“It was 20 years ago today”…..

The first book of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (or Sorcerers Stone depending where in the world you are)”  dropped into the muggle world, from the creative mind of JK Rowling.

And the reading world was never the same.

Children who had no interest in books became voracious readers and waited so impatiently for the next book to fall from the heavens to land in their local bookstores. Libraries had to purchase large numbers of multiple copies to try and satisfy the demand. Boxes of books were under armed guard until the clock struck midnight on release days.  Adults shamelessly read the series. There were unofficial competitions to see who could get to the end first. The world was united in the love of all things Harry Potter.

Peppered with charming and quirky characters, menacing villains, magic, wizardry, creatures, spells, potions and fantastic locations the creative world of JK Rowling ignited a generation.

And cat’s were included.

From the outset cat loving readers knew they were in for a treat when Professor McGonagall appeared shifting from a cat to her human form. Her Petronas is a cat. Now you know why you love her!

“It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map.”

The caretaker of Hogwart’s, Mr. Fitch, is rarely seen without his pet cat Mrs. Norris. A brute of a cat Mrs. Norris has the ability to alert Mr. Fitch when things are amiss. Fitch adores Mrs Norris, despite being one of the harshest characters in Harry’s world,  and the two are inseparable.

Numerous other cats and cat like characters are found throughout the series crossing the muggle and wizard world. Students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can choose to have a cat as their pet and cats were available at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. It was here that Hermione Grainger found her pet Crookshanks.

“It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger”

These are just a few of the cats that appear in the Harry Potter series, as a side or supporting character. In a fictional world full of fantastic creatures and beasts that inspire fear and caution it is so how good is it to see the cat having a prominent role in the magical world of Harry Potter.