Books about Cats – Fiction Readers for Kid
Cats have always played a big part in fiction for children. Kids are fascinated by cats as they are with all animals, but with kitties being so popular around homes, they’re an animal that many younger readers either already have a relationship with, or aspire to. So reading about cats and kittens can really trigger their imagination, and any cat lover with children has plenty of options to provide their child.
Short Story Fiction Books For Kids
Cats feature in a lot of short fiction for younger children – picture books and the like. But as they get older there are still some excellent choices for novels that will help stretch their reading ability and that feature cats as a prominent feature in the narrative.
It’s also worth noting that cats sometimes feature in fiction for adults too, in some unusual genres. Check out some cozy mystery books if you’re a cat owner who loves an interesting niche – these are cat mysteries with felines helping to solve murders. Certainly not one for children, but an interesting look at how cat behavior can lead to crimes being resolved!
Here are some of the classic picture books for younger children, and then some short fiction books for children who are a little older and who want to read adventures based around a feline friend.
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Cat Picture Book Choices for Younger Kids
Six Dinner Sid
Any owner of an outdoor cat knows how hard it can be to keep their beloved pet away from someone else’s kitchen. Cats have a way of acting homeless and hungry, even when they’re loved and cared for by an owner that always feeds them without fail.
Written by Inga Moore, Six Dinner Sid tells the story of a cat that does what a cat does best. Sid visits six different houses, being fed by six different families who all believe that Sid is exclusively theirs. Sid is living the perfect life, until his various owners discover the truth about the black cat’s lifestyle.
Six Dinner Sid is a charming children’s book about a cat living six very different lives at the same time. Children will love seeing how Sid adapts to each different family, and how adjustments must be made when those families find out the truth.
Purchase on Amazon.
Splat the Cat
There are several books in the Splat the Cat series, written by Rob Scotton. The first and most popular is simply named Splat the Cat. This fun story will help children prepare for their own first day at school, seeing school life through the eyes of Splat who’s attending Cat School for the first time.
Splat the Cat must learn exactly how a cat should behave. However, he’s struggling with chasing mice because he has a pet mouse of his own. When Splat’s mouse, Seymour, gets loose in the classroom, the school rules no longer apply.
Splat the Cat is a fantastic book for children, introducing the concept of school and gently addressing the nerves that all children might have on their first day in the classroom.
Purchase on Amazon.
Tabby McTat
Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Tabby McTat is a fun rhyming story that’s colorful, bright and perfect for bedtime reading. All children love Julia Donaldson stories, including The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom. Tabby McTat isn’t as well-known, but is just as great as the most popular stories by this author.
Tabby McTat is a busker’s cat, living on the street with his owner Fred until, sadly, Fred goes to hospital. Tabby’s left alone, so he finds a new family and eventually has kittens of his own. Even though he has a comfortable life and everything he could ever need, Tabby McTat misses Fred.
Tabby McTat goes in search of his old owner, but when Fred and Tabby are reunited something still feels wrong. In fact, Tabby feels torn between two very different lives and two separate owners that need him. Then, he discovers the perfect solution.
Tabby McTat is a charming bedtime story for parents to enjoy with their children.
Purchase on Amazon.
Sleepy Kittens
Originally written for the Despicable Me movie, as a bedtime story for Gru to read to his daughters, Sleepy Kittens was turned into a board book that’s perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. The book features three colorful finger puppets, so the reader can act out the kittens’ bedtime routine.
Three kittens, desperate to dodge sleep, just want to keep playing and eating. Mama Cat brushes their fur softly, offers them milk and sings them a bedtime lullaby. Soon, the kittens are softly purring in bed.
Sleepy Kittens is a beautifully peaceful bedtime story for young children. It can easily be read in a soothing voice, and it’s a lovely short story for those nights when bedtime shouldn’t take long. The finger puppets add the perfect interactive element.
Purchase on Amazon.
Mog the Forgetful Cat
The Meg and Mog book series was not the only series to be published in the 1970s with a cat called Mog. Judith Kerr also created charming stories about Mog, though her cat was a rounded and forgetful tabby cat that lived with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and their children, Nicky and Debbie.
There have been many stories about Mog, including Christmas specials and a story dealing gently with the death of a pet, but the story that started it all was Mog the Forgetful Cat. Mog’s always getting into trouble, frustrating her owners, until one day she attracts attention when she sees a burglar in the house. Suddenly, Mog is the hero and gets an egg for breakfast each day.
Mog the Forgetful Cat is a very sweet story. Though the owners don’t always appreciate their pet, many cat owners will recognize Mog’s hapless and clueless behavior. In fact, it’s exactly what makes a cat so loveable. Judith Kerr has perfectly captured a cat’s aloof personality, and is also known for other books including The Tiger That Came to Tea and – another cat story – Katinka’s Tail.
Purchase on Amazon.
The Cat in the Hat
What list would be complete without mention of The Cat in the Hat? This fun rhyming story, written by Dr. Seuss, tells of a talking cat that causes chaos in the home of two bored children. The Cat in the Hat was written in 1957, and is still as popular today as it always has been. It was made into a live action film in 2003, and inspired a children’s TV series called The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!
This is a fun tale for kids and a tongue-twister for adults. Challenge yourself to read The Cat in the Hat without making any mistakes.
Cat Short Story Books For Older Kids
Socks
Socks is a novel written by Beverly Cleary in 1973, that would ultimately provide the inspiration for the name of Bill Clinton’s cat Socks.
The story revolves around a tabby cat with four white paws that begins to feel forgotten when his owners bring home their new baby son. Eventually, after a number of adventures, Socks is taken back into the home where he bonds with the now-toddler.
A charming book with great illustrations, it won the William Allen White Children’s Book Award when it was first released and is a classic that many children will enjoy.
Purchase on Amazon.
Warriors
Aimed at older Elementary or Middle School-age children, the Warriors series consists of 12 books set in a fantasy world populated by fierce warriot cats.
The stories revolve around four clans of wild cats that share a forest, and an ordinary house cat that may prove to be a hero.
The series has some criticisms over the sheer volume of characters to track over the course of 12 books, but it’s extremely popular still and made writer Erin Hunter a bestselling author, and the reviews on Amazon are filled with nostalgic comments from adults who loved the series as a child.
Purchase on Amazon.
Tailchaser’s Song
Another fantasy novel, Tailchaser’s Song by American writer Tad Williams focuses on Fritti Tailchaser, a cat in an anthropomorphic world where every species believes itself to be dominant, with cats thinking that humans are a deformed descendant of felines.
It’s an epic story, as Tailchaser sets out to find his vanished friend Hushpad, that’s apparently being adapted into an animated movie – get your kids to read the book before the adaptation is complete as books are always better than the movie version!
Purchase on Amazon.
Catalyst
The first of two books in The Barque Cat series, Catalyst is a science fiction tale of cats helping humans on space missions. Written by Anne McCaffrey, this first book features the kidnap of Chessie, a special feline crew member, and then follows her rescue by her newborn kittens.
The story is definitely aimed more at older children – middle school to early teens. It is still fairly simplistic in structure, but it covers some topics that younger children may be upset by. Reviews online are generally very positive although some don’t believe the series reaches the quality of McCaffrey’s other works.
Purchase on Amazon.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Two quick honorable mentions to round off this list. The first is Lewis Carroll’s genuine classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It’s not a book about cats, but the Cheshire Cat does feature heavily. A timeless book worth exploring today with your child.
Purchase on Amazon.
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats
Included as an honorable mention as it is a collection of poems rather than a fiction book, Old Possum’s Book is extremely important. Written by TS Eliot, these whimsical tales about cat psychology ended up forming the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats.
Purchase on Amazon.
What’s your favorite cat book? Is it one we’ve mentioned here, or something else? Leave a comment.
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
SUPER PAWESOME & FABULOUS topic, Jenny honey! TYSVM for all the great book info! 🙂 <3
I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan and absolutely ADORE The Cheshire Cat character! I also have always been very fond of The Cat In The Hat, too! One of my other fave cat books, which I used to read to my son when he was a child, is Kat Kong by Dav Pilkey 🙂 <3
Big hugs & lots of love & purrs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3 <3 <3
Thanks, Patti for sharing some of those great classics!
Yamw, Jenny honey! 🙂 <3