Old Deuteronomy Old Deuteronomy Old Deuteronomy is a character in T. S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" and its musical adaptation, "Cats". In Eliot's original poem, Old Deuteronomy is described as an ancient, wise cat who has "lived many lives in succession" and is respected by the other cats and humans (and perhaps even dogs) in his environment. His name derives from Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, which shares the central element of law with the character (who is a magistrate). "Cats" expands on the theme of wisdom by depicting Deuteronomy as the leader
The King of the Cats tale several times. In John Crowley's 1987 novel "The Solitudes", "The King of the Cats" is explicitly related to "the Death of Pan" as recorded by Plutarch and interpreted by St. Augustine of Hippo as a shift in World Ages. "King o'Kats" was a single on the 1992 album "Supernatural" by The 360's. "The King of the Cats" is referenced, with slight changes, in Diane Duane's 1993 "Young Wizards" novel, "A Wizard Abroad". Henry Louis Gates wrote a profile of Albert Murray in "The New Yorker" 8 April 1996 entitled "King of Cats". China Miéville takes the idea of a