The Fat Cat by Q. Patrick

“The thought of the cat’s stare haunted him, and he was prey to all the heartache of parting; in leaving the cat, he had left behind wife, mother, and child.”

The Fat Cat by the collaborative group known as Q. Patrick

That’s a quote from The Fat Cat written in 1959 under the pen name, Q. Patrick—the collaborative name for writers Richard Wilson Webb (born 1901, died 1966), and Hugh Callingham Wheeler (born 1912, died 1987).

The Webb-Wheeler collaborations used 2 other pen names: Jonathan Stagge and Patrick Quentin. Although Q. Patrick was their primary and most famous pen name.

They were famous writers at their time, associated with detective, and mystery stories. One of their most famous characters was Peter Duluth. At one time this author collaborative was called, “number one among American crime writers.”

Today, most Q. Patrick and Patrick Quentin writings have fallen into obscurity. Although part of the duo, Hugh Callingham Wheeler, wrote the book for the very popular musical Sweeney Todd.

The Fat Cat is categorized as Suspense. It word plays on the childhood rhyme, The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat. It follows a cat, who follows a soldier through the jungle. As I read, pay attention to the recurring theme of a doormat.

I found this story in an anthology titled Great Cat Stories, edited by Leslie O’Mara, Copyright 1991 by Castle Books.

Now sit back and listen to this story that begins on a doormat and ends on a doormat. I can hear my tea kettle which means it’s story time, and here’s my cat, the beautiful TillySue, to tell us it’s time for The CatCast.

I hope you enjoy The Literary Catcast. I would love to hear from you. I never plan to have sponsors—this is a work of love. There is no set schedule to release episodes, because as I mentioned the reading is very time intensive, so please subscribe to stay tuned, and tap the 5-stars if you listen on Apple Podcasts.

Cheers to good writing, hot tea, and cats!

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