The Story Behind “A mouse cornered by a clowder of cats”

One of my favourite lines in my debut novel is: “I’m a mouse cornered by a clowder of cats.”

Originally, when I was searching for an image that might accompany that quote, I pictured a group of cute fluffy kittens. You know the kind. Soft, innocent, and about as threatening as a pile of marshmallows.

But once I thought about the real inspiration behind that line, those adorable kittens suddenly felt very inaccurate.

If you have never heard the word before, a clowder is the collective noun for a group of cats. It is one of those wonderfully odd English words that feels both amusing and slightly ominous at the same time.

And honestly, once you have seen a group of cats focused on the same target, it suddenly feels like a very appropriate word.

The line in the novel however was inspired by my own cat.

Every now and then she manages to catch a mouse. Fortunately, she has absolutely no interest in killing it. Unfortunately, she turns the whole situation into a game. She catches the mouse, releases it, and then chases it around the house to catch it again.

And no, I do not let her do that.

The moment I realise what is happening, the rescue mission begins. I grab the nearest clean take away container and the chase is on.

The mouse is running for its life. The cat is determined to continue her game. And a 50 plus year old woman who normally avoids exercise at all costs is suddenly sprinting around the house trying to rescue a terrified mouse before the cat catches it again, usually with husband and adult son laughing and being no help at all.

Moments like that are exactly what inspired the line in my book, not the husband and son laughing part, the chase and being cornered part. Because sometimes life really does feel like being cornered by a clowder of cats, the fierce scary kind, not the cute fluffy ones.

And yes, once captured, the mouse is safely released outside with fingers crossed it has the sense to find shelter elsewhere.