It's Like This, Cat facts for kids

It's Like This, Cat is a popular novel written by American author Emily Cheney Neville. This book won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 1964, which is a special award given to excellent children's books in the U.S.. It was Emily Cheney Neville's very first book!

Quick facts for kids
It's Like This, Cat

Author	Emily Cheney Neville
Illustrator	Emil Weiss
Cover artist	Emil Weiss
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Children's novel
Publisher	Harper & Row
Publication date	1963
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	181
ISBN	0-06-024390-2
OCLC	30857758

The Story of Dave and Cat

The main character of the story is Dave Mitchell, a 14-year-old boy. He lives in New York City in the mid-1900s. Dave lives with his father and his mother, who sometimes has asthma attacks. These attacks often get worse when Dave and his father argue.

After a disagreement with his dad, Dave often finds comfort with Kate. She is an older neighbor whose apartment is full of stray cats she loves. Dave decides to adopt one of these stray cats. He names him "Cat" and brings him home. Cat brings lots of fun and new experiences into Dave's life.

Cat Joins the Family

One day, Dave is almost hit by a car. An older woman named Kate saves him. She takes him back to her apartment, which is home to many rescued stray cats. Dave decides to take a male cat home as a pet. He names his new furry friend "Cat."

A New Friend and a Dare

After wandering one night, Cat gets stuck in a storage cage in an apartment basement. An older boy, Tom Ransom, who is 19, helps Dave free Cat from the cage. Later, Dave accidentally mentions something to the building's superintendent. This leads to the discovery that the basement had been robbed. Dave worries he might be a suspect. However, Tom Ransom was caught trying to return the items he had taken as part of a dare. Dave writes a letter to Tom.

Adventures at Coney Island

Dave and his best friend, Nick, decide to take Cat with them to the beach at Coney Island. There, they meet three girls their age. One of them is a quiet girl named Mary, who really likes Cat.

A Disagreement with Nick

Nick tries to set up a double date for himself and Dave with two of the girls they met at the beach (but not Mary). Dave doesn't want to go. During the date, Dave gets annoyed because Nick makes fun of him to impress the girls. After the date, Dave and Nick get into a fistfight.

Exploring the City

Tom comes to visit Dave, and they spend a day exploring different parts of New York City. Later, Dave rides his bike to Brooklyn. He finds Tom working at a gas station. Dave meets Tom again at Coney Island, where he meets Tom's girlfriend, Hilda. Hilda tells Dave that Tom was kicked out of NYU. His father also stopped supporting him, which led to him taking part in the dare. Back home, Dave asks his father, Pop, who is a lawyer, if he can help Tom. Pop agrees to talk to him.

Cat's Recovery

One day, Cat comes home seriously hurt after a fight with another cat. Dave has to make a tough decision to help Cat recover fully.

Meeting Mary Again

Dave bumps into Mary, the quiet girl from Coney Island, at a record store. They decide to go see a performance of West Side Story together. They also make plans to meet up again during Columbus Day weekend.

Family Matters

Tom follows Pop's advice and writes a letter to his father. He admits his mistakes and asks for help. However, the letter is returned, as his father has moved without a new address. Pop tells Tom to move on and promises to help him get his life in order.

A Road Trip and a Scare

Pop helps Tom get credit for his college classes. He and Dave also help Tom get a job at a local flower shop. Dave and his parents plan a vacation to a lake in Connecticut in August. While stuck in heavy traffic on the Hutchinson River Parkway, Cat escapes through an open window. Pop just laughs. Dave rushes after Cat, even though his parents can't turn around to pick him up. He walks a long way home, where his parents are waiting. After a short argument, his father apologizes for laughing about Cat running away. They then continue their vacation.

New School, New Friends

Dave starts his first year of high school at Charles Evans Hughes High School. He doesn't know many students there until he sees a familiar face: Ben Alstein. Ben is a Jewish boy who lives near him. Dave and Ben become good friends. They spend the Rosh Hashanah school holiday exploring the city. They even visit the Fulton Fish Market to get fish heads for Cat.

Zoo Visit and a Sad Event

Dave and Ben visit the Bronx Zoo and a nearby park. They are researching native animals for a biology project. There, they catch two red efts. On their way home, they watch a ticker-tape parade for a test pilot. While they are working on their report in Dave's room, Cat accidentally kills one of the efts.

More Time with Mary

Dave meets Mary on the Coney Island boardwalk on a cold Columbus Day. Mary takes him home and introduces him to her mother, Nina. Dave and Mary continue their Columbus Day date by riding their bikes to catch the Staten Island ferry. They have lunch at a delicatessen and visit the zoo.

Kate's New Fortune

Tom and Hilda join Dave and his parents for Thanksgiving dinner. Afterward, Kate receives a telegram. Her wealthy brother, who she hadn't seen in a long time, has passed away. The idea of inheriting her brother's money, and all the media attention that comes with it, becomes too much for Kate. Dave's family ends up adopting two of Kate's other kittens.

A Surprise Call

Dave gets an unexpected phone call from Mary. She was shopping at Macy's and missed meeting her mother. Now she doesn't have enough money to get home. Dave brings her home for dinner. It's then that he realizes she had looked up his phone number weeks before.

Big News for Tom and Hilda

Tom and Hilda arrive at Dave's house to announce they are getting married! Tom also shares that he has joined the Army's Air Defense Command.

Characters in the Book

• Dave Mitchell: A 14-year-old boy living in Manhattan, New York, in the early 1960s. He is the main character.
• "Aunt" Kate Carmichael: An older woman who doesn't trust people much. She loves taking in stray cats.
• Cat: An orange male tabby cat that Dave adopts from Kate. He brings adventure into Dave's life.
• "Pop" Mitchell: Dave's father, who is a lawyer. He can have a quick temper and often gets into arguments with Dave.
• Agnes "Mom" Mitchell: Dave's mother. She is a quiet woman who sometimes has asthma attacks, especially when Dave and Pop argue.
• Tom Ransom: A troubled 19-year-old boy whom Dave meets by chance.
• Nick: Dave's friend since they were very young children.
• Mary: A quiet girl with dark hair whom Dave meets at Coney Island. She becomes his first girlfriend.
• Ben Alstein: A Jewish boy whom Dave befriends in high school. Ben is one of the few familiar faces at Dave's new school.
• Butch: The janitor of Dave's apartment building.
• Fred Snood: The superintendent of Apartment 46, where Dave first meets Tom.
• Hilda: Tom's girlfriend.
• Nina: Mary's mother.
• Kenny Wright: A boy Dave meets while on vacation in Connecticut. He teaches Dave how to skin dive.
• Joey: A younger boy who often tagged along with Dave and Nick. He sometimes got them into trouble with his older brother.
• Blonde: Mary's friend, who Nick is interested in.
• Redhead: The Blonde's friend, who is Dave's date on the double date.