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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Never take kitty litter for granted, 4 Sep 2003
Since our own two cats hate even riding in a car, it was with envy and admiration that I read THE CAT WHO COVERED THE WORLD, the globetrotting adventures of Henrietta and her foreign correspondent owner.As a writer for the New York Times, Christopher Wren and his family lived abroad in such widely separated cities as Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, Ottawa and Johannesburg. Accompanying them everywhere over her 18-year lifespan was Henrietta, the family feline, herself a native of New York City. Amazingly adaptable, Henrietta coped with airplane baggage holds, Nile River rats, Hadeda ibises, African ants, a People’s Liberation Army veterinarian, and a scarcity of kitty litter. At the same time, she developed a taste for caviar, cockroaches, yellow fish, cabbage, prosciutto, sturgeon, herbal tea bags, and gongbao jiding. Considering the timespan and distances covered, this book is relatively short at 200 pages. The devotion and affection that the Wren family has for their furry pal is striking, as when Chris drags a 26-pound sack of cat litter home to litterless Beijing from Hong Kong. Or the distress the family feels when Henrietta goes missing for several weeks in Cairo. Though sometimes Chris lapses into a newsreporter’s matter-of-factual style, the humor and poignancy of life with Kitty in exotic places always shows through. For example, in bed after being assaulted by Soviet security goons, Chris writes: “And then I felt something hop softly on the bed. I opened my eyes and saw Henrietta ... She liked to curl up with the children and (wife) Jaqueline, but had never seen fit to favor me with such a visit ... Then I heard her purr. I reached down and lightly caressed the soft fur along her neck. She snuggled in tighter until my sore mouth and gut no longer throbbed. There is something consoling about stoking a pet when you feel frightened and alone. For the first time, it was clear that Henrietta and I belonged together.” I’ve not been worked over by Red thugs. However, as I write this, my cat Trouble is perched on the back of my chair close to my neck ...purring. Yeah, I can relate.
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