Catfantastic: Nine Lives and Fifteen Tales

Catfantastic

by Andre Norton (Editor / Contributor), Donna Farley (Contributor), Clare Bell (Contributor)

Two of the biggest names in the fantasy field have put together a unique collection of fantastical cat tales for friends of furry felines. Cats work a special magic in these stories from the future, from the past, and from dimensions people never dream of.

Introduction: Speaking of cats--
a very weighty subject / by Andre Norton --
The gate of the kittens / by Wilanne Schneider Belden --
The damcat / by Clare Bell --
Borrowing trouble / by Elizabeth H. Boyer --
Day of discovery / by Blake Cahoon --
Wart / by Jayge Carr --
Yellow eyes / by Marylois Dunn --
It must be some place / by Donna Farley --
The dreaming kind / by C.S. Friedman --
Trouble / by P.M. Griffin --
Skitty / by Mercedes Lackey --
The game of cat and rabbit / by Patricia Shaw Mathews --
From the diary of Hermione / by Ardath Mayhar --
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's--
supercat! / by Ann Miller and Karen Elizabeth Rigley --
Noble warrior / by Andre Norton --
Bastet's blessing / by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Cats, Science Fiction, Fiction, Animals

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1989

About the author

Andre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.

Reviews

[Valerie]

Norton was co-editor, but only the preface and one of the stories is by her. This book contains some stories I knew I'd read, but didn't know where I'd encountered them. To alleviate that problem for others, here's a table of contents:

(1) Introduction (by Andre Norton)
(2)The Gate of Kittens (by Wilanne Schneider Belden) (sort of a Witch World meets a librarian through the agency of a cat story)
(3)The Damcat (by Clare Bell) (this is the one in which a bobcat threads wires through a pipe you'd think would be too small)
(4) Borrowing Trouble (by Elizabeth H Boyer) (An Apprentice Wizard aqcuires a familiar cat aptly named Trouble)
(5) Day of Discovery (by Blake Calhoon) (technological experiments with worldgates collide with more magical versions)
(6) Wart (by Jayge Carr) (Translation problems apparently prevent peace talks with inexplicably hostile aliens)
(7) Yellow Eyes (by Mayrlois Dunn) (An East Indian wizard (accompanied by an elephant) seeks the return of a sacred jewel, and negotiates with a cat and dog to achieve his end)
(8) It Must Be Some Place (by Donna Farley) (Another journey to the land of Lost Things)
(9) The Dreaming Kind (by CS Friedman) (Another argument against creating new life by artificial means. I don't see the logic, but it's a fair bet that the guy who started the the project wouldn't continue it anyway, since it's established early on that he has no
follow-through, once he's mastered the tools and techniques to do something)
(10) Trouble (by P M Griffin) (Not to be confused with the earlier 'Borrowing Trouble', this deals with a society for the suppression of magic, and the trouble it causes real magicians)
(11) SKitty (by Mercedes Lackey) (a spacebound resetting of the tale of Dick Whittington)
(12) The Game of Cat And Rabbit (by Patricia Shaw Matthews) ('Invisible' rabbits? Anyway, why would rabbits chew wiring?)
(13) From The Diary of Hermione (by Ardath Mayhar) (a sort of cat version of an Elizabethan(ish) journal)
(14) It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's...Supercat (by Anne Miller and Karen Elizabeth Murray) (Ok, it's silly. Helping an alien zookeeper recover a missing specimen. It's fun, so who cares?)
(15) Noble Warrior (by Andre Norton) (based loosely on the works of Frances Hodgson Burnett, I'd say. Sort of a Little Princess story, with a siamese cat and a hobgoblin)
(16) Bastet's Blessing (by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough) An Egyptologist cat invokes the title blessing, by doing a favor for the cat goddess.)

By and large, these stories are considerably less violent than Norton's usual fare. Personally, I'm a lot more offended by violence than by 'cuteness', so I appreciate the relief.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series of books when I was younger, probably middle school-ish I think. Very many of the books I read as a child involved animals - from James Herriot to these to Redwall and Watership Down to collections of "Heroic Animals Save Lives!" This fit in well. But I don't remember any of them aside from the one where a woman's cat (I think it was named Turtle) turns out to be Bastet, the Egyptian diety. I hope I one day know a child who is equally obsessed so I can share all these books.

[Jewell Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. If you are a cat lover, like me, and love fantasy and science fiction, like me, this is the book for you. What fun, anthology of many stories by several different authors. My favorite was "It Must Be Someplace" by Donna Farley. This was such fun. I have the entire series, so I'll have to keep reading. Every story in this anthology was worth the read.

[Michelle Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Purrfect collection of cat stories ,great for any cat owner/lover.
I found all the stories enjoyable which is rare in these compilations usually in these type of books only 1-2 stories are really good but I liked all of them. I had to buy the 2nd part of this series because I liked this one so much!

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the whole a very good collection. Only a couple stories didn't work for me. Mostly fantasy, but a few are more sci fi. All the authors are women too.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to try something different and do a little mini-review of each story with the star rating so if I ever look at this in the future, I'll have SOME idea of why I decided to remove it from my "keepers" bookcase. (It's starting to lean in a "I'm going to fall on Jen and cause grave or worse harm" kind of way, so some of the books on it need to go. This was one of the possible offerings.)

The Gate of the Kittens by Wilanna Schneider-so trope-filled I can't even. Spinster librarian, Book Mobile that borders on sentient and only works well for her, crossing into another world which requires a life sacrifice and confusing bad guy story arc and 2.5 is the best I can do.

The Damcat by Clare Bell. Not bad. Maybe not predictable, but some part of my brain remembered some of the story and was not impressed. 3 stars.

Borrowing Trouble by Elizabeth H Boyer. Reminded me of Puss-in-Boots. Didn't really dig this one though. 3 stars.

Day of Discovery by Blake Cahoon. This impressed me mightily upon the re-read, but upon further reflection and some digging into the author's other works, I am not as astounded by it. Still a solid 4 stars. (The love part got me at first, but it didn't hold up when I thought about it after the story hangover/afterglow.)

Wart by Jayge Carr. This irked me because I had to think to understand it at all. But then, after I kept coming back to the story over and over again, I realized that this story was WAY more awesome than I gave it credit for. Full 5 stars and my apologies for being such a meanie on first impulse.

Yellow Eyes by Marylois Dunn. Meh, elephants and exotic dog/cat like creatures and gems that glow, oh my! Not. 3 stars.

It Must Be Some Place by Donna Farley. Cute and I like the world of lost things and the mythic pantheon living there. 3.5 stars.

The Dreaming Kind by CS Friedman. Animal abuse and death, stupid humans messing with science/magic that they have no right to be messing with when they don't understand the consequences. That poor kitty! 1.5 stars.

Trouble by PM Griffin. It ended too abruptly, like it was the first chapter or so of a longer work. That annoyed me. There IS a longer work involving this characters that I want to read, but I am not sure if this came first or if that did. 3.5 stars, since I feel like this story was a tease.

SKitty by Mercedes Lackey. This, while possibly predictable, was AWESOME. I love the way the characters are written, how the world is built for you in such a quick timeframe and it felt REAL. 5 stars, all the way!

The Game of Cat and Rabbit by Patricia Shaw Mathews. Ugh, what even WAS that? I didn't like the time jumping and the cat's thought-process, while who knows even how they think, felt too simplistic and difficult to follow. Lowering my initial stars to 2.

From the Diary of Hermione by Ardath Mayher. Another clunker. The story made sense and had flow, but it did nothing for me. The style was perhaps the only thing I enjoyed of it and that wasn't enough to bring it above 2 stars for me.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's... Supercat! by Ann Miller and Karen Elizabeth Rigley. 5 stars, she ends up with the sheriff, what's not to love? Though I do wonder if she got the gift for her niece back or not.

Noble Warrior by Andre Norton. I was going to be mean and say 4.5 stars, but upon further reflection, if ended the way you WANTED it to. So 5 stars. Wish I could see what happened to the Doctor and the henchman who were in on the evil acts.

Bastet's Blessing by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. The cat's thought process was clear and I like how he learned, but sleeping on the books. If ONLY. Then it wouldn't be weird that I want to put a pile of books on my bed and roll around on top of them....it would be FOR SCIENCE! 3.5 stars, Bastet's Priestess pissed me off and the fact that Bastet wouldn't rein it in irked me too. But the solution was a good one, worked for Shuttle and Dr. Mercer at least.

(Anyone else feel the same? Anyone? Any...? Nevermind...)

So. Is this book staying? I did the math and it averages about 3.5, which I am being harsh with and rounded down to 3. So no, this is not a keeper. There were a few really amazing stories in this one, but the rest were just meh and not worth the space to keep this book on my bookcase.

I have the next two in this series, so will continue with them in my quest to purge more books out of my home. Wish me luck. The bookcase is still leaning more than I would like. :/

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)]

What a shame that only a few of the stories in this anthology are told from a cat's perspective.

[M— · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set of mostly fair stories with a few very enjoyable ones.

Summaries; occasional reactions:
Introduction: Speaking of Cats - A Very Weighty Subject · Andre Norton | Intro. Skip.

The Gate of the Kittens · Wilanne Schneider Belden | Mobile librarian finds entry to other world; takes cat and favorite books. My one favorite of the bunch.

The Damcat · Clare Bell | Cat prevents faulty dam from breaking; saves city.

Borrowing Trouble · Elizabeth H. Boyer | Magic. Cats. Demon-summoning. Blah.

Day of Discovery · Blake Cahoon | Shapeshifting cats encourage Prof's theories on dimensional realities.

Wart · Jayge Carr | Cat saves space ship for silly humans again.

Yellow Eyes · Marylois Dunn | Cat and dog return magic jewel to man with elephant.

It Must Be Some Place · Donna Farley | Tortoise-shell toms are magical; dimension of missing socks.

The Dreaming Kind · C. S. Friedman | Genetically engineered cats trounce monsters.

Trouble · P. M. Griffin | Cat promotes himself protector of young mage.

SKitty · Mercedes R. Lackey | Cats in space; again genetically altered but telepathic this time.

The Game of Cat and Rabbit · Patricia Shaw Mathews | Cat. Space.

From the Diary of Hermione · Ardath Mayhar | From the pen of the familiar herself; Victorian feel; quite fun.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s...SUPERCAT! · Ann Miller & Karen Elizabeth Rigley | Cat opts not to leave with visiting alien. When part of the title needs written in all caps, it is not a good sign.

Noble Warrior · Andre Norton | Siamese does various brave things; blah.

Bastet’s Blessing · Elizabeth Ann Scarborough | Cat convinces awakened Egyptian mummy not to eat his human.

[Misha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked Catfantastic and the authors’ insights into feline minds. Some of the stories I liked better than others, but that’s to be expected.

Andre Norton sums up the sci-fi/fantasy anthology purrfectly in the introduction:

"Herein are neither Heathcliff nor Garfield but some others who have as definite personalities to make forceful impressions within their territories... Cats are presented in all shapes, colors, sizes, alike in self-confidence and general ingenuity. There seems never to have been a cat who was not entirely equal to the situation which confronts him or her. In other words, there are no extraordinary cats, merely ones to whom unusual opportunities present themselves."

I picked up the collection because it has short stories by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton. It was also published in 1989 by DAW, which has printed countless books and authors I’ve raved about through the years. One doesn’t need to know about or like all of the above to enjoy this collection of short stories.

[Linn Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. I've read it dozens of time and I have to admit, the main reason is "It Must Be Someplace". From a dimension of lost socks to the concept that lost time must go somewhere and collects tangibly, this short story is a gem.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cats in science fiction and fantasy. With a cup of Earl Grey and Amaretto. Heaven. My daughter and i have borrowed one of the lines to repeat to each other when appropriate - "I lied." I will read teh entire series.

[Anumita Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag. Liked a few stories & some were unbearable. However, I’ve become slightly interested in cats after reading this book.

[Meg D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts on Catfantastic:
•The Gate of the Kittens: ⭐️⭐️ - didn’t really understand this one, should have skipped it
•The Damcat: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - this one was better but has aged poorly language-wise
•Borrowing Trouble: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - this story was so cute! Loved the humor
•Day of Discovery: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - a Sci-Fi murder mystery romance?? Very fun and easy to follow. I would read this as a full length book
•Wart: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - a little hard to follow, a little chaotic, but not bad overall
•Yellow Eyes: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - cute story!
•It Must Be Some Place: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - doing laundry turns into the Zootopia version of the Odyssey
•The Dreaming Kind: DNF - didn’t really like the premise, skipped
•Trouble: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - reminded me of Matilda but if Ms. Honey was a sorcerer
•Skitty: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - another cute one! Slow at the start with lots of world building but a very cute story nonetheless
•The Game of Cat and Rabbit: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - nothing remarkable to say about this one. It was enjoyable
•From the Diary of Hermione: DNF - it seemed like every other word was capitalized. It bothered me after 3 sentences so I moved on
•It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…Supercat!: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I love how this one didn’t take itself too seriously. Very funny read
•Noble Warrior: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - reading the dialogue was painful, but overall a good read
•Bastet’s Blessing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - a very sweet story to end on! Loved the Egyptian themes throughout the story

[Bloss ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally saw this on r/badscificovers and it became a bit of a meme in our house! Published 35 years ago, it’s out of print and after two failed attempts, I was finally able to track down a used copy.

As is often the case with shorts, this was a mixed back for me. Overall, I definitely preferred the lighthearted stories; in an anthology as silly as ‘Cat Fantastic’, I was kinda disappointed at how seriously some of the entries took themselves.
For me, the standouts were ‘The Gate of the Kittens’, ‘Borrowing Trouble’, It Must Be Someplace’, ‘Skitty’, and ‘It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s… Supercat!’.
I felt that, with ‘Wart’ and ‘From The Diary of Hermione’, the storytelling mechanisms got in the way of the story.

Because this is old, some of the language choices and stereotypes were pretty appalling by 2024 standards (‘Damcat’ and its insensitivity toward Indigenous characters being a strong example).

I’m glad I tracked this down and read it but I likely won’t pursue the other instalments.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 3-star read. Many of the stories started to blend together after a while - whether cats see spirits or other-dimensional beings is the main divide between fantasy and sci-fi in this anthology.

I thought Boyer's story and "Damcat" were the best of the bunch.

Probably not worth a re-read.

[Pamela Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this years ago, possibly more than once. The stories vary in quality, of course, but I believe I enjoyed most of them. I definitely read "The Gate of the Kittens" more than once - I love that story.

[Kim Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories are very entertaining, but the duds in this collection are lackluster and challenging to follow.

[Teresa Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only gave it 3 stars because there were 3 or 4 stories that were actually really good. the rest were anywhere from horrible to meh.

[Freyja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several fun stories involving cats of various sorts. They are rather like popcorn: you keep reading one after another until they are done. There is science fiction and mystery also.

[Ju Transcendancing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find my review on my blog as part of my 'Retro Fiction Review Series' - http://transcendancing.posterous.com/...

This anthology is beautifully put together as a hardcover with thick paper and it's one of those books you enjoy the physical feeling of reading. The book boasts 15 stories with an interesting table of contents. The anthology features predominantly female author names, with three or four gender ambiguous names as well. There are a variety of protagonists, some human, some cat, some male, some female - a nice balance that reads well.

In her introduction, Andre Norton discusses the "weighty subject of cats" (vii) and what she suggests is an affinity between them and writers. She points out that it is because the cat is known to be mysterious, at times imperious and well known to live by their own (non-human) standards that makes cats such a fascinating subject for story telling. Certainly if this anthology is anything to go by, I find myself agreeing with Ms. Norton. She summaries the book as "fifteen histories [that] deal not only with spells but also with diplomatic relations on other planets, with forbidden research, engineering on a grand scale and with guardians who know their duty and expertly do it" (viii).

I'm not usually one for short story anthologies, although every so often I come across an anthology sufficiently seductive enough that I cannot resist.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much exactly what you would expect from a collection of stories about cats and fantasy and science fiction. Most of the stories are cute, often cloyingly so. No new ground is covered, but cat lovers will leave feeling that their love has been properly represented. The two best stories - Andre Norton's "Noble Warrior" and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's "Bastet's Blessing" - are appropriately saved for last.

[Sallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the books I picked up in Portland at Miss Sparrow's Party. I love cats, and although this book is more a collection of science fiction, I put it in fantasy since the cats were fantastical ;-} I enjoyed all the stories, but especially, "Borrowing Trouble" by Elizabeth H Boyer; "It Must Be Some Place" by Donna Farley; "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's.... SuperCat!" by Ann Miller and Karen Elizabeth Rigley; and "Noble Warrior" by Andre Norton.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains 15 short cat stories. I enjoyed reading this as it was nice to take a break from long books and non-fiction and read something short a bit at a time without losing the plot.

I particularly liked cats aboard spaceships :) . These stories are written from both the perspectives of humans and cats, and I think I'll keep an eye out for the other ones in the series.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to read a bunch of stories like this one after another, because you get into one story right as it's just about over, and then you have to get into the next one. Still, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I particularly liked Borrowing Trouble, The Dreaming Kind, Noble Warrior, and Bastet's Blessing.

[Genny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a little embarassed to rate this book, but I did because I think it's funny to see it on my "shelf" here. I read it years and years and years ago, when I was but a young tween who loved cats. Some of the stories in this one weren't bad.

[penny shima glanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories + an editor/writer I adore + a subject I'm partial to (cats) + scifi/fantasy? Yes! It took severe discipline and a good amount of bribery to let this one last more than one sitting. I'm now on the hunt for the other four...

[Camille Stanford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories about cats, I found most of them pretty interesting. There were a few I found boring, and there were a few that I loved. I would recommend this book to most anyone who likes cats and/or fantasy.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing short stories about cats set in a sci-fi fantasy genre. Read all 5 in about a week!

[Nenangs · Rating 3 out of 5]

dulu pinjem dari siapa ya???

[C.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

love cats and fantasy, so no brainer here!