Every barn cat, from wry calico to contented tabby, has a place at the heart of the farm. Here is the barn cat that “languishes loudly” or comes on as silent as the fog; who sleeps on the seat of the tractor or curls up in the straw; who stalks the pesky rats and mice, and keeps the farmer company. Aloof or cuddly, on the prowl or distracted by a leaf, these quintessential farm creatures (and surely one of every cat’s nine lives must be lived in a barn) appear here in their infinite charm, their images accompanied by the observations that writers from Shakespeare to Mark Twain have been moved to make on our feline companions.