Cats have provided poets with inspiration (and warm laps) for as long as they have been winding themselves purring round their owners' legs and fixing them with green eyes. The poems in this pamphlet are evidence of our devotion to them in all their furry glory. From Thom Gunn's kittens galloping like a re-enactment of Ben Hur along the corridor, to Jen Hadfield's cat asking to be let in at the kitchen door...then out again... the poems capture diverse perspectives on cats and cat ownership. 'Puss with delight beyond expression, surveyed the scene and took possession.'

• From 'The Retired Cat' by William Cowper (1731-1800) Poems by Elizabeth Coatsworth, William Cowper, Walter de la Mare, Thom Gunn, Jen Hadfield, Grace Nichols, Anne Stevenson and Anna Wigly. Donnation to Cats Protection, www.cats.org.uk '...Candlestick Press - in my view the most original way of delivering poetry since Poems on the Underground...'
• Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate