The Improbable Cat

by Allan Ahlberg

The Burrell family could never have foreseen the consequences of adopting the tiny stray kitten that appeared when David was twelve. But the sweet cat is not as harmless as it seems, and soon has them completely under its sinister spell. The only one unaffected, David concocts a plan to rescue his family - but will it work?

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Cats, Fantasy, Animals, Childrens, Young Adult

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2003

About the author

Allan Ahlberg was one of the UK's most acclaimed and successful authors of children's books - including the best-selling Jolly Postman series. Born in Croydon in 1938, he was educated at Sunderland Technical College. Although he dreamed of becoming a writer since the age of twelve, his route to that goal was somewhat circuitous. Other jobs along the way included postman (not an especially jolly one, he recalls), gravedigger, plumber, and teacher.

Ahlberg wrote his first book when he was thirty-seven, after a decade of teaching - a profession that he maintains is "much harder" than being a writer. He says that if he hadn't become a writer, he would have loved to be a soccer player. He was married for many years to fellow children's author Janet Ahlberg, with whom he often worked. Their daughter, Jessica Ahlberg, is also a children's author.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family takes in a homeless kitten and many of the family members fall instantly in love with it. The boy telling the story and his dog feel differently though!

The idea for this story reminded me of Grinny by Nicholas Fisk, but more successful as it hasn't dated like Grinny has. A quick read and good for an older child who struggles with a longer book. Some nice illustrations and a climactic ending.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5) I picked this up expecting a cute cat tale for children, only realizing afterwards that it's considered horror. When a grey kitten wanders into their garden, Davy is less enamoured than the rest of the Burrell family. His suspicion mounts as the creature starts holding court in the lounge, expecting lavish meals and attention at all times. His parents and sister seem to be under its spell in some way, and it's growing much faster than any young animal should. He and his pal George decide to do something about it. Since I'm a cat owner, I'm not big into evil cat stories (e.g. Cat out of Hell by Lynne Truss), especially if the author decides the cat has to die at the end and this one was so short as to feel underdeveloped.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cat adopts a family, and grows into something more human, demanding, dangerous: shades of the short story by Kate Atkinson of a cat as substitute boyfriend; echoes of Little Shop ofHorrors. A curious mixture of real menace and high comedy, I wondered about the audience for this book. Not that I'd be so crass as to say it was "unsuitable for school use," but that the growing unease of the narrator - a child at the time of the incident, a puzzled adult as narrator - creates a sense of dread that is somehow wrong-footed by the light, colloquial child voice. With the child voice comes a real sense of anguish at a family falling apart. The (more or less) happy ending still presents a family not coping with trauma, disunified. The hiatus between this discomfort and the "cavalry charge" that rescues the family is unnerving.
Would I "allow" it in a class? What "use" would it be in school? Well, it's not a successor to "Woof," and it could be seen as a deceptive genre-bender like the problematic "Bye Bye Baby," and I would want anyone to read it with an accepting but critical eye.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh. Interesting?

I picked this for my Book Buddies Book Club (age 7-11), since this month is "Read a book that sounds scary." I guess this one sounded more creepy, and it certainly was. Creepy in an odd way. I wasn't kept awake, but it read fast and was certainly suspenseful as I tried to figure out what was going on. Some of the British terms took me a bit to figure out what they were referring to. The ending was odd, too. My overall impression is "weird book!" Not in a bad way, but I'm not as attached or impressed with it to go out and have a bunch of reader friends read the book for its weirdness.

The main character is 12, which puts this on the border of children's and YA. Definitely fits the tween part. And the story overall is perfect for the child's level. It's just a few parts that I know I wouldn't want my child reading on their own and wondering alone without me to explain and discuss with them. (It's probably because of my temperate lifestyle, and how I don't want my children to learn from a book about vodka, why the mom puts vodka in her purse, why the dad and the cat drink sherry. I'd rather talk to them about it first, but in a book like this geared for children, they may come across these topics before I've gotten around to talking about them.)

The swearing (~10 times, most of them all on the same page) was also surprising and not at all a happy "discovery" for me as I mostly kept thinking of how I may have to deal with unsuspecting parents who just grabbed a small, short, innocent-enough book off the shelf. Oh well. The book is read. It was an interesting hour of my life with about 5 minutes of personal annoyance and a not-quite-closed ending that I won't forget about immediately.

[Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creepy cat grows gigantic and seems to hypnotize his owner family. Wonderful illustrations of the crosshatch variety by Peter Bailey.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good God! Now I never want to have a cat!!!

And this was another great story!

[Nichola Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite an interesting book that is a bit odd and weird in some ways; however I was intrigued to get to the end and solve the mystery of what was this cat like creature?! Although we don't actually find out ... Contains some mild swearing during one particular chapter which may be difficult to get around with children!

Davids family take in a stray kitten that unexplainably, more than doubles in size in just a few days. It has a darkness about it that David steers well clear of. His family however can't get enough of the cat; feeding, stroking and staring at it; and are hypnotised by it's presence, to the point it takes over their lives. Quickly changing in appearance, but never illustrated leaves you anticipating what has it become and what will happen. David, with the support of billy, the family dog, do whats in their power to evict it once and for all!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spotted The Improbable Cat by Allan Ahlberg sitting on the recommended shelf in the children's library. I liked the cover an was curious about the title. I'm glad I read it even though it wasn't what I was expecting.

The cover, the silhouette of a cat sitting before a fire doesn't look especially ominous. The title invokes a slight sense of mystery. What exactly makes a cat improbable?

When David's family takes in a sickly gray kitten and begin to lavish more attention on it than they do the family dog, Billy, I expected a story in the vein of the Bad Kitty books or maybe a wild cat like Angus in the Georgia Nicholson books. This cat though, is something other, something belonging in an X Files or Doctor Who episode than a chapter book.

There's no actual violence, just an ever growing ill at ease mood. The cat becomes more and more of an obsession for the family and less and less catlike in the process. Think of Stitch raiding the refrigerator in Lilo & Stitch where he lets his guard down and Nani sees his extra appendages. This "cat" is like Stitch but with far less good will.

Middle graders and tweens who are beginning to discover Gothic horror, like Poe, will like The Improbable Cat.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Swearing, cigarettes, alcohol, a home unkempt and a child neglected, a violent ending.

I don’t think these themes should be routinely included in children’s fiction, however I do believe there is value in exploring them. Literature has the power to give the experience of many lifetimes to children and adults alike.

Age-appropriateness is entirely subjective and I do not agree with other reviewers who dismiss the story as “not for children”. Admittedly I was surprised when my son, 9, showed me the word ‘shit’ in a couple of places, but in a safe environment where he can absorb and learn from these kinds of fictional experiences he can become a wiser, more resilient child.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this as a child and being more than a little upset about the horrific transformation of both the main character's family and the cat thing that they brought into their home. It did not have the same potency this time around (as expected), but this is still a good, light horror read for older children (note that there is some mild swearing).

3 stars - stuck with me enough as a child to want to re-read, not too scary

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very creepy. The fact that the illustrations never showed you the cat itself also added to the creepiness. It doesn't give you the full story, but then, to achieve its full effect, it doesn't need to either.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is NOT a children's book! It is a familiar children's author, has simple appealing illustrations, and seems to be a little book about family with a cat, but it was a creepy, frighteningly realistic horror story. Watch out!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm confused about the low rating. I thought The Improbable Cat was good. A short, creepy little book. I want to give it 5 stars, but really? Swearing in a kid's book?

[Emma Grace Blumer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't have hated it more.

[Ellie L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an odd, sinister story but one that I very much enjoyed. When a stray kitten comes to live with the Burrell family the most unlikely things begin to happen. Despite what appears to be a harmless exterior, David begins to notice the cat holding a bizarre power over the family home, one seemingly uncontrolable and gradually getting stronger. Just what is this power, and how can David's family be brought back to reality?
Ahlberg's tale was strangely unsettling, both in its depiction of a destructive force and how small deteriorations in the family unit can snowball into something bigger. Alarming it may be, The Improbable Cat is also quite comedic and there were a lot of laughs mixed in with the tension.
What I enjoyed most was the loose ends, which Ahlberg eerily leaves untied and allows the reader to make up their own mind. Excellent for bringing the tale to life. Whilst this would be a superb text to recommend to children, some small sections with mild bad language makes me a little hesitant. Nevertheless, an excellent and very different horror story!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Isn't your Average Allan Ahlberg Book, David Burrell's family adopts a small kitten and it hypnotises his family until everything they do is about feeding the never ending hunger that is no ordinary cat. They don't wash or clean themselves any more, they don't look after David or the baby, they forget even basic tasks as the cat takes over their lives. The cat grows into a huge beast and every plan that David has to turf it out and save his family fails. He and his family seem doomed but maybe he still has a few helpful friends who are not under the cat-beast's thrall.

This is a grim and atmospheric horror story for younger readers. Beautiful and atmospheric written.

[Ellen Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an amazing book. I read this book when I was 9 or 10 years old; we had borrowed it from the library. I was caught in it then, and I am still enthralled with it now. There is some mysterious charm that keeps me drawn to this book.

[Hailey Liechty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is not very satisfying. What was the creature? Why did it adopt the family? Why did they fall under its spell? There are too many questions, including, is this really for kids? It would be better as a short story in an YA collection.

[Kris McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another bedtime book read with Ezra. This is a very odd, dark little book. 'Light horror', if you will. We liked it.

[Matthew Archibald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Not necessarily for children. (The tone is a little creepy, and there is a bit of bad language.)

[Wilde Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

A stray cat transforms into something sinister.

The basic idea was good but the writing was quite flat.

Reading time around one hour.

[Natasha Velkumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This just supports my idea to not have a cat!

[Gabriela Visoiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dramatic.

[Tess]

I feel like this was anti-cat 😂 but a cute and creepy story

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a weird little story! Enjoyed it.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author just hates cats

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quiet summer night when the little grey kitten came limping into David's backyard, miawing pitifully. His family instantly fell in love with the kitten and welcomed it into their home. David, allergic to cats and loyal to his dog, stayed far away from the cat, and was therefore the only one to notice when his family started to act suspiciously strange. At the beginning, they only started to be spacey and irritable, but then it got worse. His mother would go shopping and only bring home large amounts of expensive fish and meat - for the cat. His father took to smoking again. His sister, once lively, would only sit on the couch, stroke the cat, and watch game shows. And that wasn't all. The cat was growing at an enourmous rate, far quicker than a normal kitten should. When David returns from a camping trip, he finds his house in shambles, his father drunk, and the cat - has turned into something enourmous and uncatlike. It will take all of David's skill and courage to figure out how to oust the cat and save his family.

This very short book reads like a ghost story told around the campfire. It is atmospheric and genuinely scary, and pulls you in and makes you turn the pages faster and faster, eager to find out what the cat is, and what David can possibly do to save his family. But the end is weak. Like many ghost stories, it doesn't tie everything up - indeed, it clearly admits that sometimes you never really know what happened and how, just that it happened. But I still wanted to know! I wanted to know what the cat was, and what it wanted, and what David's father meant when he said "Not much longer now, don't spoil things." I wanted to know!

[Marc Garfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is narrated by David. He is now grown up, but when he was 12 years old, something strange happened. It all started at his sisters birthday party. A kitten appears at the party and after a short time trying to find the owners, the family decide to adopt the it.

David soon notices that things start to change around the house; his smartly dressed, clean shaven, punctual father started to look dishevelled and becomes unorganised; his talkative, reliable mother started smoking and not getting dressed in the morning.

The problem is that David’s family fail to notice the changes happening. It also becomes clear to David that the cat grows at an alarming rate. Luckily for David, the cat does not seem to affect his behaviour. Billy, the dog and Luke, his brother, were also unaffected by the cat.

David hatched a plan to rescue the family from the strange cat once back from his camping trip. Not everything goes to plan, but ultimately some unexpected friends come to the rescue and the book ends in a rather sudden way.

Overall, the story moves quite fast with the ending seeming quite strange. This book is aimed more towards year 5 & 6. It would be great to use in a creative writing lesson, whereby the pupils could write their own endings for the story.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allan Ahlberg is the author of one of my all-time favourite books (Each Peach Pear Plum), but I didn't realise he had also written books for older children. Obviously this particular book is more recent than his books that I remember from my own childhood because the introduction mentions mobile phones.

The book is creepy and, honestly, a bit strange. I never did figure out what exactly the "cat" really was, but I think that was the point. Allan Ahlberg did an excellent job of creating a creepy atmosphere - maybe even a bit too creepy for some children. Although the text itself would probably be simple enough for a 7 or 8 year old, I don't think I would allow a child to read it until more like 10 or 11, at least not by themselves. Especially the ending I can imagine scaring an imaginative child (it basically says "this was probably a one off, but what if it wasn't and a weird kitten creature is heading towards your family right now?").

Minus one star because some parts of the story felt like they were weird just for the sake of being weird, but overall a good book.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE IMPROBABLE CAT, Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Peter Bailey; SFF, YA.
2002, a sweet litle kitten grows, and grows, and grows....

Gently whimsical tale of a couple of hellish weeks in a 12yo boy’s life when his family takes in an adorable little kit that grows far, far too rapidly, and appears bent upon hypnotizing the family into becoming its slaves. Only Billy and his dog seem to be immune to its influence, and as his family slowly disintegrates he tries to get rid of the cat. When his attempts prove unsuccessful he gains unexpected allies, but the resolution is, while satisfactory, still rather, um, “odd”.

Very peculiar little story, but quite entertaining, with a snappy sense of humor and a good pace, fun for adults too, especially if you’ve ever been besotted by a cute kit.