The Cat Who...

Qwilleran, or Qwill as his friends call him, is the main human character in the books. He was born Merlin James Qwilleran, a fact explained by his mother (in a letter to Francesca Klingenschoen) as a product of reading King Arthur during her pregnancy. His father, Dana, was a talented theater actor who toured the country. When he met Qwill's mother, Anne Mackintosh, they chose to stay in Chicago, so he could not stay in his theater group. Qwill's grandparents strongly disapproved of this relationship, and broke off all contact with his mother; Dana, deprived of work opportunities because of the economic depression, fell into evil ways and was eventually shot dead while attempting burglary. Because of this, Qwill never knew any family other than his mother. But he does remember his mother's friend Francesca Klingenschoen, known to Qwilleran as Aunt Fanny.

He grew up with Arch Riker, who would be his lifelong friend, and with a love of literature. He was very smart at school, won many spelling bees and was always very fond of language and baseball. One of his English teachers was particularly influential, cultivating his ability to compose an interesting essay on any topic. When he was seventeen, his girlfriend, Joy Wheatley (she later returns in The Cat Who Saw Red) left to "find herself" and Qwill joined the service. It is never explicitly stated which war he fought in, but it is likely that he served during Operation Torch during World War II, since several times throughout the series he uses a curse he learned while in North Africa. He came out of it with an injured knee and so could not have the career in baseball he always desired. So he went to college, participated in some acting, but found it was journalism for which he had a natural knack.

In this light he decided to become a journalist, and encountered great success in this field. He primarily reported on crime for major newspapers, and even wrote a book, City of Brotherly Crime (a best-seller), and won many awards. He then married Miriam, an advertising executive who resembled Joy. But the marriage was bad and ended in a shattering divorce that left Miriam in an insane asylum and Qwill feeling depressed and guilty. This led him to become an alcoholic and lose his job. One night while drunk, he fell into the path of a subway train and was rescued just in time. This brought him back to reality and he got help.

After resolving never to touch alcohol again, he was virtually broke. Qwill went to "the city" (no name is given, but it is most likely in the Great Lakes area, probably Detroit based on Lilian's residence and its 2 newspapers that are delivered throughout the state) to get a job at The Daily Fluxion. The books continue the story from this point.

One summer, he and his cats go for a quiet retreat, vacationing in the north woods, and visit Aunt Fanny on the way. Soon after, Aunt Fanny dies, and Qwill is surprised to learn that her will leaves the vast Klingenschoen fortune to him—provided he lives in Moose County for the next 5 years.

So Qwilleran moves to Moose County ("400 miles north of everywhere") in the northern part of the state, and the next few books record this adjustment—for him, and his cats. Despite the initial culture shock of small-town life, Qwilleran makes friends and, after determining that being a billionaire is a nuisance, establishes the Klingenschoen Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving life in Moose County and surrounds.

After a while, his life settles into a yearly pattern. He spends springs and autumns at the four-story apple barn he'd had converted into a residence; he spends summers at a cabin on the shore of one of the Great Lakes; and he spends his winters in a condo development, as the barn is impractical to live in during the winter, being four stories of open interior space and therefore impossible to heat evenly.

Qwilleran (Qwill to his friends) is a man who goes from late forties to mid fifties over the course of the series. He's six feet, two inches tall, with dark brooding eyes and salt-and-pepper hair (he can still claim that it's mostly pepper). He is slightly overweight in the early books, but loses some weight over the course of the series. He is often described as looking melancholy or brooding, but he is witty and enjoyable company. His most distinguishing feature is his "luxuriant moustache," which is considered attractive by many women, and Polly Duncan describes it as being similar to the composer Edward MacDowell’s. (Elsewhere it is compared to those of Mark Twain - who is alleged to have visited Moose County in 1895 - and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.) However, his moustache is more than mere facial hair. Whenever Qwilleran gets a suspicion that something is wrong or his instincts are right, he will get "a tingling sensation on his upper lip." Depending upon the strength of the sensation, he may be seen "stroking it with his fingertips" to "pounding [his mustache] with his knuckles".

Qwilleran has a willingness to listen, which is described as part curiosity and part professional interest. He also has a strong desire to investigate things that are not his business and could endanger him, and these investigations make up the plot of the various books. He gets on well with most people, but generally prefers to avoid children. Although he is a former alcoholic, he appears to have his condition well in hand, to the point that he can keep alcohol at home to serve to the people he entertains. Due to the disastrous nature of his former marriage, he has no inclination to remarry, despite his strong feelings for Polly Duncan. Despite his immense inherited fortune, he is far from extravagant, and uses the vast majority of his money for philanthropy or civic projects.

"Kao K’o-Kung"[2] is the full name of the Siamese cat who is almost always referred to as Koko.[2] He is named after a 13th-century Chinese artist of the same name, also known as Gao Kegong, and was formerly owned by Fluxion art critic George Bonifield Mountclemens III, who was highly fond of cats. Mountclemens claimed that the cat "...himself has the dignity and grace of Chinese art."[2] He fed Koko a gourmet diet of lobster, chicken and many other high-class meals. Koko will not accept normal cat food, leaving Qwilleran to provide for his expensive diet.

He has the appearance of a prize-winning show-cat and an obstinate attitude toward anything he does not like. He often goes out of his way to annoy or embarrass female humans he does not approve of. He also has a habit of watching birds and knocking books off shelves, and these books are normally read to the cats by Qwilleran. Though it would seem he would be able to do fine on his own, when Qwill had to go to work, Koko became lonely and this led to Qwill to get Yum Yum. Of course, because Koko eats food like salmon and crab, Yum Yum had the privilege of eating this food as well. Qwilleran always feeds them such meals throughout the series.

Koko's most notable characteristic is his sixth sense. On the surface, his actions are not that extraordinary; they are things that any energetic and healthy cat might do from time to time. He might dig up small pieces of evidence, for instance, or point something out to Qwilleran by acting extremely attracted to it. He has also been known to use seemingly random yowls or body language to communicate things, especially when a death is caused by foul play: he has both a "death howl" and a unique "death dance". Sometimes Qwilleran does not immediately recognize the significance of Koko's actions, and sometimes will not recognize them at all (if they occur before Qwill has the slightest idea of any misdemeanor), at least not until the case has been solved. He also seems to have the power to trigger certain important events, such as causing a blackout by sitting in the middle of a pyramid. During the several occasions in which Qwill's life has been threatened, Koko has come to his aid and been instrumental in the defeat of Qwill's assailant. Koko's action made him famous among members of The Press Club in the city, where he received an official membership signed by the Chief of Police.

Qwilleran believes Koko has his unusually strong sixth sense because he has 30 whiskers on each side of his face (60 in total), while most cats have 24 (48 in total). Whiskers are significant in the stories because, as mentioned earlier, Qwill often has a tingling sensation in his moustache when he is on the right train of thought when a case is involved, and a moustache can be called "whiskers."

Yum Yum does not appear to have any extraordinary abilities, so she does not play as active a role in solving the mysteries, but is still a major character in the series. She is also Siamese, and had a troubled past. Her history is fully explained in The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, but it can be summed up rather briefly. Qwilleran got Yum Yum as a kitten from the Taits, rich folk who did not treat Yum Yum properly and did not even truly decide on her name. Mr. Tait, a jade collector, named her Yu after a variety of jade, while Mrs. Tait, whose family originates from Aarhus, Denmark calls her Freya, after the Norse goddess of love.

Qwilleran adopted her partially because he could not stand her circumstances (explained in The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern) and partially because, after consulting an expert, Qwilleran realized Koko needed someone to keep him company. Yum Yum is named after a character in the opera The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan who is also the ward of a man named Ko-Ko.

Yum Yum is described as being smaller than Koko, and far more affectionate. Her beautiful violet-blue eyes are slightly crossed.[3] She has a lot of dexterity, being able to open drawers, operate switches, and so forth, and likes to pilfer small objects. These traits have earned her the nickname "Yum Yum The Paw."

Qwilleran has a very strong attachment to Koko and Yum Yum. Qwilleran is not affected by matters that could threaten his own life, but becomes extremely anxious when matters involve the cats. During the several occasions where they had gone missing, he has risked his own life to save them, and he does not know what he would do without them. He often thinks that his old acquaintances would never believe he could love his cats as he does, and can hardly believe it himself sometimes. There is, however, no question that Qwilleran has an extremely strong bond with his cats.

1. The Cat Who Had 14 Tales, 1988 (ISBN 0-515-09497-8): an anthology of unrelated short stories involving various cats. Note that Qwilleran, Koko and Yum Yum do not appear in these tales.
2. Short and Tall Tales: Moose County Legends Collected by James Mackintosh Qwilleran, 2002 (ISBN 0-515-13635-2): collected anecdotes and regional folklore from residents of Pickax & environs
3. The Private Life of the Cat Who ...: Tales of Koko and Yum Yum (from the Journals of James Mackintosh Qwilleran), 2004 (ISBN 0-515-13832-0): collection of extracts from several previous works with limited new material

In addition, the novels above are sometimes published as 3-in-1 volumes or omnibus box sets under various names playing on the general title themes (such as Two Cats, Three Tales or The Cat Who Put Four in a Box).

• The Cat Who... Companion, 1998 (ISBN 0-425-18642-3) by Sharon A. Feaster, including Braun interview
• The Cat Who... Quiz Book, 2003 (ISBN 0-425-19187-7) by Robert J. Headrick, Jr., with introduction by Braun
• The Cat Who... Cookbook, 2000 (ISBN 0-425-17674-6) by Julie Murphy and Sally Abney Stempinski, with foreword by Braun
• The Cat Who... Reunion Cookbook, 2006 (ISBN 0-425-21188-6) by Julie Murphy and Sally Abney Stempinski, with foreword by Braun
• The Cat Who Killed Lilian Jackson Braun, 2003 (ISBN 1-893-22484-8), a parody novel by Robert Kaplow