... not even a cat. What is that even supposed to mean, not even a cat? Is that some sort of crack against cats or something?
Cats can be found where no other living creature will venture? It doesn't matter whether you're half way up Everest, or in the middle of the Gobi desert, if you pour some cream into a saucer then within five minutes there will be three cats at your feet, demanding a second helping.
That's not true, of course, but it might feel true, sometimes.
However, mice are a better known standard of ubiquity (all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a ...) and there are better ways to describe the surface banality of Privet Drive.
Cats can be found where no other living creature will venture? It doesn't matter whether you're half way up Everest, or in the middle of the Gobi desert, if you pour some cream into a saucer then within five minutes there will be three cats at your feet, demanding a second helping.
That's not true, of course, but it might feel true, sometimes.
However, mice are a better known standard of ubiquity (all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a ...) and there are better ways to describe the surface banality of Privet Drive.