There were no entries for December’s quiz. Maybe it was too difficult, or maybe everyone was too busy to take part. While I was researching to find tricky questions, I found a lot of interesting information about famous cats, both real and fictional. I thought it would be a nice idea to share some of the fictional cats with you, in case you’re in search of cat-themed books and films to entertain yourself.
Cats for Children
‘Jennie’ by Paul Gallico tells the story of a boy who wakes up after a car accident to find that he is now living in the body of a cat. Luckily for him, he is adopted by a stray called Jennie who teaches him how to be a cat. Her command of ‘When in doubt, wash!’ pretty much describes any cat I’ve seen who is unsure what to do next.
‘Blitzcat’ by Robert Westall follows the journey of a stray cat trying to find her master in wartime England. The part where the cat hitches a ride in an RAF airplane stretched belief until I saw the You Tube video of a long-haired cat waking up from its snooze in a light aircraft to find itself a hundred feet up. Cats really will sleep anywhere.
For the very youngest children, ‘The Patchwork Cat’ by William Mayne and Nicola Bayley is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a lazy tabby who is taken on an adventure when she tries to retrieve her favourite patchwork blanket from the dustbin.
‘Six Dinner Sid’ by Inga Moore is a picture book for children aged up to seven. This is a good way to explain to children that your lovely household pet has an independent life, and may well be found sleeping in a neighbour’s bed and yes, convincing your neighbours that he is a poor hungry stray!
Japanese Cats
Japanese novels tended not to make a big impact on English best-seller lists until recently. Then Hiro Arikawa’s ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’ was translated into English and sold over a million copies. Nana, a stray cat taken in by a kind-hearted man called Satoru, tells his own story as Satoru takes him on a long journey across Japan. It’s a gentle novel with a happy ending, and anyone who enjoys it should keep a look out for Arikawa’s second novel, ‘The Goodbye Cat’.
Following the success of The Travelling Cat, Takashi Hiraide’s novel ‘The Guest Cat’ was translated into English. It’s a familiar story – a couple play host to a cheeky cat who lives with one of their neighbours, but visits them on a regular basis. Genki Kawamura’s ‘If Cats Disappeared from the World’ was published soon afterwards (don’t worry, the main character doesn’t let cats disappear entirely!)
Cats in English
The first book in this section is not strictly fiction – more of a handbook for new cat owners. ‘The Unadulterated Cat’ by Sir Terry Pratchett and Gray Joliffe explains some of the more, er, delightful habits of the pet cat. You can always tell when an author has owned cats and really watched them go about their daily lives, and it’s a fairly sure bet that Sir Terry had at least one cat during his life. The cats in his novels are very much ‘real’ cats – Nanny Ogg’s battered old street fighter Greebo, the delicate little white kitten You and the Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rats.
Finally, a classic – Truman Capote’s ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. A young journalist finds himself drawn into Holly Golightly’s world as she floats through the upper levels of New York society, collecting free meals and free accommodation along the way. Holly takes in a stray cat and it is the only thing she is upset at leaving at the end, although the cat lands in a comfortable home within days, just as Holly herself is likely to do. Holly is almost a human cat, accepting offers of the very best food and sleeping places as something she is entitled to. The book is about half as long as a modern paperback, and worth looking out for.
A nod to Question Three in the December Quiz – the cat who appeared alongside Audrey Hepburn in the film version of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ was a ginger cat called Orangey – the only cat to win two Patsy Awards for animal acting. How do you train a cat to act exactly as directed? No, I don’t think that’s possible, either.
If you’re off an adventure yourself, book your cats in with us!
