Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

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Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a set of whimsical poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology. It was first published in 1939 with cover illustrations by the author, and subsequently in 1940 illustrated in full by Nicolas Bentley. An edition was published in 1982 that featured illustrations by Edward Gorey.

The work is most known for inspiring the story for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. The West-End production held the title of the world's longest-running musical until October 2006 when it was succeeded by Les Misérables. Similarly, on Broadway it remained the longest-running musical until January 2006, when it was overtaken by The Phantom of the Opera, another Andrew Lloyd Webber production.

Cover of a copy of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats poetry

Contents of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, along with the name of the featured cat when appropriate:

The Naming of Cats
The Old Gumbie Cat (Jennyanydots)
Growltiger’s Last Stand
The Rum Tum Tugger
Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer
Old Deuteronomy
The Pekes and the Pollicles (Great Rumpuscat)
Mr. Mistoffelees
Macavity: The Mystery Cat
Gus: The Theatre Cat
Bustopher Jones: The Cat about Town
Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat
The Ad-dressing of Cats
Cat Morgan Introduces Himself (added in the 1962 edition)

The musical Cats is based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, but introduces several additional characters from Eliot's unpublished drafts—most notably Grizabella.