Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) is a collection of whimsical poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It is the basis for the musical "Cats". Eliot wrote the poems in the 1930s, and included them, under his assumed name "Old Possum", in letters to his godchildren. They were collected and published in 1939, with cover illustrations by the author, and quickly re-published in 1940, illustrated in full by Nicolas Bentley. They have also been published in versions illustrated by Edward Gorey (1982) and Axel
Cats (musical) Suddenly, after they finish, they are caught off-guard by the rest of the Cats, who scold them for trying to scare them to death. Finally, the Jellicle patriarch, Old Deuteronomy, arrives ("Old Deuteronomy") before the tribe. He is a large old Cat that "has lived many lives" and "buried nine wives (And more, I am tempted to say—ninety-nine)". He is the Cat who chooses which Jellicle Cat will go to the Heaviside Layer every year. While the patriarch is welcomed by his loyal subjects, the Cats put on a play for Old Deuteronomy, called "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes