There was a cat in the Bunker — probably spying for Cat Central — despite some nutters claiming AH was as hysterical a cat-hater as Bonaparte [ undoubtedly on the same principle as some vegetarians claiming he was not one of them ].
Cats and books… life is unendurable without either.
Go to Ketchum Idaho (Sun Valley) sometime. Everyone takes their dog to work. Wonderful!
My credit union used to have two cats, which livened up the banking experience immeasurably. Occasionally one would lounge in an empty teller station - one time I walked up and attempted to begin a transaction, much to the amusement of the kids nearby.
So then the branch was taken over by a larger credit union network. First thing they did? Got rid of the cats. Finks.
On the other hand, I love cats ,too. Enough that a cat will draw me into a shop which otherwise I might not bother to enter.
So the question is :which is bigger? The demographic of “cat-allergy-people” or the demographic of “squee!-lets-go-in-and-browse” people
and a note to the mods: this board needs a cat-smiley !!!
I have a cat allergy so much I was not able to bring a stray that attached herself to me into the house & was quite happy when a friend agreed to home her. However, when that friend visited for a month, the cat & the subsequent second one the friend got stayed in the garage where I had little problem going. Also, our downtown independent bookstore has two cats (Oscar Wilde and Grrrtrude Stein) and our downtown independent gift-jewelry-magickal supply store has one who is the successor of a previous one who passed away.
The D&D shop in Norfolk had four or five cats when I was stationed there (in Norfolk, not at the store).
I’d hope that the owners realized that they were keeping the allergic at bay, but the reality is probably that there aren’t as many independent bookstores anymore.
It’s a good question. My feeling is that people who like independent book stores are going to find an excuse to go inside whether there’s a cat or not, but that might be my own bias showing up.
That’s pennywise and poundfoolish, if mice start appearing. Now mice and rats can appear and the exercutuives will shell out big bucks for exterminators and bug killers while all along there were cats only too happy to take on the situation. :rolleyes:
It strikes me that What Ever Happened to Bookstore Cats would be an awesome name for a crime novel set in 1910 about the disappearance of the eccentric proprietor of very successful New Orleans bordello, Madam Booker Cats.
*I remember I asked once how such a beautiful woman came by the name Booker. *
“I was born in the back of a bookstore, of course it really wasn’t a bookstore, it was a whorehouse and my mother was one of the more talented girls. I’m afraid I was born into this life before I took my first breath”
OK - I’ll stop 
Last time I was in a business that had a had a cat, I couldn’t find a clerk to actually pay for stuff.
Dropped my car off for service at my local shop this morning. Sadly, Daisy, the Great Dane, was not working this morning. I had to talk to Brian. He’s nice and all, but he’s not like Daisy. She even has her own business cards. 
One cause of the decline is that I’ve been burning through test subjects for my paper “Suitability and Effects of Planetarium Laser Light Shows for felis catus Conservation Shelters”. The poor things keep spontaneously exploding 15 seconds into Dark Side of the Moon.
I’ll begin investigating this phenomenon as soon as I can locate a bookstore…
When I was in Paris it seemed every business had an animal, mostly dogs. Even a couple of the taxis I was in had a dog in the front seat.
There’s a new age shop (which also sells books) called The Crystal Fox in Laurel, MD that always had a store cat. When that cat passed away, it was soon replaced by a trio of shop kittens.
Sounds like THEY had THAT place under control in short order!
A tire/brake shop we used to use had a very friendly and playful shop dog.
Our (chemical) plant in Natchez used to have a plant dog, named “Plant Dog”. He was rather skittish, but he’d go out with me to walk the lines and tanks while I was inspecting something on a visit. When they closed the place down, years ago, he got taken home by one of the operators.
However, cats? When I’ve gone into a bookstore with one of those around, I immediately turn around and leave. Then go sit in my car for twenty minutes, waiting 'till I can breathe and see again. I can usually drive away before the maddening itching stops, though.
Every single one of those bookstores has gone out of business. Just sayin’.