Everyone knows cats have minds of their own, but the felines in The Politicats have political savvy an experienced Washington spin doctor would envy. In his new novel, Tom Williams has created two shrewd cats who conspire to sabotage the presidential campaign of a conniving, villainous and extremely wealthy U.S. senator. Will they succeed?
Meet Napoleon and Mr. Grover, the feline protagonists of The Politicats. Mr. Grover, a cynical elderly cat, allows Governor Goodfellow to share the governor's mansion with him, but is not excited when the governor decides to run for the U.S. presidency. The cat changes his mind, however, when he meets the governor's opponent: Mr. Grover recognizes him as the scoundrel who many years before took him from an animal shelter with plans to vivisect him.
The old cat meets an ally in the aristocratic Napoleon, whose human, a Washington newspaper reporter, is hired to handle media relations for the governor. The two cats agree that the country would be a disaster for animals in general and for cats in particular with the despicable Senator Durth in the White House. Together they hatch an unlikely scheme to disrupt the senator's campaign and insure that he loses the election. How they foil the senator's dirty tricks fills the story with suspense, surprises and hilarity. This lively political satire will keep readers -- especially those who love cats -- smiling long after they turn the last page!
Every cat person knows, as do many others, that cats possess mysterious mental and communicative abilities that defy human understanding and stagger human imagination. But can two cats who make up their minds to sabotage the presidential campaign of a conniving, villainous and extremely wealthy United States senator even have a chance of succeeding?
As soon as you meet Napoleon and Mr. Grover, the feline protagonists of this hilarious and heartwarming novel, you'll know the answer. We first encounter Mr. Grover as a handsome young gray tabby escaping the clutches of a medical researcher who collects stray cats to perform cruel and painful experiments on them. Fifteen years later he reappears as a huge, elderly, battle-scarred former stray who is now the beloved friend of no less than the governor of the state, Seth Goodfellow. Down-to-earth, highly respected and eminently qualified, the governor is being urged by leaders of his party to seek its presidential nomination.
Napoleon, an aristocratic red-orange not-quite-Persian longhair, meets the streetwise and cynical Mr. Grover when his human, a talented young Washington newspaper reporter named Stanley Blister, is hired to handle media relations for Gov. Goodfellow in his primary campaign against U.S. Sen. Desmond Durth, a diabolical, scheming, multimillionaire doctor who left the drug company he founded to run for Congress and now has his sights set on the White House.
Mr. Grover, looking forward to retirement when the governor's term of office ends, is dead set against the idea of having his human become president. All that changes, however, when the old cat has occasion to meet Sen. Durth, sniffs him and discovers that this is the very same scoundrel who 15 years earlier took him fraudulently from an animal shelter and was planning to perform vivisection on him.
Mr. Grover and Napoleon decide that the nation as a whole, animals in general and cats in particular must be saved from having a monster such as this in the White House. They form an unlikely and guarded alliance to send Durth's campaign down in flames, and the story of how they do it will leave you laughing, crying and inspired by Mr. Grover's earthy wisdom and the governor's gentle philosophy about the qualities a president should have. The clever detective work of both Napoleon and Stanley foils the evil senator's dirty tricks in ways that fill the story with suspense and surprises. And there's even a bit of cat romance when Napoleon meets the governor's daughter's beautiful white Persian:
She observes him with an air of superiority. "My name is Victoria. I was named for the queen of England."
Big deal, thinks Napoleon. "Well, I'm Napoleon, and I was named for my houseboy's grandfather. But I think there was also an emperor of France by that name."
This is unquestionably the book of the year in feline fiction; but it is written to be enjoyed not just by cat enthusiasts but by animal lovers in general. Anyone with any pet that is truly loved will be able to identify with the emotions and situations of this story.
The Politicats is funny, intelligent political satire, and author Tom Williams has plenty to say through his delightfully outspoken cat characters about the absurdities of the American political system as well as of the human race. He not only gets his message across, but leaves the reader smiling.
The Beginnings Of Politicat Conversations
ON RELIGION . . . Napoleon: "It's never been clear to me exactly what these humans think about God. Do you suppose they're not aware that God is a cat?" Mr. Grover: "God ain't no cat, boy. But God sure has a cat's intelligence. And humans never seem to be able to understand that . . ." Napoleon (skeptically): "Are you absolutely certain God's not a great huge old Maine Coon Cat with a long, fluffy tail? I mean, that's what Mama always sort of suggested."
ON POLITICS . . . Mr. Grover: "Cats don't need political parties. Hell, we're all Democrats." Napoleon (his aristocratic fur bristling): "Speak for yourself."
ON THEIR HUMAN EMPLOYEES . . . Napoleon: "Do I understand that you call your human, who is the chief executive of this entire state, your 'butler'?" Mr. Grover: "Well, that's one o' the nicer things I call him. He opens doors for me and gets my meals. I guess he don't do all the things a real butler should, but, hell, good help's hard to find these days . . . And you call your human your 'houseboy.' That ain't very complimentary." Napoleon: "It's not a compliment. It's a job description."
