What is Hank and Sarah's Cats?

The domestic, and at times professional, lives of Hank and Sarah are frequently defined throughout the narrative by the needs of their five cats to be cared for. The cats can therefore be seen as a symbolic representation of the life of relatively quiet domesticity being embraced by Hank at this (late?) stage of his life, an aspect of his life that grounds him in reality in the midst of all the self-absorbed, ego-defined, film-making craziness going on around him. Hank and Sarah are engaged, at least to some degree, in ensuring the well-being of others, while so many of the characters around them are far more engaged in ensuring that of them-SELVES.