A great book for cat lovers!

[hyphenate]

Just thought I would post to the Pets forum because we know if it went into the Lounge it would be old news within an hour!

It's an old book, and one of three, but cat lovers, you must read The Cat Who Came for Christmas by Cleveland Amory. The first of three, Cleveland Amory's story of how he and his cat, Polar Bear, came together is just absolutely wonderful.

For those of you who don't know Cleveland Amory, he had quite a writing life, as well as the founder of The Fund for Animals, and friend to animals everywhere. Back in 1978, he was seeing the Fund stagnate after only a decade of existence, and he finally saw two major victories for the organization and credits them to Polar Bear's good luck.

The story begins when one of his rescuers (from the Fund) enlists Amory in the capture of a grey, dirty stray on Christmas Eve, and how after the rescue, Amory finds himself enraptured by the scrawny, dingy cat who defies all expectations of being a cutesy and lovable companion. The cat allows Amory to bathe him, and Amory discovers, to his surprise, that the cat is not tan or gray, but pure white, with clear green eyes. And as time goes by, the cat and Amory come to many compromises about who is owned by who.

He tells the story with great humor, and I found myself saying time and time again how true his comments were about living with the feline species. Interspersed with his personal story, he talks about his work with the Fund for Animals, his very famous coterie of friends, and all sorts of facts and trivia about cats.

As I said, the book was written around 1987 about events 10 years in his past, and it was followed by The Cat and the Curmudgeon and The Best Cat Ever, so some of you might have read it. I've known about Mr. Amory's animal rights group probably since the beginning (I was also a devotee of when he was the TV critic for TV Guide way back then as well), but hadn't thought about reading the books until recently.

I know this is a cliche, but it's a must-read for all cat lovers, and it's imbued with such love and understanding of cats and frankly, about all animals, that I think everyone who reads it will just fall in love with it.

No, I have no stake in anyone rushing out to the bookstore to get it, except to spread the word on how wonderful I found the book. You know that feeling, when you're just bursting to tell someone about something, and there are few others to share in that experience. :)

[virgdem]

1. I've read all three books...

by Mr. Amory and they were all wonderfully written books. I enjoyed them all, but then I love to read all the cat books and magazines that I can get my hands on. The last book, The Best Cat Ever, was the best, but the saddest. I don't think he ever got over Polar Bear's death and he is buried next to PB in Texas.

[REP]

2. You're completely right - it's a great book

And the poser above is right, too - they're all great.

[demnan]

3. A great book

He was a wonderful writer. I learned later on that he had been a friend of my grandfather who died in the 50's.

[Beaverhausen]

4. Wonderful books. I also recommend the Norton series

about a Scottish Fold named Norton. There are three and they are funny and sweet.