The Cat Who Had Two Lives

What journalist Huxley means by two lives is the cat Pip's experiences before and after his adoption by her and her husband Bob, part-time New Yorkers who bought a house in rural Pennsylvania. Granted, the two lives are markedly different; the scrawny stray was quickly feted and petted with spoonfuls of cream-laden scrambled eggs, a home in the Huxley's barn (complete with bed and kerosene heater for the cold months) and eventually the run and dominance of the house. But the more important dichotomy is between Pip's indoor and outdoor lives. Though he enjoyed playing the satrap around the house, outdoors Pip became a scrappy stalker of mice, rabbits, bats and the like. The Huxleys let Pip move freely everywhere: ``As contented and affectionate as he was to be ours, he needed to go outside.'' Although undoubtedly heartfelt, this sentiment comes across as an apologia for Pip's demise under the wheels of a car. Much of the book reads like a memorial; shards of recollections aimed more at exorcising the Huxleys' pain than at entertaining or informing the reader. Photos. (Jan.)