Wanted: a Newfoundland cat that likes the water

Know of a special feline? Nancy Silcox of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, is a published author whose works focus on interesting people and animals. Her current work in progress is a book about amazing cats found across Canada.

In the past, Silcox worked as a high school teacher, then a university counselor, before retiring early to write. She initially wrote for newspapers and magazines, but in the 1990s she began to write books, mainly biographies and other books about interesting people. Eventually, this scope widened to include animals.

Silcox also loves pets, of which she has had many, and has already published two books about animals. The first, Famous Canadians and the Pets They Love, she wrote for the University of Guelph, which has one of the largest veterinary colleges in Canada. She interviewed many notable Canadians about their pets, including Newfoundlanders Mary Walsh and Shaun Majumder. 

Famous people who Silcox was not sure would talk to her otherwise were more than happy to open up about their pets. “That opened the door to even people like Don Cherry,” she said. She donated the money from the book’s sales to the cancer clinic at the University of Guelph veterinary college.

Silcox published a second book about animals a few years later called Workin’ Like a Dog; Doin’ Nuthin’ Like a Cat: Canadian Pets who go to the Office. This introduced Silcox to more Newfoundland celebrities including Jonny Harris and Sherry White. She also featured the pets of everyday people — she interviewed people in Newfoundland who did yoga with cats, as well as people who brought their dogs to Her Majesty’s Penitentiary to do remedial work.

Silcox is now working on her third book, which will focus exclusively on cats. The working title is Incredible Cats of Canada, and she is hoping it will be published this summer. Silcox is interviewing Canadians across the country via Zoom about interesting cats. Her first interviewee was Alice Reid of Dildo, whose cat Coco climbed up a telephone pole, prompting a rescue attempt by Newfoundland Power. Once a Newfoundland Power worker climbed up and finally got within arm’s reach of the cat, Coco jumped all the way back to the ground. The daring leap was caught on video and can still be found online. Coco has since died, but will be featured in Silcox’s book.

Then there’s Gary, a cat from Canmore, Alberta, who goes skiing with his owner, as well as Findus, a Savannah cat from British Colombia who goes mountain climbing with his owner. Another featured cat will be Carlton, the late mascot of St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Silcox describes him as the most famous cat in his province. “He lived off-campus. He had a human family. But he was the mascot of St. Mary’s, and he attended lectures, and he went into profs’ offices,” she said. 

Silcox also interviewed a man from Toronto whose cat played matchmaker for himself and his wife — the man ran a cat group, and she contacted him about a problem with her cat. Ultimately, they fell in love and were married.

Silcox is still searching for cats to feature in her book. She would love to include a cat from Newfoundland that goes on boats with people — fishing boats, pleasure boats, any kind of boat. She would also be open to featuring a cat that enjoys swimming, or a cat that plays water sports. Ultimately, she hopes to find a cat thag represents the water life of Newfoundland.

Anyone who would like to contact Silcox about a special cat can email her at canadapetbook@gmail.com. She welcomes stories and, if possible, accompanying photographs.