Category Archives: Cats

322X: Lassie-like story, dimly recalled

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It’s a book I read in the 1970s (but it may have been published much earlier).  The central character is a family’s pet–a cat I think, but I’m unsure.  Maybe a dog.  The family lives on a river, maybe the Mississippi.  (My family was living on the river at the time, and the story may have been presented as a “local” tale.)  By accident one day the pet floats away on a raft.  Far downstream it comes ashore.  The heart of the story is akin to Lassie-Come-Home:  the pet struggles to return to the family.  In the closing pages I believe it does return to the house–but the family is just leaving and somehow there is no reunion.  Possibly the pet is even in the yard as the family packs out, and it hears the son’s voice as he laments that the pet never got back.  I could be imagining that last bit, but I’m pretty sure there’s no reunion.  I recall weeping at the near-miss, but all the other details are fuzzy.

318M: Pitta Pat the Tabby Cat

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Seeking child's book from the 1950's. Tall & narrow with a cut-out top. She's Pitta Pat the tabby cat, the cat who couldn't remember. She chews her soup and drinks her bread and sleeps in the bathtub instead of the bed. She's Pitta Pat the tabby cat, the cat who couldn't remember.

313A: Christmas Cat (Solved)

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The book was older, around in the 80’s/90’s, maybe older than that. It was a children’s Christmas Story of an old man who lived alone. He was known as a grumpy old man. A strange cat came to visit him everyday before Christmas and everyday he would angrily make the cat leave. On the final day (Christmas maybe?) something happened  (a memory of a loved one or something?) he was overjoyed with the cat for some reason and he let him stay. The story ended with him loving the cat and it being the best gift he had ever received. The title seems like it was “Mr. Mcdoogal’s Best Christmas Ever” or something similar. I feel strongly that the old man went by Mr. Something that starts with an “m”. The central theme was how angry/grumpy the lonely old man was and how his anger grew everyday the cat showed up until something changed and he loved the cat suddenly. Maybe the cat stopped coming for a while and it made him realize how he had grown fond of the cats visits and he was overjoyed when he returned?

302L: In a little cottage by the sea (Solved)

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Looking for a children’s picture book about an old woman who lives alone with her cat in a little cottage by the sea. One day she and the cat find a bottle on the beach and a genie appears – very threatening illustration of this. She and cat do outwit the genie and all is well. I feel that the author is well-known. For some reason, I cannot recall the title or author’s name.

299W: 1960s book, cat with artificial leg (Solved)

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I am trying to locate a book from the 1960s or before about a cat with a wooden leg. It was very important to me because I grew up with a walking disability so the book meant great deal to me.

Someone threw it away, unfortunately,  after my husband just died suddenly!

Could you possibly help me locate a copy or at least the name?

I would be eternally grateful!

292V: Cats in the city

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I read this children’s book in the 1950’s so it’s publishing date was long ago. The story involves a group of cats in a city. The illustrations that I remember were of apartment buildings with fire escapes. One of the cats is the hero, defending the other cats. He has a swashbuckling persona complete with sword and boots. This is the part of the story that is most memorable- this dashing and sword fighting cat. The title escapes me; in fact,there is nothing else I can tell you. But, I would appreciate whatever you can find. Good luck and thank you in advance.

 

289K: Pandora the cat

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Children’s book I read kindergarten, class 1971. I don’t not know title but I think the main characters name is pandora a cat. It is possible name is in title. My memory pictures a grey and yellow cover w cat and it’s magic collar. It tells the story of a cats nine lives which is actually 9 times to teleport. That way cats are suddenly in the room. I believe the collar was the way “pandora” traveled. When I was an older grade schooler I went back to class room to find it, that’s where my visual memories come from and cats name, but the storyline memory seems solid since that’s how I found it the first time.

288E: Ragamuffins and a talking cat (Solved)

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I remember my mother reading aloud to us a chapter book (in the early 1960s) about a group of children called Ragamuffins (maybe just four children). They meet a talking cat named Pouffon (that is how she pronounced the name; I don’t know how it is spelled). Each time the cat speaks though, it loses one of it’s special whiskers, or it’s whiskers changes back to a normal color. It was very sad when the cat spoke for the last time, to help the children, since the cat only had one special whisker left. I think the book is probably a literary award winning book, since my mother made sure we read all of the Newberry and Caldecott Award winning books. I hope it is still in print. I think the book had a navy blue cover, (hardback), and maybe a line drawing at the start of each chapter. It may have been published much earlier than the 60s. It was probably a library book, and was pretty well-worn then.

 

Thank you so much for your help!

285D: Boy and cat are best friends

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I am looking for a children’s book from around 1980.

I do not recall the title or author, and the book may have been published before 1980.  Let’s say anywhere between 1970 and 1982 or so.  This was a favorite book of mine when I was a kid, and I used to take it out of my local branch of the St. Louis Public Library pretty regularly.

The one thing I DO remember were the fantastic illustrations.  It was done in black and white, and the drawings looked as though they may have been pen and ink, or etchings, and they were very realistic.

Thematically, I remember a couple things about the story:  A boy and his cat used to sit on a hill under their (or maybe the cat’s) favorite tree.  At night, the cat would go have adventures on his own with his cat friends.  Toward the end of the story, the cat died, and the boy and his mom decided to bury him atop the hill under the beloved tree.  Then the boy would go there to remember the cat.

Specifically, I recall one page in the book that illustrated night time, when the cat would go with his cat friends.  There is a house (presumably the cat’s) in the background, as though he has just been let out for the evening.  In the foreground, you see the cat joining up with many, many neighborhood cats as they set off to roam around–a virtual cat army.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.