The World's Greatest Cat: A Biography of Don Diego

Despite the fact that the cat has become the most popular pet in America, at least in terms of numbers, a large percentage of Americans say they do not like cats. Even for many people who tolerate or even are fond of cats, the conventional wisdom remains that cats are nowhere as affectionate and fun as dogs. True cat lovers know, however, that when given enough love and attention, cats can be every bit as wonderful companions as dogs. A look at the life of one cat, my companion of 13 years, Diego, will perhaps convince even the skeptics that cats are man’s, and woman’s, other best friend.

This ten-pound black neutered male does pretty much all the things that endear dogs to us, except catch frisbies in his mouth. Cats aren’t loyal, you say? Diego greets us at the door whenever we return home from work or a night out on the town, happy to see us and anxious to be petted. Cats are aloof, you’ve heard? Diego spends most of his waking, and non-waking, moments with us and preferably on us. Cats are unaffectionate, you claim? Diego lies for hours each day on our laps, licks our noses as much as we’ll let him, and puts his front paws over our necks. You can’t really play with a cat, you argue? Diego fetches, at least if it’s his favorite object to fetch, a small plastic perch from a bird feeder. He even jumps in the air to try to bite my arm, like a tiny black Lab pup, which he resembles.

This is the biography of a kitty who is the greatest cat in the world—at least in the world of our little family. My belief is that millions of you out there also live with one of the world’s greatest cats. Perhaps like our cat, Diego, your cat, too, has spent its entire life within a hundred feet of your home, except for a yearly trip to the vet.
But a cat doesn’t have to have seen the world to make your world so much richer, sweeter, and more beautiful.