One for Tomas (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats)

In memory of Tomas

I love cats. I like dogs, and animals in general, but I love cats most of all (shh, don’t tell my dog!).

Having raised two cats from birth (and feeding several other neighborhood strays), I find that cats are one of the smartest creatures (and yes, smarter than dogs, as I’ve raised more than my share of those too) on earth.

They’re clean, they’re naturally housebroken, and they’re low-maintenance. They won’t give their loyalty freely, but they make the most loyal and affectionate companions when they do.

And I love how easily they learn even without training. While I love our dog as much as my cats, my cats can open doors, climb onto bed with me and pull a blanket over themselves,  use their litterbox and keep it clean (our dog has a spraying problem), and get up and down the stairs faster than lightning (our dog forgets how to go up and down the stairs like every other hour).

Last year, my cat Tomas, an orange mackerel tabby that I raised since he was a kitten,  passed away due to kidney failure and subsequent cardiac arrest (I really suspect it was canned cat food tainted with melamine), and it was one of the hardest things I ever had to get through in my life.

I got a lot of cat books since then, including a beautiful copy of 99 Lives: Cats in History, Legend, and Literature, that was a present from fellow book lover Triccie. I still can’t get myself to finish reading that book (because I end up bawling), but I was able to find another cat book to cheer me up: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot (book #112 for 2009).

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is the book on which the  musical Cats is based. I discovered it upon reading about T.S. Eliot in the book The Archivist by Martha Cooley (ugh, I did not appreciate the psychodrama in that one either!), and it took months until  I finally came across a copy in a bargain bin at Book Sale. Several months later, Mauie very kindly sent me a copy and then two weeks later, I got myself a hardcover copy in another Book Sale bargain bin! Three copies in all!

Apparently T.S. Eliot went by the name “Old Possum” and wrote this assortment of whimsical poems about cats in letters he wrote to his godchildren. It’s a great compilation of funny poems about cat, which any cat loving (or even not so much cat loving) reader would appreciate, and this particular edition is beautifully  illustrated by Edward Gorey, one of my favorite illustrators!

There is a little introductory poem entitled “The Naming of Cats” and I love how the poem emphasizes the importance of naming a cat:

But I tell you,
a cat needs a name that’s particular,
A name that is peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he
keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers,
or cherish his pride?

Haha, my cats are named Tomas (short for Tomasino, after my brother’s best friend) and Missy (named by my mom,because she looks very prissy) and people tell me that when I talk about them I don’t sound as if I’m talking about cats.

Missy, talking to my giant Totoro plushie

A selection of poems follow the first, this time regaling the reader with the antics of several cats with very distinct personalities.

There’s Jennyanydots (“The Old Gumbie Cat”) whose owners think she is very lazy because she’s always found snoozing, but as soon as everyone is asleep, she rounds up the mice so she can teach them ”music, crocheting and tatting.” She also teaches cockroaches to dance.

Growltiger is some sort of pirate cat, living on a barge and wreaking terror along the Thames.

The Rum Tum Tugger is a fastidious cat who reminds me of Tomas — ornery, hard to please, and with an inflated sense of self-importance, hahaha.

The Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat:
If you offer him pheasant he would rather have grouse.
If you put him in a house he would much prefer a flat,
If you put him in a flat then he’d rather have a house.
If you set him on a mouse then he only wants a rat,
If you set him on a rat then he’d rather chase a mouse.

There are also other cats with equally interesting stories, namely the Jellicles, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, Old Deuteronomy, The Great Rumpuscat, Mr. Mistoffelees, Gus the Theater Cat, Bustopher Jones, Skimbleshanks, and Cat Morgan.

Perhaps the most famous (and most interesting) of them all is the cat Macavity, the mystery cat, who is a master criminal who never leaves any tracks, reminiscent of the famous Sherlock Holmes nemesis Professor Moriarty.

I love this book because it capture the cat-ness of each character perfectly, while portraying them in humorous and highly imaginative situations. You can easily tell that T.S. Eliot was a cat lover and spent a lot of time observing their mannerisms and behavior to be able to write all these poems about them that personify them rather than pertain to them as mere animals.

The poetry has a very musical quality to it, making it a great book to read aloud to kids, to yourself, or to your cat, because as T.S. Eliot concludes:

You now have learned enough to see
That Cats are much like you and me
And other people whom we find
Possessed of various types of mind
For some are sane and some are mad
And some are good and some are bad
And some are better, some are worse –
But all may be described in verse.

I love it!

***

My copy: hardcover with dust jacket, P30 at Book Sale

My rating: 5/5 stars

***

but wait! there’s more — a book giveaway for all those cat lovers out there!

The 2nd copy of this book is going to my Flipper friend Marie, who rescued a kitten abandoned at a gas station on a stormy night and now is the proud owner of a black kitty named Shadow! (Just for that I’m smooching back your point after I hand the book over on Saturday).

I’m keeping the hardcover for myself, of course, but that still leaves me one other trade paperback copy to give away .

If you want this book, please comment on the form below so I can draw out a name at the end of July.

+1 entry if you include a cat story of yours in the comment form

+1 entry if you become a new follower to my blog

+1 if you add me to your blogroll or if I’m already on your blogroll

+2 entries if you have been following this blog prior to this entry

+3 entries if you blog about the contest and why you want to win this book.

Local and international entries welcome! Deadline for joining is July 30th.

***

and a little bit more! Here is Rum Tum Tugger from the Cats musical. Enjoy!