Cat Tales

An index of  stories, true stories, poems and fairy tales about cats, including an introductory paragraph from each.  The full text of these stories is available for your reading pleasure!

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The Cat That Walked By Himself 
from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling....
HEAR and attend and listen; for this befell and behappened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The Dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild--as wild as wild could be--and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him..... 

Why Cats Catch Mice
from Mouser Cat's Story by Amy Prentice....
"It is the hardest thing in the world to stand up and begin telling a story without anything to start one going," Mrs. Mouser said thoughtfully, as she brushed her whiskers with her paw. "After you once get into it, of course, they come easy enough. How would it do if I should explain why it is that cats catch mice?"....

Kitty Snow
from Mouser Cat's Story by Amy Prentice....
It was snowing one day, and Dolly, standing by the window, said to her mother that she wished the snow-flakes would turn into a pretty, little, white kitten, so she could have something to play with. She hadn't hardly more than spoken, when they heard a cat calling from out of doors, and Dolly ran into the hallway, believing the snow-flakes had really turned into a pet for her.... 

Mr. Thomas Cat's Narrow Escape
from Mouser Cat's Story by Amy Prentice....
It seems that Mr. Thomas had been out in the stable stealing the food which was left for Mr. Towser, and one of the maids, seeing it, told Mr. Man, so then and there it was decided that Mr. Thomas must be drowned. Mr. Man called him up, as if he was the best friend he ever had, and when Mr. Thomas got near enough, he caught him by the tail, starting off at once for the stream.....

The Dissatisfied Cat
from Mouser Cat's Story by Amy Prentice....
"Old Mrs. Pussy Cat ..........was partly black and partly white, and not being a very neat cat, the white hair got dirty so often that she believed it would be a great thing if it was all black. So she got the idea into her head that if she should shave off the white hair, it would be the color she wanted when it grew out again.....

Whittington And His Cat 
from English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs....  
In the reign of the famous King Edward III. there was a little boy called Dick Whittington, whose father and mother died when he was very young. As poor Dick was not old enough to work, he was very badly off; he got but little for his dinner, and sometimes nothing at all for his breakfast; for the people who lived in the village were very poor indeed, and could not spare him much more than the parings of potatoes, and now and then a hard crust of bread..... 

A Cat's Dream
from Mouser Cat's Story by Amy Prentice....
Kitty cat, kitty cat, asleep on the rug,
With velvet paws beneath your head nice and snug,
What are you dreaming of? What do you think
When out slips your little tongue so soft and pink?....

Why Cats Purr.....
There once lived a king and queen who longed for a baby daughter. Finally, just as they were giving up hope, the queen bore a girl child and the king and queen were the happiest people on earth. Only one thing marred their contentment.....

Puss In Boots
from The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang....
There once was a miller who left no more estate to the three sons he had than his mill, his ass, and his cat. The partition was soon made. Neither scrivener nor attorney was sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor patrimony. The eldest had the mill, the second the ass, and the youngest nothing but the cat. The poor young fellow was quite comfortless at having so poor a lot.....

Kisa the Cat
Once upon a time there lived a queen who had a beautiful cat, the colour of smoke, with china-blue eyes, which she was very fond of. The cat was constantly with her, and ran after her wherever she went, and even sat up proudly by her side when she drove out in her fine glass coach.

Alice meets the Cheshire cat
from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.... 
`Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. `Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. `Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' .......

The King Of The Cats
an English folk-tale by Ernest Rhys - a black cat tale for Halloween........
Once upon a time there were two brothers who lived in a lonely house in a very lonely part of Scotland.  An old woman used to do the cooking, and there was no one else, unless we count her cat and their own dogs, within miles of them.....

What Happened Christmas Eve
The story of an old fashioned Christmas where a white cat brings the best Christmas gift of all. .......   It was Christmas Eve and the frost fairies were busy getting ready for Christmas Day. First of all they spread the loveliest white snow carpet over the rough, bare ground; then they hung the bushes and trees with icicles that flashed like diamonds in the moonlight........ 

The Slum Cat
An enchanting story of how a slum cat found happiness, with a couple of twists of the tale along the way......
M-e-a-t! M-e-a-t!" came shrilling down Scrimper's Alley. Surely the Pied Piper of Hamelin was there, for it seemed that all the Cats in the neighbourhood were running toward the sound, though the Dogs, it must be confessed, looked scornfully indifferent........

The Lioness and the Rat
from Mouser Cat's Story by Amy Prentice.....
"Don't you ever feel badly, Mrs. Mouser, when you have caught a mouse, to think that it had a mother, and brothers and sisters, in its hole, waiting for it to come back?" your Aunt Amy asked......

True Stories About Cats
extracts from True Stories About Dogs and Cats, by Eliza Lee Follen ....
"I must say something in favor of the much-abused cat. Doubtless she would be a much better member of society, if she were better treated, if she had a better example set before her....... 

also see:  
The White Cat's Tale
An old French Fairy tale of an enchanting (and enchanted) white cat.

The White Cat's Heir
The story of a white cat, a large inheritance, and associated misadventures.

The White Cat Ghost
The story of a white cat whose attachment to her owner extended beyond life itself.

Cat-Purr - home

Cat that Walks by Himself
Why Cats Catch Mice
Kitty Snow
Thomas cat's escape
The Dissatisfied Cat
Whittington & his Cat
A Cat's Dream
Why Cats Purr
Kisa the Cat
Puss in Boots
Alice meets Cheshire Cat
King of the Cats
Xmas Eve
The Slum Cat
The Lioness & the Rat
True Stories 

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