A Revealing Interview with the Cats of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Pluto and Edgar, museum cats of the Poe Museum.
Photo courtesy of the Poe Museum.

We are very excited to welcome two distinguished feline guests to the blog today. Edgar and Pluto are joining us from Richmond, Virginia, where they have the great good fortune to be “museum cats” at the Museum of Edgar Allan Poe, otherwise known as the Poe Museum. Let’s get right into the interview!

Miss C: Hi, Edgar and Pluto! Thank you for joining us today. Being museum cats sounds so interesting. Can you tell us how you ended up at the Poe Museum?

Edgar: We were born in the alley behind the Poe Museum. One morning the human who cuts the grass found us under a crate and took us into the office.

Pluto: After they found us, the food providers put us in a box and took us to a mysterious place where other humans poked and prodded us until they said we could return home. Now we get to play in the Poe Museum all the time.

Miss C: I’ve been to that place where you get poked and prodded. It’s always nice to get back home after that kind of experience. So you got to go back to the museum and take up your official duties. Tell us, what exactly are your duties as museum cats?

Pluto: I’m the official greeter and tour guide. The humans rely on me to show them around the museum. They’d be lost without me.

Edgar: I am his supervisor. Pluto may have the looks, but I’m the brains of this operation. He thinks you have to follow humans around to get their attention, but you really just have to get in their way and wait for them to come to you.

Miss C: Fascinating… You have two completely different philosophies for interacting with humans. I’m guessing that means you find some parts of your work more enjoyable than others. What is your favorite part of being a museum cat?

Pluto: I love to meet all the humans and to get my back rubbed.

Edgar: I like finding new places to stretch out for a nice long nap.

As the official greeter and tour guide, Pluto has to
"know his Poe," so to speak. Here he is studying for work.
Photo courtesy of the Poe Museum.

Miss C: I’m with you, Edgar. A long nap in a perfect place…Purrrr… But let’s not get distracted right now. Just a couple more questions. As museum cats at the Poe Museum, you must be familiar with Edgar Allan Poe’s work. Do you have a favorite story or poem of his?

Pluto: I like the story with the cat named after me.

Edgar: I like the one about the hero cat who helps the police apprehend the murderous human.

Miss C: Lots of cultured cats dream of living at a museum. Do you have any tips for aspiring museum cats or those who just want to live like museum cats?

Edgar: If you are not lucky enough to have been born at the Poe Museum, you could try finding some other historic site, preferably one that has a nice, warm room in which you can spend the night. Just be sure not to sit on the old furniture. The humans get very uptight about that.

Miss C: I’ll keep that tip about old furniture in mind, Edgar. Humans do get excited about the strangest things, don’t they? Pluto, do you have any tips to share?

Pluto: Humans are very strange. They carry little flat boxes in their hands and point them at you. Just humor them for a moment, and they will get back to petting you.

Edgar and Pluto keep watch over things at the Poe Museum.
Visiting humans can pet them and take their picture, but no
feeding is allowed!
Photo courtesy of the Poe Museum.

Miss C: Yes, humans are so easily distracted by their little toys, but they always come back to the cat eventually, don’t they? Our time is almost up, but is there anything else you’d like to tell us about the museum?

Edgar: The humans will be having a Poe Film Festival on September 22, 23, and 24. In honor of me, they will be showing a movie called “The Black Cat.”

Pluto: Visit me and my brother at the Poe Museum. We’re on a special diet, so you can’t feed us. But you can give us lots of back rubs, and you can help our food providers and poop scoopers take care of us by donating to the museum’s black cat fund.

Miss C: Thanks again to Pluto and Edgar for joining us today. This has been fascinating and insightful look into the life of a museum cat.

If you’d like to visit Pluto and Edgar in person, you can find them at the Poe Museum at 1914–16 East Main Street in Richmond, Virginia. Check here for hours and admission details. You can also find the Poe Museum on Twitter and Facebook.

And when you go, remember to pet the cats, but don’t feed them!

Always something interesting to watch when you're a museum cat.
Photo courtesy of the Poe Museum.

Want a little more Poe? I wrote this post about "The Black Cat" a couple years ago. It's the excellent Poe story that features a black cat named Pluto.