Literature / The Abandoned

A lonely 8-year-old boy in post-war London, who wants nothing more than a cat of his own. One fateful day, he is injured in a vehicular accident and has seemingly transformed into a cat when he awakens. Eventually, he meets the titular cat Jennie who resolves to teach him the ins and outs of feline behavior. A perilous and sentimental journey with many ups and downs ensues.

The novel was written in 1950 by author Paul Gallico (notable for The Poseidon Adventure).

The Abandoned contains examples of:

• All Just a Dream: The story ends with Peter awakening in the hospital.
  • Or Was It a Dream?: The dream is just a little too detailed and the characters are WAY too complex and consistent to be the result/figments of Peter's unconscious imagination.
• Cats Are Mean: Not all of the cats depicted in this story are necessarily bad, per se, but some fit the bill very much
  • Putzi and Mutzi refuse to tell Peter where Jennie had gone off to after he had mistakenly left her behind to go off with Lulu, even though he is clearly distraught. If that's not enough, they told her to ditch him and later tell him he deserved it right to his face before walking off.
  • But that's small potatoes compared to Dempsey. He's well-known for his battle experience and aggression practically unsurpassed such that every other cat avoids him at all costs. Not to mention he brutally assaults Peter and leaves him for dead because he needed to rest in his territory.
• Duel to the Death: As per the rule of cats, Peter has to fight Dempsey to the death to prevent Jennie from going off with him. Peter, at the cost of getting mortally wounded himself, ultimately kills Dempsey.
• Spoiled Sweet: Jennie was spoiled as a kitten and as an adult she becomes Peter's Mentor, also we know from her first scenes that she can be very kind.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Peter, so very much. He always wanted a cat, treats them well and during the book he gets a feline best friend in Jennie.
• Tastes Like Friendship: Part of the reason why Peter and Jennie become friends is because she gives him a mouse to eat despite the later being skin and bones herself. This is actual cat behavior. A very generous cat's behavior, at least.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Jennie convinces Peter to run off from Mr. Grims even after he had given them half of his meal at tea time. Peter calls her out for being so mean-spirited towards a nice man offering them food but she responds angrily, resulting in a quick disagreement.
• You Dirty Rat!: Among the various rodents Peter and Jennie kill aboard the Countess, Peter faces a particularly big and nasty rat.

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