particularly good pets for people who sit alone at their desks day and night, pulling out their hair and making coffee, and they’re deeply habitual creatures, which can help the undisciplined among us. Jennifer Egan, who won the Pulitzer just this week, confirmed that feline companionship is key to her literary greatness: “My cats are a big part of my work life,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “They’re in and out of here all day long.” It doesn’t take more than a few shots of writers actually clutching cats as they scribble away to realize that having them around might be fairly helpful. (Orlando is currently wedged between me and my laptop; the purring helps.)