In my lifetime, many cat lives fit. Some were long, others ended far too early, but all contributed to a story, my story. In it, there is humor and sadness, rhymes and free verse, and time and again the attempt to uncover what has kept me by the side of cats for a lifetime. I love dogs, elephants, butterflies, golden hamsters, robins, garden snails, and many other animals. Darwin's entire great palette is a constant source of wonder and joy for me. What is it about tomcats and cats that continually draws me to them? Or them to me? In these stories and poems, many of them meet, for to me, a cat has more than seven lives. Volker Reiche sends his cats to mine; you never know if they will purr or hiss. Eva Demski.