Caleb Carr, famous author of “The Alienist” and other novels, has written a book about Masha, his rescue cat, titled “My Beloved Monster.” He and Masha resided together for 17 years. Carr has become a bit of recluse in upstate New York.
He talks about health issues that drove him to renovate a large home at the foot of a mountain called Misery in Cherry Plain, N.Y. The home belonged to his grandmother but had left the family on her death.
This area is very important to him because it’s where he grew up and developed his love for cats. His parents were part of the “Beat Generation” of the 1960s. He states that the adopted cats that frequented the house were his steadiest companions growing up.
Over the years, he has had a lot of feline companions; however, this book is about Masha, a Siberian forest cat. Carr’s previous feline companion, Suki, had disappeared. When it became apparent that she would not be returning, he grieved, and when the grieving was over, he started the process of finding another feline companion.
At the time he was starting his search, the Northeast shelters were dealing with a very deadly disease that humans could not contract but could carry on themselves and their clothing to other animals and infect them. After getting a list of safe shelters from his veterinarian, he made the trip to a Vermont shelter. The description of his meeting Masha and how he determined that would be her name reminds me of when I met each of my cats at the shel.