The Fur Person is May Sarton's fictionalized account of her cat Tom Jones's life and adventures prior to making the author's acquaintance. Tom starts out as a fiercely independent, nameless street cat who follows the ten commandments of the Gentleman Cat, one of which states that "A Gentleman Cat allows no constraint of his person, not even loving constraint." But after several years of wandering from place to place, he has grown tired of his vagabond lifestyle, and he concludes that there might be some appeal after all in giving up the freedom of life on the streets in exchange for a loving home. It will take just the right human companion, however, to make his transformation from Cat About Town to genuine Fur Person possible. Sarton's book is one of the all-time favorite stories ever written about the joys and tribulations of sharing one's life with a cat.
