Willie Morris writes from his heart and experience of going from an ailurophile (cat hater) to a cat lover, all because of a kitten he named Spit McGee (the name of a character in one of his children's' books) and finding himself married to a Cat Woman.

Growing up and always having dogs and coming from a family who had dogs, cats were never part of his life. Skip, his boyhood dog, was a big part of his life growing up. Later, Pete was his canine companion. Both were loyal, undemanding, accepting, consistent and willing to do what ever he wanted. A cat is none of these things.

Through this book you find how the relationship developed between Morris and Spit. Starting when the cat is first born and not doing good. Morris does what it takes to keep the kitten alive to the point of yelling, "Live, kid! Live!" From then on the cat and Morris had a bond...a thin one to start, but it grows over the years.

Morris finds that not all cats are horrible and to be avoided, like to ones he grew up with and had nightmares about. They each have their own characteristics and quirks and favourite people. Spit is all white, with one blue eye and one yellow eye, and Morris is his human of choice.

The book is written with a humourous and humane slant about a human and feline connection. A memoir and homage to a creature who became an important Fur Person in a human's life. I took my time reading it, rather than read it all in one sitting. It isn't a big book page-wise, but I think it is story-wise. ( )

Read this for a Book Group in Omaha, NE. Had also read My Dog Skip by Mr Morris so I was looking forward to see how his story of his time with Spit McGee would go.

Loved the book and on of my favorite lines in honor of Spit - 'Had we but world enough and time." - Andrew Marvell

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The author of "My Dog Skip", a confirmed cat hater for most of his life, fell in love with a woman he hoped to marry until he learned she was a confirmed cat lover. Choosing love over his dislike and, admitted, fear of cats, Willie and JoAnne married and Willie was introduced to the feline world. Their first cat was a beautiful white cat they named Rivers Applewhite who would grow up to give birth to Spit McGee. Willie was determined to become comfortable with the cats so he researched cat behavior at the local library and asked for advice from his cat owner friends. In time, Willie and Spit became inseparable companions and soon the Morris house belonged to several more feline additions. Reading of Willie's gradual acceptance of Spit's love and affection is a charming tale.

This was a sweet story about the love between a man and his pet. Unfortunately, for me at least, the author loves words and his sentences are full of ones I have never seen before. I don't consider myself an illiterate woman, but geesh! I wish I had read this one on my Kindle so that a dictionary would have been at my fingertips. I have read other reviews that bashed the book and the author for being an irresponsible pet owner. There are times that it does appear that way but this all takes place in rural Mississippi several decades ago when most people allowed their cats the freedom to roam outdoors and might not have seen the wisdom of spaying and neutering. Spit, however, did get the old 'snip snip'.
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I enjoyed this. A few times I laughed out loud and disturbed the feline napping on my back. Morris accurately captured cat behavior as he explained the details of attending to the needs of a cat in comparison to owning a dog. I did not laugh at the descriptions of the number of kittens produced across a number of years by cats in this family and was surprised that the end conclusion (should have had Spit McGee neutered earlier) was narrowly applied to the author's family pet care beliefs and not a little more generally to the author's construct of how to care for domestic cat-kind. Even so, I respect the author as someone who seemed to genuinely care about the welfare of cats and who made a positive contribution with this book. ( )

Willie Morris, author of the popular book and movie My Dog Skip, admits that he hated cats - until Spit McGee came along. Spit McGee is a white cat with one gold eye and one blue eye named after a character from one of Morris's children's books. In this delightful book Morris tells the story about how he made the transition from cat-hater to cat-lover after saving the life of Spit McGee. Morris recounts his memories with remarkable insight and meticulous observation skills. My Cat Spit McGee is a light-hearted memoir of a man and his beloved pet. This book is a must for all cat lovers. ( )