The Rodent Not Taken

Curated by The New York Times best-selling author Jennifer McCartney, this collection of poems—discovered at a cat café in Milan, Italy—showcases the breathtaking skill, witty intelligence and breadth of knowledge possessed by the cat mind. McCartney knew she’d found something special as she translated the feline riffs on famous poems, beat poetry, rhyming verse, haikus and limericks. From musings on a tardy dinner (“Feed Me”) to a trip to the vet (“A Cat’s Revenge”), the “clueless yammering” of sparrows in a birdbath to the pleasures of an empty box, these are special additions to the genre. Soon, in fact, the scribe was inspired to add some work of her own, as well as charming line drawings and photographs. This slim volume will entice anyone enamoured of poesy and the fine arts—particularly cat lovers.