March 30, 2006
Since You Asked: Clarifying the kitty situation
After visiting Ashland and enjoying "Diary of Anne Frank", I wondered about the cat the family took into hiding. It seemed impossible to have a kitty to feed when they didn’t
have anything to eat themselves. Unless the kitty was cooked and eaten during the year they were in hiding, it’s not logical to have a carnivorous pet. Did the producer add this incident or
was it true?
— Zinta S.
Several things, Zinta.
First, the Franks didn’t bring the cat in the play. Anne had had a cat, but the Franks left it behind. The cat in the play, named Boche, was brought by Peter Van Daan.
Second, all this is in the diary.
Third, the fugitives hid from the Nazis not for just a year but more than two years.
Fourth, it’s not the case that they "didn’t have anything to eat." Miep Gies brought them food regularly, although it’s clear the menu was skimpy and boring.
Fifth, have you heard of mice?
Sixth, the human heart is a mysterious thing, Zinta. Maybe the kitty companionship factor outweighed "logical" concerns.
Postscript: Anne called her diary "Kitty."
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