Copyright © 2013 by The New Yorker Magazine All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, New York, a Penguin Random House Company. RANDOM HOUSE and the HOUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC. All pieces in this collection, except as noted, were originally published in The New Yorker. The publication dates are given at the end of each piece. Handwritten draft of “Myself with Cats” by Henri Cole. Reprinted by permission of the author. Roald Dahl’s handwritten notes for “Edward the Conqueror” © RDNL. Reprinted by permission of The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. Original draft manuscript of Ted Hughes’s “Esther’s Tomcat” taken from Lupercal, © Estate of Ted Hughes. Reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd. and the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University. “Town of Cats” from 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, copyright © 2011 by Haruki Murakami. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. “The Case of Dimity Ann” by James Thurber, copyright © 1952 by Rosemary A. Thurber. Reprinted by permission of Rosemary A. Thurber and The Barbara Hogenson Agency. All rights reserved. James Thurber’s original draft manuscript of “The Case of Dimity Ann” (copyright © 1952 by Rosemary A. Thurber) is published by permission of the Rare Books & Manuscripts Library of the Ohio State University Libraries, Columbus, Ohio, home of the James Thurber Archive, Rosemary A. Thurber, and The Barbara Hogenson Agency. All rights reserved. Credits for illustrations appear on this page. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The big New Yorker book of cats / foreword by Anthony Lane. pages cm ISBN 978-0-679-64477-4 eBook ISBN 978-0-67964478-1 1. Cats—Anecdotes. 2. Cats—Fiction. I. New Yorker (New York, N.Y.: 1925) SF445.5B546 2013 636.8—dc23 2013013345 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper www.atrandom.com Design by Susan Turner v3.1_r2 (illustration credit col3.1) “I know a lot of people will say, ‘Oh, no—not another book about cats.’ ” (illustration credit col4.1) CONTENTS Cover Title Page Copyright FOREWORD BY ANTHONY LANE FAT CATS DEATH OF A FAVORITE J. F. POWERS THE CASE OF DIMITY ANN JAMES THURBER DEFENCE OF CATS WOLCOTT GIBBS THE SMOKER DAVID SCHICKLER COLLOQUY WELDON KEES CAT STORY JAMAICA KINCAID THE WINESHOP CAT SYLVIA TOWNSEND WARNER BOOKSTORE CAT SUSAN SHEEHAN TOMCAT TED HUGHES FROM DIN-DIN THOMAS WHITESIDE PAUNCH PAUL MULDOON DEFECTION OF A FAVORITE J. F. POWERS ALLEY CATS THE CATS JOHN UPDIKE DAY AND AGE DANA GOODYEAR A CAT IN EVERY HOME KATHARINE T. KINKEAD CAT HOUSE MAEVE BRENNAN TOWN OF CATS HARUKI MURAKAMI CAT’S ROBO-CRADLE MARGARET ATWOOD LADY OF THE CATS WOLCOTT GIBBS AND E. F. KINKEAD ARMY CATS TOM SLEIGH CROUCHING TIGER, TREMBLING PENGUIN ROBERT SULLIVAN HOW TO MAKE A CAT TRAP E. B. WHITE THE CAT-SAVERS WALLACE WHITE A DULL, ORDINARY, NORMAL LIFE IN MANHATTAN BERNARD TAPER CAT GODDESSES ROBERT GRAVES CAT FANCIERS TIGER IN THE SNOW PETER MATTHIESSEN WHERE I LIVE AMY OZOLS INTERCAT HENDRIK HERTZBERG THE LAST MEOW BURKHARD BILGER PROPINQUITY ALASTAIR REID