Time Cat

Gareth doesn’t have nine lives, but he is definitely not an ordinary cat. For one thing, he can talk. For another, he has magical powers that Jason never dreamed of. Gareth tells Jason he can take them traveling through time, “Anywhere, any time, any country, any century.” And in the wink of a very special cat’s eye, they’re off. From ancient Egypt to Japan, from the land of young Leonardo da Vinci to the town of a woman accused of witchcraft, Jason and Gareth are whisked from place to place and friend to foe. This fantastic tale grabs the imagination and takes it far and wide, on the adventure of not one, but nine, amazing lifetimes. 

The first country Jason and Gareth visit is Egypt in 2700 B.C., where King Neter-Khet becomes angry when he cannot command Gareth to “purr and make himself agreeable to pharaoh.” Neter-Khet’s attempts add humor, especially since he doesn’t understand why cats don’t listen to his commands. In the end, the king learns that even he cannot command a cat. This trip reinforces the idea that “you should be you.” 

The second time jump sends them to Rome and Britain in 55 B.C., when Julius Caesar was fighting in Gaul. Although Caesar does not appear, Jason is taken in by Caesar’s legions, and Gareth becomes their mascot. During a battle, Jason and Gareth flee and end up in Cerdic Longtooth’s village. At first, Cerdic is afraid of Gareth, but soon he appreciates that the cat keeps mice away from their winter stores. The section ends with Cerdic’s new understanding of cats. 

The next time-travel adventures share the same pattern. Jason and Gareth jump to a new historical location where locals often have false ideas about cats. However, Gareth shows how cats benefit humans. This story often lacks details about each time period. For example, Jason visits Ireland in 411 A.D., where he meets Patrick. While the story hints that this is Saint Patrick, readers who do not have knowledge of the man’s history will not understand Patrick’s statement: “Underneath it all there is some purpose, some reason I should be here. What it may be is hidden from me now.”  

Jason travels to Japan in 998 A.D., where he meets the emperor, and then to Italy in 1468, where he meets Leonardo da Vinci. The next time jump takes them to Peru in 1555, where Jason meets Dom Diego, a prominent Spanish conquistador, who briefly mentions the conquerors’ thirst for gold. However, Dom Diego is portrayed as an honorable man who was more interested in knowledge than wealth. The next jump takes the protagonist to a small fishing village on the Isle of Man in 1588, followed by Germany in 1600, where Jason learns about the witch trials. The final time jump sends them to America in 1775, where Jason meets a peddler who is spreading word of the revolution.  

On each leg of the trip, Jason learns a valuable lesson, including the following:  

• Beauty is on the inside, not on the face.  

• Practicing essential skills is important.  

• You should only worry about what’s happening right now.  

• “Trying to make someone do what they aren’t really good at is foolish.”  

• Greed can be dangerous, especially if you try to snatch wealth without putting effort into honest work.  

• It is important to take time to think and watch. “Just because you’ve seen something, it doesn’t mean you stop looking. There’s always something you didn’t see before.” 

Time Cat will appeal to a wide range of readers, from history buffs to cat-lovers. The story takes readers on an action-packed journey through time. Along the way, Jason meets many historical figures. While readers may not recognize all of them, this doesn’t detract from the book’s enjoyment. Each stop is brief, so it doesn’t offer readers an in-depth view of the period. This keeps the action moving while still weaving in important lessons. At the end of the trip, Gareth tells Jason, “If you think back, everybody we met had something to tell you—about themselves, and about yourself. It’s a way of finding out a part of what you have to know to be a grown-up.” But the book doesn’t just look to the past; it ends on a hopeful note, with Jason excited about making his own adventures in his time. Best of all, Time Cat introduces fun facts about cats, historical figures, and significant events in history that will inspire readers to explore these topics further. 

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• Jason was sent to his room because he “punched his younger brother in the ribs for laughing at him” and talked back to his mother. 

• In Egypt, the king orders Jason to be fed to the crocodiles.  

• Caesar’s legions land on “Britannia’s chalky cliffs” and are immediately welcomed with arrows. As Jason tries to keep pace with the legion, “arrows sang through the air. The legionaries hurled their spears. Howling and shrieking, the Britons poured across the beach.”  

• Jason falls behind and is chased by a charioteer. Jason runs “plunging into the woods, running blindly, going deeper and deeper.”  

• While in the woods, an animal attacks Gareth. “Gareth grappled with the animal in mid-air. Two bodies thrashed on the ground and turned into a spinning, spitting ball. One screamed.” Jason was so intent on watching Gareth that Cedric Longtooth is able to approach unnoticed. “In front of [Jason] stood a bearded man dressed in skins. He held a long, ugly spear pointed at Jason’s throat.” The man’s wife scolds him and welcomes Jason as a guest.  

• According to Cedric Longtooth, “when we catch somebody from beyond the woods, we simply chop them up. But you’re an invader, and some of us have suggested it might be more correct to burn you in a basket.” 

• A girl finds a snake in her room. To protect her, Gareth attacks. “Before the serpent could strike, Gareth caught it behind its flat skull. The serpent’s tail lashed out and wound around Gareth’s body. Over and over, the fighters rolled across the floor.” The fight is described over two pages. The serpent dies. 

• Patrick talks about how he came to be in Ireland. King Niall of the Nine Hostages kidnapped Patrick and his two sisters. He says, “They took us all, to sell as slaves. . . They tied us up, carried us to the boat, and sailed away.” 

• Ichigo, the Emperor of Japan, had been allowing his uncle Fujiwara to make all of the decisions. When Ichigo begins to issue commands, Fujiwara blames Jason and “seized Jason by the hair.” Ichigo saves Jason and tells his uncle, “You dare threaten your Emperor? I could have you boiled in oil! Humble yourself in the Celestial Presence!” 

• While in Peru, Jason is walking when he runs into Inca warriors. “One of the warriors whirled a three-stranded rope with heavy metal balls at the ends. An instant later, Jason and Gareth lay on the ground, tangled in the weighted cords. Lances leveled, the Incas moved forward.” The Incas demand a ransom, which Dom Diego pays by promising to try to show the Conquerors that the Incas are men of peace. 

• On the Isle of Man, the protagonists meet a cat named Dulcinea and her kittens. Dulcinea was aboard a ship when it sank. Luckily, a sailor had put the cats in a barrel that floated to the island.   

• In a small village in 1600s Germany, people thought cats had devils hiding in them. “Two days ago, the witch hunters drowned fifty and burned another fifty. Poor suffering animals.”  

• In order to steal a woman’s land, Master Speckfresser says, “The town council takes over the property of a witch—after she has been duly roasted, of course.”  

• After Master Speckfresser accuses a woman of witchcraft, Jason reveals that Speckfresser was using spells to call demons. Speckfresser threatens Jason with a “sickle-shaped knife. Jason dodged the sweeping blade. . . Jason leaped from one side to the other, as the knife whistled around his ears.” The guards appear at the door, accompanied by a miller named Johannes, who has been placed under arrest.  

• Johannes, Master Speckfresser, Jason, and another woman are taken to the judge. “Johannes jumped up. With one motion of his powerful arms, he tipped over the judges’ table. The sheets of parchment went flying. . . Seizing a chair in one hand, the burly miller laid out [a guard]. A window smashed. One of the miller’s fists sent a guard sprawling to the wall.” All of the accused witches escape and leave town. 

• In 1775 America, Jason and Gareth witness a battle between the British and the Americans. “Jason saw the Regulars level their rifles. The farmers hesitated, then moved forward. The sword of the British officer flashed downward. . . The Minutemen raced through the drifting smoke towards the Regulars, firing, reloading, crouching behind hillocks and large clumps of grass. . .  There was a second volley of musket fire. Jason heard a man cry out and saw another slump to the ground.”  

• During the attack, Jason is with a peddler, who is called Professor Parker. “Another volley came from the Regulars. Professor Parker staggered against the wagon. Jason leaped down. The professor was pressing his hands against his chest. His face had gone gray.” The book implies that the professor dies. Jason takes a horse and goes for reinforcements. The battle is described over three pages.

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None

Language  

• When Gareth purrs at Cedric Longtooth, he exclaims, “By the Druid’s beard. I believe he does like me!” 

• A girl calls Jason a “stupid boy.” Later someone calls him a “foolish boy.”  

• In Ireland, a man calls someone a “porridge-headed fool.” 

• Jason and Gareth are called “two unworthy and totally useless specks of dust.” 

• A woman calls a suitor a “black-haired lummox.” 

• Several times, Master Speckfresser is called a “greedy gobbler.” 

• A man calls the townspeople who believe in witches “stupid fools.” 

• In 1775 America, the British soldiers are referred to as Lobsterbacks.  

Supernatural 

• Gareth can take Jason on trips through time. The magic isn’t explained, other than that the two jump in time when Gareth blinks. 

• In Ireland, they meet a magician named Lugad. “All he needs to do is cast a spell, and the rats and all the creepy, crawly things go away.” Lugad tells people that he has killed all the snakes. When a snake is in the girl’s room, Lugad says, “An evil spirit. An evil spirit if I ever saw one. . . This is the ghost of a serpent.” 

• Patrick tells a girl, “There are no magic beasts, only God’s creatures as you see them, and no spells worth the saying of them.  

• In 998 A.D. Japan, a trader says cats can tell the time of day and predict the weather. 

• Sailors used to believe having a cat on the boat was good luck.  

• Jason peeks into a house and sees a German man “wearing what looked like a nightshirt painted with strange designs. . . He dropped a pinch of something on the glowing coals, and a cloud of smoke puffed up.” The man is performing a ritual, trying to call forth a spirit. During the ritual, he exclaims, “By the spirit of Zazamonkh. . . Asmodeus! Ahriman! Beelzebub! Appear! I command you!” Nothing happens. 

• In a small village in 1600s Germany, many people are accused of being witches. A woman explains, “Somebody—I don’t even know who—started the idea that there were witches here. Since then, we’ve had no peace. If anyone stubs his toe or gets sick, if anyone’s garden doesn’t grow right—there’s a witch to blame!” 

• A woman explains why there aren’t many cats in the village. “There’s no kind of worriment or wickedness they won’t put on a cat. Cats have the evil eye to bewitch whatever they look at. They can turn themselves invisible or fly through the air. They take the shape of a witch, and a witch takes the shape of a cat.” 

Spiritual Content  

• Jason and Gareth travel to Egypt when cats are worshiped. Gareth explained, “[The Egyptians] have all kinds of sacred animals, but the cat—ah, the cat is most important. We’re sacred to the great goddess Ubaste of the Sun and Moon.” 

• Jason and Gareth arrive in Egypt 2700 B.C. during a festival for the cat goddess. The priest chants the Hymn of the Cat. “Thy head is the head of the Sun-God, / Thy nose is the nose of Thoth. . . The whiskers are the rays of the Sun; Thine eyes hold the Sun and Moon.” The chant is nine lines long.  

• The Egyptian priests believe Gareth’s white marking is “the mark of the sacred ankh, symbol of life.”  

• King Neter-Khet believes he is a god whom everyone, including cats, should worship.  

• According to one of Caesar’s legions, when one isn’t sure what to do, they should “ask for an omen.” When Petronius asks Jason and Gareth to travel with the legion, Jason is reluctant to join. Petronius prays, “O Mars, god of battles, mighty Jupiter, father of the gods, or whatever it is the regimental augur says. Shall this boy and this cat march with us? Give us a sign.” Gareth leaps onto the center of a shield, and Petronius takes that as a signal that Jason and Gareth should join the group.  

• Cedric Longtooth asks a Druid if Gareth is good or bad luck. The Druid replies, “Some of our best families. . . pray to the spirit of the catamountain.” The Druid believes the cat is good luck.