The Cat Who Came for Christmas

We first meet the aforementioned cat on a snowy Christmas Eve in New York. Cleveland Amory, the founder of The Fund for Animals, helps rescue a poor feline from the streets of the city and takes him home - temporarily - to care for him until a suitable home is found. Amory is, by his own admission, a dog person, but he quickly falls in love with this poor young cat who has obviously suffered much in his young life: he is terribly thin, his body bears several wounds, his back is obviously injured, he is filthy, and he may well have never known the affection of another soul. Someone has reportedly thrown things at him and hit him in an effort to run him off, so his emergency rescue is a necessity. Underneath all of the dirt, Amory finds a beautiful white cat with magical eyes and a spirit that wins Amory over from the start. He is so beguiled by the little guy that he talks a prospective new owner out of adopting him the very next morning.

The book, as it unfolds, is the story of this special cat and the human he owns over the course of their first year together. Amory describes many of the conversations he has with his lovable but stubborn new friend, expounds greatly upon matters of cat psychology that all cat lovers will immediately recognize, and basically delivers a truly heart-warming story about two curmudgeons, one human and one feline, who magically find each other and develop a deep and lasting friendship. You'll read about the cat's behavior toward new people (including the likes of celebrities such as Walter Cronkite and Cary Grant), other animals, travel, veterinarians, and basically life in general. The stories of Amory's behavioral modification techniques and feline communication skills are as insightful as they are funny and do nothing to dispel the notion that cats are very stubborn little creatures. The chapters on the cat's domestic and foreign policies are especially instructive and endearing.

Amory is a wonderfully witty storyteller. Some may complain that he sometimes goes off on tangents, but these are most instructive as they invariably relate to early efforts by The Fund for Animals to protect those creatures being brutally exploited by human beings (e.g., whales and baby seals); I must say I don't approve of some of the techniques the group employs, but certainly the group's heart was in the right place. Amidst all of the cat-related humor, Amory is wont to slip in some wonderfully subtle little jokes and literary references, and I would argue one learns as much about human nature as feline nature over the course of the book.

You might notice I have refrained from giving the cat's name; this is intentional on my part. A cat's name is very important, and the author devotes many pages to the naming process of this cat in particular, so I would be remiss to simply blurt the name out here.


It will warm your heart and make you laugh   March 31, 1999
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Speaking as a writer of humor/satire/parody (most recently, Scratching the'Net: Web Sites for Cats - a book answering the question, "What would the internet look like if it were run by cats?"), I'm always impressed by those who can write so movingly of cats, yet make you laugh as well. This is a touching tale of cat and man that will ring true to any true lover of cats.


This touching book should make everyone want to own a cat!   November 24, 1998
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Cat lovers all over the world are bound to cherish this book as one of their favorites. The story of Polar Bear is not only about the amazing relationships between cats and their people, but about the love that they share. I laughed, I smiled, I couldn't put the book down!


An absolute delight   September 27, 1998
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

As someone who is also proudly owned by a white cat with a strong personality, I was prepared to like this book even before I picked it up. But I wasn't prepared for the way Amory whisks you into his and Polar Bear's world, making this wonderful cat come alive before your eyes.I only wish that some literary characters were as well-crafted as Polar Bear's. The book is a treat and a must-read for all animal lovers.