July 26, 1897

Paul Gallico (July 26, 1897 to July 15, 1976) is remembered as a sports writer and author of adventure stories. His 1969 book, The Poseidon Adventure, was made into a very successful film. He was born in New York City to immigrant parents who were both gifted musically. Paul Gallico paid his way through Columbia University partly by working as a longshoreman. In 1937 Gallico publicly gave up sports writing and turned to fiction, with the results being published in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post and The New Yorker. His obituary mentions there were 20 movies made from his fiction, and that does not include his "made for tv" movies.

After 1950 Gallico lived mainly abroad, in England, and Monaco. He had several wives, though not at the same time. He is accused of sentimentality in his work, but the facts of his ability to intrigue the human heart raise him above most story tellers. He, like one of his characters, had a heart that went out to "the wild and the hunted."

I notice Carl Van Vechten photographed Gallico. They might have discussed cats because they were both dedicated lovers of that species. The five books Gallico did about cats are listed here, with part of the publishers' blurbs, a major source for this whole post, added.

Jennie (1950) (American title The Abandoned), "London hasn’t been kind to Peter, a lonely boy whose parents are always out at parties, and though Peter would love to have a cat for company, his nanny won’t hear of it."

Thomasina: The Cat Who Thought She Was God (1957), "filmed in 1964 by the Walt Disney Studios as The Three Lives of Thomasina."

The Silent Miaow: A Manual for Kittens, Strays, and Homeless Cats,  (1964) "purports to be a guide written by a cat, 'translated from the feline', on how to obtain, captivate, and dominate a human family." 

Manxmouse (1968), "The brave little Manxmouse is one-of -a-kind creature on a special journey. But everyone knows who awaits him, for the Manxmouse belongs to the Manx Cat;" "often cited by J.K. Rowling as one of her favorite books." 

Honorable Cat (1972), "a book of poetry and essays about cats."

Actualy most of Gallico's books have cats in them.