Fantasy or sci-fi book involving cats and their philosophy

Question

I read the book mid to late 90s and it seemed a bit old then so could have been published late 70s or 80s as well as 90s. My guess would be mid to late 80s.

The title was something unusual and not easy to remember. Some kinda fantasy or sci-fi type words involved.

The cover was bright with vivid colors. If I saw the same cover again I would know it in a second. I think there was a cat or two in the foreground and at the top was a bright object, either a colorful sun or a square ship in the colors of a sunset.

The main characters are all cats, I can't remember if there were humans in the story at all, if they were they weren't very important. It was about house cats not big cats and they may have had humans but it was about the cats interactions and their philosophy.

The cats believed the sun was the eye of their God. And when the other sleeping eye opened the world would end. The story was about preventing that end of the world most likely. There may have been alternate universes or other planets involved.

Answer 1

I think eshier is correct and this is The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane. It has a reference to the Sun being the eye of god that exactly matches your description:

The older name for the Sun had been Rhoua’i’th, Rhoua’s Eye: the only one of Her eyes that the world saw, or would see, at least for a good while yet. That one open Eye saw thoughts, saw hearts, knew the realities beneath external seemings. The other Eye saw those and everything else as well; but no one saw it. It would not open until matter was needed no more, and in its opening, all solid things would fade like sleep from an opening eye. A blink or two, and everything that still existed would be revealed in true form, perhaps final form—though that was uncertain, for the gathered knowledge of matters wizardly, which cat-wizards called The Gaze of Rhoua’s Eye, said little about time after the Last Time or about how existence would go after Existence, in terms of matter, past its sell-by date. But there was little need to worry about it just yet while Rhoua still winked. The day the wink turned to a two-eyed gaze ... then would be the time to be concerned.

Answer 2

This doesn’t quite fit your description but perhaps Anne McCaffrey’s Catalyst: A Tale of the Barque Cats (Book 1) and Catacombs: A Tale of the Barque Cats (Book 2) are what you are looking for. I’m not sure these are the original book covers but the Catacombs kind of looks like a sunset.

This is a partial summary of Catacombs: "When panic over a virulent plague drives the government to exterminate animals, Pshaw-Ra guides the cats and humans of the starship Ranzo to safety on his home planet, Mau. But Pshaw-Ra has a hidden agenda. His ultimate goal? Mate the Barque Cats with their godlike counterparts who rule on Mau and create a superior race to conquer the universe. His plans, however, may be doomed by his daughters’ battle royal to become queen, by a suspicious Barque Cat with an equally curious human friend—and by something stirring deep beneath the city with a hunger to devour all life . . . and an undying hatred for cats."

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Is it The Catswold Portal (1992) by Shirley Rousseau Murphy?

It had two different covers that I knew of.

There is a door in an artist's garden: an elaborate carved passageway into a realm ruled by a dark sorceress queen. There entities strange and wondrous roam the Netherworld––yet none as astonishing as the shape–shifting Catswold...

Raised by the oldwitch Mag, Melissa discovers a perilous secret. She has more than one form––human girl and magical cat––and once inhabited two worlds. And it is her destiny to return to a mystic realm of wonder and terror, to do battle for her people's liberation and the crown that is rightfully hers.

A man beset by tragedy, painter Braden West is intrigued by the calico cat who has charmed her way into his studio. But his "guest" is more than she seems, and Braden's very existence will be radically altered as he follows Melissa from the Hell Pit into the dread perils of an evil ruling court, thrust into the heart of a magical conflict with more at stake than he could possibly have imagined.