François is the Raquins’ cat. He often watches Thérèse and Laurent as they make love in secret, and though Thérèse thinks it’s funny that the cat knows more about their relationship than Camille and Madame Raquin, Laurent finds the animal’s presence disturbing. After they murder Camille, François is yet another reminder of what they’ve done. In a fit of rage and fear, Laurent grabs François one day and hurls him out the window—the cat breaks his back against the opposite wall of the alley and spends the rest of the night moaning in pain.