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It’s been years since Powell’s Technical Books closed, but the terror unleashed by a particularly troublesome employee has not been forgotten. While customers may have seen only her good graces, behind the scenes, she was infamous for biting co-workers, especially in her younger days.
The employee’s name was Fup—and she was a tabby cat.
In 2007, Fup passed away at age 19. But in the bibliophile’s paradise that is Portland, bookstore cats have endured, carrying on a long-standing tradition of felines prowling among dusty shelves that soothe their naturally solitary nature.
For all their inscrutable adorableness, the presence of bookstore cats is rooted in pragmatism. As far back as the 1700s, the ruling classes of Europe drafted cats to protect their treasures, with the concept of a “bookstore cat” taking hold as proprietors adopted them for reasons both aesthetic and practical (including pest control, especially during periods of plague).
Today, bookstore cats are so ubiquitous that many are findable via the app ShopCats, which can be used to locate more than 10,000 felines living in public spaces—including such unlikely spots as the Tigard sex shop Fantasy.
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In Portland, bookstore cats are typically associated with small and independent businesses. Over in Multnomah Village, Annie Bloom’s Books was home to the beloved black cat Molly, a cuddly and personable contrast to the notorious Fup (when Molly died last summer, the store asked patrons to donate to Sherwood’s Cat Adoption Team, her first home, in her memory).
When it comes to the current roster of local bookstore cats, Crooked House on Northeast 40th in the Hollywood District takes the cake, thanks to the presence of the very serious Bruno and his sister, Sylvie.
“They have been with the store five years and came from a family friend,” proprietor Scott Givens says. Sylvie, who actively seeks to be petted, is a clear favorite among customers, but many appreciate Bruno’s handsomeness and the softness of the shy third feline, the formerly stray Tommy Thompson the Tomcat.
Givens also makes mention of another cat next door at A-Boy Electric & Plumbing, called Cheetah. Unfortunately, Cheetah doesn’t socialize much with her neighbors. When she does, Givens punningly says, “it’s a catfight.”
Bookstore cats also reign supreme at shops on Portland’s outskirts. Down in Centennial, near the border with Gresham, Bearly Read Books on Southeast Powell at 164th features a black cat named Shadow. Owner Shellie Collins says Shadow was born in 2011, the runt of a litter born to a previous store cat, Fluffy. Shadow’s brothers were Jasper (since adopted by a new home) and Cletus (who was killed by a coyote).
A neighbor had left behind the pregnant Fluffy when Collins bought the store in 2010. “Many people didn’t even realize that we had two store cats because Shadow always hid,” Collins says. After Fluffy died of pancreatitis in 2021, Collins says, “Shadow came into her own.” These days, customers usually spot Shadow eating or sleeping on a blanket.
Bookstore cats hold sway across the river in Vancouver, too. Vintage Books on East Mill Plain Boulevard has a long history of bookstore cats, with photos of several past cats displayed throughout the store—including a clipping from The Columbian featuring Henry, who lived there for 19 years. Today, the store has two cats: Dickens, a black cat, was adopted in 2009, and Maisie, a tabby, was adopted around 2017.
Owner Becky Milner recalls Maisie being born to a very young mother cat at the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society in Washougal. “There was another cat we adopted from that shelter before,” Milner says, “but he didn’t last long here because he was an outdoor cat.”
The staff at Vintage Books also know of other store cats in Clark County, including at Literary Leftovers in Battle Ground. There, tuxedo cat Lucy can be found sitting on a cushion in a chair by a reading table.
“She was a rescue,” says owner Heather Erwin, who acquired the store and the cat from Kelsey Simons in 2021. Fittingly, the store sells retro-style “I Love Lucy” T-shirts in black-and-white.
On both sides of the Columbia, bookstore cats have found their perfect niches, with no shortage of delight for owners and patrons alike. Scott Givens, for one, knows a thing or two about kitty curiosity from the public: “Over half the new customers ask me, where are the cats we saw on Google?”