The Cat Who Came for Christmas

It is fitting that the founder and head of the Fund for Animals personally rescues and takes in strays, and one incident proved to have a profound effect on him. On a snowy Christmas Eve, Amory helped capture a scrawny cat and took it to his apartment. How does a new cat-keeper train a creature accustomed to fending for itself in Manhattan's alleys? Slowly, with patience and respect. Amory offers an entertaining, if precious, re-creation of his first year with Polar Bear (his account of selecting a name takes 20 pages). One highlight is a visit to the vet where the receptionist was a cat. During this time he also housed a dog and a grounded pigeon, and consulted a cat psychologist as well. Interspersed with tales of Polar Bear are many digressions involving the author's work with animal-rescue and animal-rights organizations. Polar Bear was invited to be ship's cat on Sea Shepherd (Greenpeace), but Amory declined on behalf of the cat. Mainly for aelurophiles. (October)