Cat Tales of the Old West: Poems, Puns & Perspectives on Frontier Felines

The Cat-astrophic West: No animal in the Old West was more revered nor more reviled than the domestic cat. Sought for their rodent control, but despised for their nocturnal noisemaking, cats lived a schizophrenic existence on the American frontier.

In Cat Tales of the Old West, Spur Award-winning author Preston Lewis brings pioneer pussycats into the light of modern America with a collection of amusing and eclectic excerpts from dozens of frontier newspapers reporting on cats West of the Mississippi River. Through a selection of poems, puns and articles from period news journals, Cat Tales of the Old West provides an entertaining, enlightening and sometime alarming take on kitties, both feral and domestic in the West.

Cat Tales of the Old West is both engaging and educational for lovers of cats and Old West history.

Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of more than 50 novels and nonfiction works. His honors include two Spur Awards from Western Writers of America and Six Will Rogers Gold Medallion Awards for traditional novel, short stories and western humor. He is a past president of Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association, which has designated him a fellow and honored him with three Elmer Kelton Awards for best creative work on West Texas.His latest book is Betting on Horses: Racing as an Economic Development Tool in Frontier West Texas, 1886-1896. Published by Bariso Press, the nonfiction work examines how San Angelo boosters used horse racing to attract investors and settlers to San Angelo before the turn of the 20th century. Horses from three San Angelo stables raced at tracks across the nation in the 1880s and 1890s.Known for his research into obscure aspects of the American West, Lewis is an authority on cats in the Old West. He has published two books on the topic: Cat Tales of the Old West: Poems, Puns & Perspectives on Frontier Felines and More Cat Tales of the Old West: Triumphs, Trials & Trivia of Frontier Felines. Both were published by Bariso Press, which he and his wife established in 2021.In addition to Betting on Horses, his other books on West Texas are Cotton-Picking Folks: Eulogy for a Texas Depression Era Farm Family and To War and Back: The World War II Journey of Two West Texas Farm Boys, both published by Bariso Press under the direction of editor and publisher Harriet Kocher Lewis.Lewis is the creator of the eight-book comic western series "The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax," which has received numerous honors. He and his wife created the Magic Machine Series, which puts artificial intelligence to the test on various topics. Books in the series to date include Devotionals from a Soulless Machine, Jokes from a Humorless Machine, and Recipes from a Tasteless Machine. Lewis holds a bachelor's degree from Baylor University and a master's degree from Ohio State University, both in journalism. He earned a second master's degree in history from Angelo State University. He and his wife reside in San Angelo.

A native Pennsylvanian who grew up in State College where she graduated from high school, Harriet Kocher Lewis has lived most of her life in West Texas. She graduated from Baylor University with a degree in biology and earned a physical therapy certificate from UT-Southwestern Medical School. After more than 20 years of clinical practice, she returned to classes at Texas Tech University, earning a master's degree in kinesiology with a minor in industrial engineering. As a physical therapist she worked in a variety of clinical settings, primarily with adults. She completed her career at Angelo State University as the founding academic coordinator of clinical education for the physical therapy program. Lewis has written several scholarly papers and a chapter in a clinical education textbook. She also taught documentation and technical writing/editing to students. Lewis was part of a seven-member team of the American Physical Therapy Association that wrote and produced national standards for an advanced clinical teaching curriculum for clinicians who mentor students in the clinical settings. Since 2020, she has been editor and publisher of Bariso Press, producing books on West Texas history, frontier felines and artificial intelligence. Cat Tales of the Old West received a Will Rogers Medallion Award for western humor, and More Cat Tales of the Old West earned Spur Finalist recognition from Western Writers of America in 2024. She is married to Preston Lewis and the mother of two and the grandmother of five.