Pardon us for a quick aside.

We’ve had the honor of setting up a little “pop-up” bookstore here at Shakespeare and Company the last week or so, and we’ve frequently experienced bizarre feelings ofactually being at the Henry Miller Library. The similarities are, well, eerie.

For starter, Shakespeare and Company is cozy and replete with history. They have live music, talks, and their clientele is savvy and international.

But the most compelling similarity is Kitty.

Now, we all know, the main reason people come to the HML is Theo the cat.  And who can blame them? All of us who work there know the drill: every day unsuspecting people walk in, see Theo splayed in the sun, and lose their minds. The oohing, the ahhhing, the photos, the gibberish – it’s predictable as it is adorable:

And the same thing plays out every day here at Shakespeare and Company, thanks to Kitty, their in-house cat!

Here he is (from the pages of Vanity Fair no less!)

People go wild for Kitty. This morning I counted at least a dozen photos with him – and he was sleeping on the couch, completely remote and non-plussed!

One last thing. Much like Theo, my personal relationship with Kitty is somewhat, well, complicated.

The other night I woke up at 4 am to a persistent chewing sound. I looked up and there Kitty sat, three feet from me on the bed, starting at me with his penetrating ruby pupils, chewing.

What a guy!