It's Like This, Cat

It's Like This, Cat is a novel by American writer Emily Cheney Neville, which won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1964. It's Like This, Cat was Neville's first book.

The main character of the story is Dave Mitchell, a 14 year old boy who is growing up in mid 20th century New York City. Dave lives with his father and his asthmatic mother, whose attacks worsen when Dave and his father have their frequent arguments. Dave's refuge after a clash with his father is with Kate, an elderly neighbor whose apartment is filled with stray cats she loves. Dave adopts one of the stray cats, names it "Cat" and takes him home. "Cat" brings both joy and adventure into Dave's life. Cat's presence brings Dave into contact with several new people, including a troubled college aged boy named Tom, and Dave's first girlfriend, Mary. While documenting Dave's growing maturity, the book also provides glimpses of a few of New York's neighborhoods and attractions, from the Fulton Fish Market to the Bronx Zoo and Coney Island.

Dave is nearly hit by a car, and is saved by Kate, an older woman who takes him back to her apartment, which she shares with numerous rescued stray cats. Dave decides to take a male cat home with him as a pet, and names him Cat.

After a night of wandering, Cat gets locked in a storage cage in an apartment basement. An older boy skulking in the basement helps Dave break Cat out of the cage. Later, Dave makes an offhand remark to the superintendent of that apartment about the older boy, which leads the super to discover the basement has been robbed. Dave is initially concerned that he is a suspect and changes his appearance, but the older boy, Tom Ransom, 19, was caught trying to return the things he had stolen on a dare. Dave writes Tom a letter.