The cat: A sensual shapeshifter. A hearth keeper, aloof, tail aloft, stalking vermin. A satanic accomplice. A beloved familiar. A social media marketing darling. A euphemism for reproductive parts. An epithet for the vulnerable. A knitted head wear on millions of marchers, fists in the surroundings, pink pointed ears poking skyward. Cats and cat sources are ubiquitous in artwork, pop tradition, politics, and the occult, and throughout background, they have most often been coded feminine.

In the ‘crazy cat lady’ unbowed by patriarchal prescriptions to the coveted sex kitten to the dreadful crone and her yowling compatriot, female feline archetypes reveal the ways that women have been revered and reviled round the world-in Greek and Egyptian mythology, the European witch trials, Japanese folklore, and contemporary film.

By merging historical research, pop culture, art analyses, and original interviews, Cat Call explores the cat and its indivisible connection to femininity and teases out how this connection might help us better understand the relationship between myth, history, magic, womanhood in the digital age, and our beloved, clawed companions.