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In 'Catnip,' Love And Loss Sketched Out In Cat Cartoons

Michael Korda's new book Catnip: A Love Story collects the doodles that he created based on his wife's cats in order to comfort her during her battle with a malignant brain tumor.

Michael Korda's new book is drawn from scribbles that amused in a time of anxiety. Korda's wife, Margaret, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. She went riding most days of what turned out to be the last year of her life, and each day, he sketched cartoons of their cats Cats cooking and dining, cats in cowboy hats, cats playing musical instruments and dancing the cat-can. Margaret shared photos of those cartoons, drawn in love and intended to distract and delight. "I should make it clear ... that I am fond of cats, but I'm not a natural cat person," Korda says. The cats came via Margaret, who always had at least one. "And I've gotten used to cats, and even been very fond of some of the cats, though they were not always fond of me. And so when it came time to find something that would amuse her, I decided to do little cat cartoons."

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