Q&A with Leanne McGregor author of Cats with Jobs

Read our interview with A&U Aotearoa New Zealand Managing Editor AND author of Cats with Jobs, Leanne McGregor.

A&U: How did Cats with Jobs come about?

LM: We were having a title brainstorm at work, where we throw ideas for books on the table. I’m the cat lady in the team, so I decided it was up to me to represent that demographic and bring an idea for a cat book. I follow a lot of cats on social media, including Daisy the Hospital Cat and Ollie at Mitre 10 Lincoln Road, and so I floated the concept of a book on ‘cats with jobs’.

I never intended to write the book myself — in fact I found the idea pretty scary. Tess Nichol, one of our publishers at the time, took me for coffee and cake and dazzled me with words. Our publishers are good at that.

A&U: How long did it take to write Cats with Jobs, from idea to publication?

LM: I dithered for a while about writing the book myself. It was April 2024 when I signed the contract, and my delivery deadline was end of March 2025, so I spent just under a year working on it in my evenings and weekends. The dithering continued for a couple more months, and then I would alternate between bursts of writing and bursts of researching and recruiting cats. From April to June 2025 the book was ‘in production’ — that means going through the phases of editing, design, layout and proofreading, so a lot of other talented people were on board at that point. The last four months before the publication date were for printing, shipping and warehousing. It takes a village!

A&U: You’re the managing editor at Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand. What does this job entail?

LM: It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, but I love it. My part typically begins once a book has been signed by one of our publishers and the author has delivered the manuscript. I work out a plan and a schedule for all the steps that are required from that point on, and work closely with the publisher and the author to bring their vision to life.

A&U is now publishing nearly 50 books per year here in Aoteaora, and we have a small team of project editors like myself looking after them. As the managing editor, another key part of my role is trying to plan out the workflow to keep us all sane(ish). I mostly fail at that, but the privilege of working with books gets us through.

A&U: What’s the most memorable moment of putting Cats with Jobs together?

LM: A major highlight was meeting Daisy, the cat who works at Waitakere Hospital. I’d been there a couple of times visiting sick rellies, and I always tagged on a little wander aound the halls looking for her. Another time I interviewed one of Daisy’s carers, Kat Crum, who was in hospital having treatment. I showed up well equipped, with Temptations on my person, but Daisy eluded me again.

The day it finally happened, I’d been called to the hospital randomly to collect a neighbour with young children who doesn’t drive. It was going to be a swoop-in situation, over in seconds, but when I pulled up to the kerb where the family was waiting, guess who was there, busy trying to fit herself into the baby’s pushchair? It was like meeting a celebrity. The family was keen to get home, but I was torn between helping them into the car and trying to get a photo with Daisy.

A&U: Do you have a favourite cat in popular culture?

LM: Puss in Boots is one of my faves. My cat Boots, who died around this time last year, came to me as a rescue cat with the name Fibonacci (the Italian mathematician), and over time that morphed into Puss in BOOTS! (emphasis required) and then just Boots. My boy was a little clumsy — nowhere near as swashbuckling and suave as the fairytale character — but what he had down pat was the big-eyed look that could melt your heart. Even after he lost an eye, he could pull off that move.

A&U: If you could spend the day with one of the cats, which one would it be?

LM: This is cheating, but I dedicated the book to my cat Boots, and his photo is in the book. If I could have another day with him that would be the ultimate. We’d do all his favourite things — so our day would be spent eating roast chicken, dozing outside in the sun and giving the occasional stinkeye to the cat next door.

I’d also love to spend 24 hours shadowing our cover star, Arnold from the Secret Cat Division of New Zealand Police. Unfortunately there are a lot of hoops to jump through to get the security clearance required. His job is a bit of a mystery: you’ll have to read the book to find out more about that.

A&U: What’s the one book you’re taking to a desert island?

LM: I’m notoriously bad at these questions. I have to pick ONE book? I’d agonise for so long that I’d miss the boat to the desert island and drown.

I have some favourites that I treasure and revisit, but nothing compares to discovering a book for the first time. So I think I’d have to take a crazy gamble and pick something I haven’t read. I’d want it to be nice and long to draw out the pleasure, so I’m going to go with The Count of Monte Cristo. My sister is re-reading it at the moment and she’s been in full rave mode on Whatsapp. I trust her judgement, but if it’s a fizzer she’s going to hear about it.

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Cats with Jobs

by Leanne McGregor

Real-life tails of New Zealand's hardest-working pets.

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