The Ghost Cat
1902, and it is the last day of Grimalkin’s life in an Edinburgh tenement. But he is a cat, and under the circumstances he is entitled to nine lives. Thus begins a series of brief encounters over the next 120 years, as he observes from a feline perspective the changes that have taken place. Each time he wakens in his next ghostly life, he is struck initially by the changes to furnishings, scents, and colors in the flat where he has been living, then to other animals and humans. Since he is, as he himself acknowledges, a Victorian cat, inevitably he experiences culture shock and only stays a few hours before moving on.
Eventually, he comes to recognize that each haunting is affected by some event of wider importance, such as the visit of a famous author (J.M. Barrie), the development of penicillin, the Second World War, and the succession of British monarchs, but these are less important to him than acts of kindness. Those who perform them win his approval, those who mistreat others arouse his indignation: an unsurprising reaction since he was rescued as an abandoned kitten by Eilidh, a kindly charlady. It is a thoughtful reminder of what is really important in life.
