Anyone who has ever lived with cats will recognize the scenario Clark Ashton Smith (CAS) describes in "Cats in Winter Sunlight". Cats are true sun worshippers, and my own cat migrates through my home during the short winter days as he follows the scant rays of sunlight as they move from east to west.
I believe that CAS had cats when he lived in his cabin near Auburn, California. His "Experiments in Haiku" are dated to 1947, several years before he met and married Carol Jones Dorman, so we can assume he was still living in the cabin when he wrote this poem.
In that setting, one can assume the felines performed a practical function in helping with rodent control. But there is an undeniable touch of affection in "Cats in Winter Sunlight", indicating that CAS saw his cats as true companions.
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