Casper the Commuting Cat: The True Story of the Cat Who Rode the Bus and Stole Our Hearts
Authors: Susan Finden,Linda Watson-Brown
Tags: #Non-Fiction, #Biography
Casper the Commuting Cat
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2010
A CBS Company
Copyright © 2010 by Susan Finden with Linda Watson-Brown
This book is copyright under the Berne convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
The right of Susan Finden and Linda Watson-Brown to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
1st Floor
222 Gray’s Inn Road
London WC1X 8HB
Simon & Schuster Australia
Sydney
All photos © Susan Finden except: 1 © Karen
Baxter 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23 © SWNS Ltd
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-85720-008-2
eBook ISBN: 978-0-85720-009-9
Typeset by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh
Printed in Great Britain by CPI Mackays, Chatham ME5 8TD
This book is dedicated to you, the readers, because its proceeds will help assist unfortunate animals. It is also written in memory, of course, of our best friend and lovely old gentleman, Casper.
Contents
8
How to go Places and Make Friends – Casper
11
Trying to Help, Trying to Love
14
The Joys and Rules of Public Transport – Casper
18
How to Deal With Fame – Casper
19
Joining the World of Celebrity Cats
20
Nine Lives and Counting . . .
22
Putting Plymouth on the Map
27
Discovering the Rainbow Bridge
This is the story of a cat – one little cat. There are other stories of other cats woven into it, but everything revolves around Casper. If it weren’t for him, there would be no book. If it weren’t for him, there would be no story.
You may have heard of my cat. If you have, you’ll be in the company of hundreds of thousands of others across the world. One day, Casper left his house, got on a bus and stole the hearts of the nation. As the tale of the travelling cat spread, his fame spread too. It made no difference to Casper. He expected the good things in life – a warm seat on the bus, a nice meal when he got home, a cuddle when he settled down for the night. He was oblivious to the maelstrom of attention that was swirling around him.
Life was good for Casper. It hadn’t always been that way, but ever since I’d rescued him, years before his name hit the headlines, he had been happy and loved. He brought so much to my life and to the lives of others.
If you know about Casper, you will also know how the story ends – and that is where it has to start. I must be honest with you – as I write this book, as I dip into my treasure trove of memories, the tears are flowing. Why? Because I have lost my beautiful cat. I’ve lost Casper.
Some people will scoff; some will say that I have no sense of perspective, breaking my heart over the death of ‘just’ a cat. Well, they’re wrong. Casper wasn’t
just
a cat; to me, he was one of the most amazing, individual creatures who ever lived. From the day he came into my life until the day he left it, I knew I’d been blessed with a feline character I would never forget. I had no way of knowing that this bundle of fluff and mischief would touch so many other people too. Not only would he change my world, he would reach out across the globe and remind people what truly matters.