If I Were a Rich Cat Lady

I would stand proudly in the showroom at Bonhams in London and bid on David Hockney’s ceramic cat, which the artist created in 1955. Although the April 20 auction features Hockney’s prized works from five decades of creativity, international press has focused repeatedly on this earthenware striped cat who wears the vintage coloration–mustard and black—of the midcentury.

And while in London, I would stop in at Studio Voltaire, which is presenting the first solo exhibition in a London gallery of work by contemporary artist Laura Aldridge. I noticed a small reproduction of a detail—of a cat, of course—from one of Ms. Aldridge’s works while reading the New York Times magazine recently, and I ventured to the artist’s website immediately. According to the gallery’s literature on the artist, Ms. Aldridge creates installations made of tied-knot sculptures and screen-printed cutouts of cats being cradled and petted. But then the language on art becomes, well, a bit confusing to this Cat Lady who customarily pets ten cats daily: “The fragmented imagery of the act of stroking and cradling emphasizes the act of touching, rather than the animal being touched.”

Query of the Day: Put simply, why not say that cats respond affectionately to our touch?

Do I Dare?

I am always grateful when friends recommend that I try a new line of clothing. But how do I tell one of my impossibly chic friends in France that I can't afford Givenchy?

Do I dare to wear these cat-inspired accessories that shook up the runway recently? I do wear reading glasses, but yellow oversized cat's-eye glasses could be too much, even for a Cat Lady. And what about the hat crowned with cat's ears? I can hear our cats now, ridiculing me as I model my new look for them.

Query of the Day: Will you walk the catwalk?

Odor in the House

The title of this blog does not include a typographical error. I do not mean “Order in the House.” I do mean odor, and for a delightful reason.

A feature article in the April issue of W profiles Jean-Claude Ellena, who creates perfumes for the house of Hermès. He lives in Paris, where he was recently inspired to create a new fragrance that captures the scents of the urban garden found on the rooftop of the firm’s flagship boutique.

In the article, the interviewer asks Monsieur Ellena if he likes to burn scented candles at home. He responds, “I prefer smelling odors from the kitchen, the fireplace, your dogs, your cats, your kids. The odor of your life is who you are.”

Hmmm. I like wearing fragrances by Chanel and Jo Malone, but am I more truly defined by Eau de Tidy Cats? “The odor of my life” is a rather dusty, musky smell, and there is no denying Mr. Ellena’s observation that our bodily scents reveal who we are.

Know me, know my cats.

Query of the Day: Kitty cologne, anyone?