Le Chat Du Neptune

A rescued ship's cat. A steamer called Neptune. And one lieutenant who never saw the chaos coming. When a bedraggled cat is discovered alone on a shipwreck, his fate seems sealed. But the crew of the Neptune have other plans, and soon Tom is establishing his kingdom among the barrels and brigantine. This isn't a tale of dramatic sea rescues or maritime peril, it's something rarer: a gentle comedy of fur and folly aboard a nineteenth-century steamer. Tom is no ordinary cat. His talents include the systematic destruction of Lieutenant Coquillard's treasured taxidermied bird collection and a legendary confrontation with a parrot that leaves the entire crew in stitches. The lieutenant, initially exasperated, finds himself inexplicably devoted to this whiskered menace. What unfolds is a tender, funny portrait of how a cat chooses his human just as much as his human chooses him. Part adventure, part love story, all charm. For readers who believe the best companions have four legs and zero respect for authority.