FAIR HAVEN: A VERY MEWY CATSMAS

SallyWmsPeteCatRumson-based cat care consultant Sally Williams visits River Road Books on Friday, as part of a festive feline-themed event that also includes a reading from the latest adventure of Pete the Cat.

Call it a sign of these digitally enabled times if you will, but CATS only just seem to be coming into their own after all those eons of patient catnapping — and to prove it, River Road Books will be hosting an afternoon event that’s all about our furry friends this Friday, December 12.

Scheduled for the hours of 3 to 5 pm, the event boasts an appearance by a local resident with a particular expertise in cats and their caretakers — Rumson-based Sally Williams, whose cat behavioral consulting business The Contented Cat offers a range of services that include adoption counseling, environmental enrichment, positive reinforcement and yes, kitty Reiki. The Monmouth SPCA volunteer and blogger will speak about her “cat whispering” career, on a day that also features a drop-in by an especially famous feline.

Star of his own series of children’s books illustrated by folk-art painter James Dean (with words by author-musician Eric Litwin, and more recently Dean’s wife Kimberly), Pete the Cat is a skinny blue hepcat with attitude to spare, and adventures that include Pete the Cat Saves Christmas. Pete himself is scheduled to be on hand for a reading of that book, and a chance for fans to take a selfie. Also in attendance at the resolutely indie bookstore will be a coterie of cuddly kittens from the Homeward Bound Adoption Center at Monmouth County SPCA. Call ahead to RSVP for Friday’s event, or email riverroadbooks@verizon.net.