This is not a terrible book, but it does get old in a hurry. The main narrative about the rescue of a stray cat, who the author adopts and eventually calls Polar Bear is entertaining, but too much has been done to make it "cute", like pages of imagined conversation between the author and the cat. There are also tons of digressions, about animal cruelty, historic views of cats and so on. It is also very dated in its discussion of the animal rights movement. I think there are a lot of better books in the "beloved pet" genre.

Excellent I have all three book about Polar Bear

This is really a story about a man (who is a more mature bachelor and used to living by himself) and how he came across a stray white cat. At first he was just going to care for him over the holidays until a home can be found for the rescued stray, but they develop such a bond and understanding that is just fascinating. I liked it because I was able to relate. It doesn't just apply to cats. I've had pets that I have bonded very closely with. I love this book. I think I've read it 4 times. It was a gift from my father after a business trip he took in NYC. It was a difficult read because I was only in 5th grade then, but I loved it. I still have my original copy from 1989.

I thought this book was extremely funny. I love the part about giving the cat a pill. I thought of it every time I had to give my cat, Buddy, a pill over the winter. Amory "gets" what it is like to have a cat for a pet.