Character Gallery

One band · one manager · zero rehearsal discipline

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The Cat Club Crew

The human who started all of it — and the fan who never misses a show.

Marisha, Founder of the Cat Club & band managerCat Club crew

Marisha

Founder of the Cat Club & band manager

Posters, setlists, snack logistics

Lucy's human and the reason any of this happened. Marisha rebuilt her bedroom into a palace for cats — towers, walkways, a tunnel, a snack bar, a tiny stage — then painted a cardboard sign and declared it the Cat Club. She booked the band's first show, filmed it, and believed in them before anyone else did.

The look

Eight years old, warm brown skin, curly dark hair in her signature two round pom-pom puff buns. Wears cat clothes every single day — purple cat-ear hoodie, cat-face leggings, paw-print socks, cat sneakers.

  • Never once worn an outfit without a cat on it
  • Keeps every setlist in a glitter notebook
  • Made all the posters by hand, in marker
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Tofu, Cat Club crew & world's biggest Heartmarks fanCat Club crew

Tofu

Cat Club crew & world's biggest Heartmarks fan

Glow stick, one raised paw, extremely loud cheering

Tofu doesn't play a thing — he watches. He gets to every show early, takes the best seat in the crowd, and cheers so hard the whole front row cheers with him. The band says a Heartmarks concert doesn't officially start until Tofu's paw goes up.

The look

Extremely round grey-and-white tuxedo cat with huge yellow eyes and blue headphones permanently slung around his neck.

  • Front row at every single show
  • Wears headphones to a live concert anyway
  • Knows every word and sings none of them right
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The Heartmarks

Seven cats, six instruments, one chord played extremely loud.

Lucy, Lead singer & frontcatThe Heartmarks

Lucy

Lead singer & frontcat

Voice + rhythm guitar

The cat the whole story belongs to. Lucy makes friends with absolutely everyone — fence cats, porch cats, strangers, mail carriers — and the moment she heard a can roll across a bedroom floor she knew what she was for. She turned a club into a band and a backyard into a stage.

The look

Fluffy orange tabby, cream chest and paws, big green eyes, and a clear white heart-shaped mark right on her forehead. Pink bandana on show nights.

  • Warms up at 6:04 every morning, invited or not
  • Writes lyrics by staring out the window for hours
  • Will not perform without her bandana
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Miles, DrummerThe Heartmarks

Miles

Drummer

Upturned pots and pans

The first friend to answer Lucy's call from the fence, and the first to ask whether there would be food. Miles is the band's metronome and its only serious member. He treats a stack of Marisha's mom's second-best pots with the respect of a concert hall kit.

The look

Sleek gray-and-white tuxedo cat in a navy bowtie he found somewhere and has never explained.

  • Can hold a beat while eating
  • Counts the band in with his tail
  • Refuses to play if a pot is dented wrong
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Biscuit, KeyboardistThe Heartmarks

Biscuit

Keyboardist

Toy keyboard

Biscuit plays the keyboard by lying down on it, which sounded terrible for about a week and then started sounding intentional. He is the calmest member of the band and the reason their songs have those long, strange, dreamy chords in the middle.

The look

Enormously round cream-colored Persian with amber eyes and a squashed, permanently pleased face.

  • Has never run anywhere
  • Sleeps through soundcheck, wakes for the downbeat
  • Negotiated snacks into the band contract
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Pip, GuitaristThe Heartmarks

Pip

Guitarist

Little red toy electric guitar

The smallest member and easily the loudest. Pip knows exactly one chord and has total, unshakable confidence in it. Lucy's solution was simple: play it as loud as possible and call it the band's sound. It worked.

The look

Tiny black kitten with white paws, a white chest patch, and huge yellow-green eyes.

  • Naps inside the guitar case between songs
  • Jumps at his own feedback every time
  • Learning a second chord. Slowly.
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Olive, Tambourine & backing vocalsThe Heartmarks

Olive

Tambourine & backing vocals

Tambourine

Olive has the best timing on Marigold Street and she knows it. She is the reason five cats banging on kitchenware ever turned into actual music, and she named the band The Heartmarks after the mark on Lucy's forehead.

The look

Long-haired calico — orange, black and white — with one permanently folded ear and sharp green eyes.

  • Named the band in four seconds flat
  • Says 'do that again, exactly that' more than anything else
  • Sits in on every rehearsal note Marisha writes
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One Honorary Member

The bravest traveler in the story — and the last face in the cast.

Burrito, Honorary Cat Club member & bravest travelerCat Club crew

Burrito

Honorary Cat Club member & bravest traveler

Howling backup vocals (one note, held forever)

Burrito chased a truck out of his hometown of Marien and couldn't find his way back. He ran for days — 175 miles, through snow that nearly froze him — before crashing through Marisha's window and wrecking the clubhouse in pure panic. Lucy was the only one brave enough to walk up to him, and the first to notice he wasn't angry, he was terrified. The Heartmarks threw the biggest concert Meowintime had ever seen and every single coin bought him a bus ticket home to his boy Leo. He made it. He still writes.

The look

Tiny peachish hairless chihuahua with enormous bat ears, huge dark shiny eyes, wrinkly warm-pink skin, and a little red scarf the band gave him so he'd never be cold again.

  • Ate three bowls of food without breathing once
  • Sent a thank-you postcard to the whole town
  • Never takes off the red scarf
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Saskia, the creator, dancing on a rainbow forest path with a sparkly bow and a rainbow plume
Saskia in a rainbow forest with a sparkly bow and a rainbow plume
Saskia in flower sunglasses and a pink bow holding a golden award
The Creator

Created by

Saskia

Saskia is an eight-year-old third grader who lives in Alameda, California with her cat Longjohn and her dog Banksy. She dreamed up Lucy, her heart-shaped forehead mark, the Cat Club and the whole town of Meowintime.

  • 8 years old · third grade
  • Alameda, CA
  • Cat: Longjohn
  • Dog: Banksy

Story, cats and songs, made together

Longjohn, a sleek black cat with green eyes, standing on a fence against a teal sunburst
Longjohn
Banksy, the scruffy black-and-tan wire hair terrier, sitting in front of a sunburst background
Banksy

Inside Marisha's Cat Club

A regular bedroom, rebuilt from the floor up for one very comfortable cat — and then for five.

  • The Climbing Tower

    Three carpeted levels, one secret hideout hole, pompom on a string.

  • Wall Walkways

    Shelves screwed in by Marisha's dad so cats can cross the room without touching the floor.

  • The Tunnel

    A teal fabric tube hung between shelves. Very loud when a kitten sprints through it.

  • Snack Bar

    Two paw-print bowls on a paw-print mat. Refilled twice daily, no exceptions.

  • The Tiny Stage

    A wooden platform with velvet curtains and string lights. Where the band was born.

  • Membership Sign

    Hand-painted cardboard with a purple cat and a pink heart. Officially unofficial.

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