Cat People

In Cat People, Michael Korda, the New York Times bestselling author of Horse People, and his wife, Margaret, provide a wildly entertaining look at the world of cat lovers -- and their devotion to their pets.

With characteristic wit, self-effacing charm, and sheer, exuberant love of a good cat story, they recount their lives as "cat people," beginning with Margaret's passion for cats (and Michael's reluctant midlife transformation into a cat person), and introduce readers to a hilarious assortment of people whose lives revolve -- often to an extraordinary degree -- around their cats, from Cleopatra, a transatlantic traveler who found happiness in Paris, to Wally, the epitome of feline dignity.

Here are people who just can't say no to acquiring another cat, who travel the world with their cats, who build their social lives around their cats -- and, of course, here are the cats themselves. The Kordas celebrate the beguiling power of cats, including many of their own who have complemented, complicated, and changed their lives together over the years. Charming, often funny, and sometimes sad portraits populate the book -- such as Margaret's beloved cat Irving, whose favorite abode was the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and Mumsie, who arrived unexpectedly at the door with her two kittens, and special cats like Jake and the gentle Chutney, as well as "difficult" cats like Chui and poor Mrs. Bumble, and Mr. McT., the bully who found love late in life. There are graceful cats and cats like Kit-Kat that never look before they jump; in short, countless cats the reader will never forget, even those with many cats of their own.

The human characters include such unabashed cat people as one couple who keeps twenty-three cats and orders litter by the truckload; a glamorous New York agent who regularly shares lunch with her cat, Tulip, courtesy of New York's finest French restaurants; and many others, ranging from the eccentric to the bizarre. From city cats to country cats, Margaret and Michael celebrate the challenges, the joys, and the occasional heartbreak of living with -- and sometimes for -- one's cat.