MISTER CAT

Grampa's lively little cat is getting plump and purring a secret purr; ""he"" doesn't play ""chase-catch-and-tangle with the crazy gray cat from next door"" with ""his"" usual verve. After a few worried days, Grampa realizes what adults will have guessed: Mr. Cat is female, and kittens are coming. And so they do, in full view in Grampa's sock drawer, drawn discreetly but specifically in Hurford's attractive, realistic, full-color illustrations. It's not likely that the mother cat would welcome that cat next door in the middle of the birth, even though two of the kittens look just like him--that's a bit of anthropomorphism, but forgivable in a useful, appealing book.