When one thinks of a travel companion, a family cat is far from first choice. However, in Christopher Wren's novel \The Cat Who Covered the World,"" his family cat, Henrietta, is not only the family's travel companion, but also its third child.
Wren surprises his two children, Chris and Celia, on Christmas with the new kitten, and they immediately adopt her as their new sibling and playmate. Henrietta creates her place in the Wren family and quickly develops a strong and assertive personality.
When Wren lands a job as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, his family begins traveling around the world, and Celia and Chris refuse to sell Henrietta or leave her at home. After final word from the children, Henrietta begins traveling with the family. During their travels, Henrietta falls into many unusual situations, and her needs become the family's center focus.
The first of these situations occurs in Moscow, where the Wren family begins its journey. Airport officials subject Henrietta to a veterinary examination to ensure her health before she enters the country. After an hour of waiting and hassles from the vet, she is finally deemed healthy enough to enter the country.
Like the Wren's two children, Henrietta acquires a love for visitors to the house. During a party with Wren's colleagues and fellow foreign correspondents, she attempts to earn their approval by flaunting her mouse-catching skills in front of them.
As the Wren family moves on to Rome, Henrietta sets out to explore her new home and gets lost. After weeks of searching, her family finds her roaming around, skinny and obviously lacking food and water. This is just one of many incidents in which Henrietta wanders off and gets lost for weeks, and in some cases, months.
Once the family reaches Beijing, Henrietta develops a taste for Chinese food, and she insists on eating only yellow fish from a Chinese government-owned store. The Wrens begin buying her this food, which is harder to get and more expensive than the food they are eating themselves.
Sadly, 18 years of traveling around the world tires Henrietta, and she dies suddenly from the effects of old age. Her death devastates her family, and they vow never to buy another cat. Several years later, however, Wren's wife breaks the vow and buys two furry kittens. Although they are no replacement for Henrietta, they remind the Wrens of her every day.
Wren's tale is light-hearted and entertaining, but at the same time, eye-opening. While reading this book, one realizes there are people who treat their pets as family members. Some fill the role of children, while others become additional children.
Regardless of the role pets play in readers' lives, this book will surely entertain them and awake them to the fun and humor pets can add to their lives.
