"Cats in Our Lives" by James and Pamela Mason

Yes, this is a book by the famous James Mason and his first wife, Pamela. They were avid cat lovers, especially Siamese cats, and chronicled some of their favorite cat stories in Cats in Our Lives. James also showed off his talent at drawing by illustrating the book with many line drawings (probably pen and ink) of the cats.

The cat names, "Topboy," "Zeke," "Lady Leeds" and the like are charming. James and Pamela took turns writing sections of the book and identified which sections, so that they did not have to attempt to meld their writing styles. The cats had fairly run of the mill adventures except that they belonged to a famous and quite itinerant family. Their travels by railway and across the ocean, and their adjustments to various new households as the Masons changed locales frequently, make the story lively.

Today's treatments for sick cats have changed greatly so it is an interesting window on the past to read of the remedies used in the thirties and forties (the book's copyright date is 1949). Although the Masons clearly loved their cats, I think today's pet owners might be appalled at their willingness to put down newborn kittens when there were just too many to keep. Today's remedy would be spaying the would-be parents, but back then it was apparently considered too dangerous an operation to spay a female cat, and therefore they allowed Lady Leeds to reproduce continually and only kept alive a couple of the males from each litter.

Despite this, when a cat was sick or lost they went to great lengths to try and find the cat or cure it, and they were clearly quite devoted to their four-legged children. I enjoyed this insight into their private lives and their thoughts, and I'm grateful to a Mason fan in the Netherlands who mailed this book to me. It's a keeper for sure.