The Literary CatCast

A drunken thief feeds a starving, stray kitten from a vessel of stolen milk. This kindness later creates a dramatic event at the gates of Heaven. A Kitten in Paradise was written by Cicely Hamilton in the late 1920(s) or early 1930(s). It is one of twenty-one tales in the anthology, Puss in Books, copyright 1932.

A Cat May Look At A King was written by Jan Struther in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Struther also created the character, Mrs. Miniver, popular in the late 1930s and 1940s. In this story, a royal court cat blindly worships and unquestioningly trusts the King, until the King kicks him. At that point, a new perspective is formed for both the cat and the King. Through their conversations, and wisdom gained from the cat's point-of-view, the King and the Kingdom are changed for the better, forever. 

Cleveland Amory rescues a starving, hurt, stray white cat from a New York City alley on a snowy Christmas Eve night in 1977. This cat became known as his much loved cat, Polar Bear, featured in three of his best selling novels. In this episode Phebe reads chapter one, The Rescue from The Cat Who Came for Christmas.

The Paradise of Cats, written in 1864, by Emile Zola is the story of a fat, comfortable cat who longs to leave his luxurious life, and run wild on Paris rooftops. Told in the cat's own words, the cat soon discovers that life on the street is not as free and beautiful as expected. 

The Fat Cat, written in 1959 by the collaborative author group named, Q. Patrick, is categorized as suspense. It's a vintage short story that word plays on the childhood rhyme, The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat, but this is not a child's story. It follows a cat, who follows a soldier through a treacherous jungle during WWII.  The Literary Catcast is dedicated to the preservation of vintage books and literature with cats as main characters—bringing their awareness into the modern form of a podcast. You may find us under the keywords: cats, books, cats in literature, and narration.

The Cats of Ulthar, written in 1920 by H. P. Lovecraft, tells the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be. A young traveller boy named Menes reacts to the murder of his kitten with a meditation that gives way to prayer. Meditation and Prayer so strong it reshapes the clouds in the sky, and changes the cats, the people, and the town of Ulthar forever.

Tobermory, written in 1911, is a masterpiece short story satirizing the pretentiousness and dim-wittedness of Edwardian Era high-society. In this episode Mr. Appin has taught the Blemley's cat, Tobermory, to talk. Chaos, and plans of cat-murder ensue as Toby reveals in his human voice, their affairs, gossip and stupidity. 

Phebe Phillips reads her classic, charming Holiday poem about an unlikely friendship between a Cat and Mouse on Christmas Eve. 

This book, Love Is a Special Way of Feeling by Joan Walsh Anglund was an antique mall find by Phebe. Usually episodes feature fully developed cat characters, but in this small book of sweet verse there is a one-line mention of a cat, so Phebe deemed it acceptable for the podcast, especially since we're in the season of love and light…and this book is just so very, very sweet. Give yourself a nine minute escape with this 1960's book of joy. Phebe has been away from the podcast. At the end of August, a homeless cat, she named TillySue, gave birth in her podcast recording closet to five kittens. Stay for the very end of this episode for the calming sound of TillySue's nursing, purring kittens. You may see their photos on the website, The Literary Catcast (dot) com.

Phebe Phillips brings to life the 15th century Japanese legend, The Boy Who Drew Cats. This legend has been retold by many different authors. Phebe uses Margaret Hodges adaptation as her narration guideline. She pulls you into the story to learn that what sometimes is perceived as a person's greatest flaw, can actually become their greatest good fortune.  Information to help you find this book is located on The Literary Catcast website. Phebe records and edits in her Dallas, Texas studio. 

The Galloping Cat is an entertaining, funny poem about a quirky, martyr cat that gallops about doing good. He encounters an invisible angel on a garden path and a fight ensues. Phebe Phillips discusses and reads the poem, The Galloping Cat by the late British poet, Stevie Smith (1902-1971). This poem is an excerpt from the book, All the Poems by Stevie Smith, edited by Will May. Phebe feels an obligation to keep books with well-developed cat characters, alive and in-focus. The Literary CatCast Podcast is not monetized, nor are there affiliate links. It is a work of love designed to match cat-lovers with books they may like to read.

Ep 005- Mr. Cat, and The Black Velvet Hair Bow features the vintage book, Mr. Cat (1960) by George Freedley. It's a sweet, true story of his much-loved kitty, Mr. Cat. This episode is excerpted from a scene where Mr. Cat raids Madison Avenue sew shops bringing the actress, Lillian Gish, a black velvet hair bow.

Are you a cat lover, a book reader, and possibly a hot tea drinker? The Literary CatCast is the Podcast for you. Short excerpts are read from vintage and current books. Episodes are whistled in by a tea kettle, and guest cats voice episode meows. Fill your favorite teacup and get ready. You may find a new book, fall in love with a new cat character, or just be entertained. Subscribe at The Literary Catcast.com. The Literary CatCast, your new favorite podcast.

In this episode Phebe chats about the history of cats on ships, even as far back as the Egyptians, and Vikings. Did you know black cats were lucky? A tea kettle whistles her listeners into a legend about Noah's Ark, and how the cat first appeared. The reading is taken from The First Ship's Cat, from Myth and Legend of Ancient Israel, on page 49 inside the book The Well-Read Cat by Browntrout Publishers in San Francisco. As always, a photo and purchase link to the book is located in the Episode and Show Notes section of The Literary CatCast (dot) com. A photo of the cat who voices the meows is also on the website. The Literary CatCast Podcast exists to help literature lovers, who also love cats, build their personal libraries with old and new books featuring cats as main characters.

Phebe Phillips reads her classic, charming Holiday poem, Cat and Mouse's Christmas, about a friendship between a cat, and a mouse.   Cat and Mouse's Christmas by Phebe Phillips written December 12, 2018   On the night before Christmas, inside the warm house, Cat was stirring, in preparation for tea with Mouse. He mulled catnip, camomile, dutch lavender, and peppermint drops. He cubed cheddar, and swiss. He made havarti cream pops.   They laughed and told stories, they giggled—tee-hee . Cat and Mouse, great friends they would be.   They looked at the tree, and hid in the branches. They played cat and mouse, and did silly dances.   Cat gifted Mouse scraps of yarn from his ball. Mouse gifted Cat a felted acorn he found last Fall.   Daylight was breaking, it was time to go home. They hugged and rubbed whiskers, made hearts with their tails. Christmas Day was waking, cloudless and bright. Said Cat to Mouse, “Merry Christmas my friend. I'll see you tonight.”

This episode is taken from an out-of-print book from 1952 titled, Charles—The Story of a Friendship. The book is about distinguished British publisher, Michael Joseph's relationship with his Siamese Cat named Charles. In this episode Mr. Joseph discusses that the names given to individual cats shed interesting light on their human owners.  Remember to subscribe to this podcast, and we'd love a "Five-Paw" review! 

Phebe Phillips shares with you a few letter about cats. After Cleveland Amory wrote his first book, The Cat Who Came for Christmas, about the stray he rescued, later naming Polar Bear, he received a lot of letters from cat owners. Two of his favorite letters were about a cat named Jose—taken from Amory's Cat-Smartness file, and a cat named Arthur, taken from his Siamese file.  This excerpt is taken from Compleat Cat, a compilation of Amory's three books. It picks up on page 302 in the second chapter, titled Cat Power.