the Little family. Snowbell the cat was not amused that chasing the child, Stuart, was frowned upon. To make matters worse, the family helped a wounded bird which was also off limits! Snowbell tried to do something about the bird, but wasn't successful. In the movie series, Stuart became an adopted member of the family.

Elwyn Brooks White (1899-1985) was born in New York state and educated at Cornell University. His other classic children's book was "Charlotte's Web".

Answer: Sheila Burnford

The three travellers of Sheila Burnford's book "The Incredible Journey" were a Siamese cat named Tao, a Labrador retriever named Luath and a bull terrier known as Bodger. The story was set in the wilds of northwestern Ontario, Canada, through which the animals trekked looking for their humans, who had gone to England for a brief stay, leaving the three friends with a human friend. When he also went away, for a weekend, the animals took off on their journey, helping each other to survive.

The 1963 Disney movie retained the original names of the animals, and the Canadian location. The 1993 version changed the names and moved them all to California.

Sheila Burnford (1918-1984) was born in Scotland and moved to Canada in 1951, settling in northern Ontario. Thanks to the movies, "The Incredible Journey" became her best known work, but others included "One Woman's Arctic" and "Bel Ria: Dog of War".

Answer: Paul Gallico

Set in Scotland, "Thomasina, the Cat Who Thought She Was God", to give the full title, was about a ginger cat (Thomasina) whose little girl (Mary) expected that her father, a veterinary surgeon, (Andrew MacDhui) would make the sick cat well. Instead he chose to put her to sleep, which Mary considered murder. Thomasina, however, was not dead but in a deep sleep and was rescued from the grave by Lori, who was known as a witch. Memory loss kept Thomasina and Mary apart for some time, but eventually they were reunited. The 1963 Disney movie "The Three Lives of Thomasina" was based on this book.

Paul Gallico (1897-1976) was born in New York City, and was a sports writer as well as a novelist and short story author. His works included "The Poseidon Adventure", "The Hurricane Story", several books about a character named Mrs Harris (or 'Arris) and "The Snow Goose".

Answer: Lilian Jackson Braun

The main cat of "The Cat Who..." series of mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun has always been, of course, Kao K'o Kung, a.k.a. Koko, who helped Jim Qwilleran solve many, many crimes over the course of several books, using his uncanny sixth sense. His female companion, Yum Yum, was introduced in the second book of the series, "The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern". Like Koko, she's a Siamese cat, smaller than her companion and lacking his crime-solving skills. Her main function has been to be a companion and the provision of moral support.

Lilian Jackson Braun (1913-2011) was born in Massachusetts, but lived for years in a small town in Michigan which is thought to be the inspiration for the setting of many of her "Cat Who" novels. The 30th novel in the series remained unpublished at the time of her death, though she also wrote three short story collections on a similar theme.

Answer: Fred Gipson

"Old Yeller" was about the eponymous mongrel dog, described as a "yellow cur" who moved in with the Coates family (mother and two sons) whilst the father was away on a cattle drive. Elder son Travis was less enthusiastic about the addition to the family than his brother, Arliss, at least at first. Old Yeller proved himself many times over, saving members of the family from a number of dangerous situations, and eventually putting his own life at risk. On a human level, this was a coming of age tale about Travis. The Disney movie was every bit as sad as the book (a good thing).

Fred Gipson (1908-1973) was born in Texas, where "Old Yeller" was set. He followed that novel with "Savage Sam", about a pup fathered by Old Yeller and "Little Arliss", about the younger Coates son.