ABANDONED. Sci-fi about a man and a cat. Spoiler ahead...

[G.G.]

I've read this book I'd say probably 30 years ago, so not a new one, but I've been looking for it for the last year or so. I want to re-read it.

I hope not to have spoilers, since I don't remember much aside from the end, which would be a spoiler. :P

Anyway, the story is about a man and his cat whose spacecraft crashes on a planet. The strange thing about that planet is that the only animal that seems to have lived there are cats and humans. I'm not sure if there are some alive or he only finds remnants though. It was too long ago and it was a translation so even if I would remember the publisher, which I don't, it wouldn't help.

Thanks in advance for any clue or book names that could lead me to find it.

If anyone thinks that the end/spoiler would help, please send me a pm. I REALLY need to find the title of this book! It's driving me insane... (Well, I'm almost there if not already but that's another story. :P)

[Aerulan]

G.G
Please feel free to post the spoilers here in the thread. Spoilers are welcomed and encouraged in this group. Lots of times the only thing people recognize/remember are the endings or the twist.

Nobody who's reading threads in this group will get upset with you at seeing spoilers. And including all the info you possibly can will help get your book found.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Some guesses:
Divine Endurance
Divine Endurance, an intelligent cat, accompanies Chosen Among the Beautiful, a manufactured human, as she leaves the citadel to explore the world outside.

Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

The Calvin Nullifier
A twelve-year-old's intergalactic friend, Dandelion, helps his engineer father repair a space probe to Uranus and provides the rests of the family with a space adventure.

Tuf Voyaging
This collection of tales tells the story of one Haviland Tuf, interstellar merchant, cat lover, and finder of an ancient Ecological Corps seedship, once vital to human colonization of the galaxy and capable of the re-creation of any life form. Tuf finds himself in possession of an enormously powerful weapon, which is able to solve the problems of a good many planets but also creates a few difficulties of its own.

Nick and the Glimmung
Because of their pet cat Horace, Nick and his family must move from the anti-pet Earth to Plowman's Planet, where they find themselves in the middle of a war against a mysterious entity known as the Glimmung.

[G.G.]

Thanks Aerulen. Will do just that then. :)

Ok, here it is then. At the end of the book he finds the remains of his own spacecraft, all rusted and shredded as if he had crashed hundreds if not thousands of years ago and not just a few weeks (or so) ago.

He comes to realize that the reasons there are only cats and nothing else on the planet is because they are descendants of his own cat. He and his companion have crashed on the planet before (in some kind of time loop.)

[G.G.]

Thanks for trying Lobstergirl, but no, none of these is the book that I am seeking. :(

[Michele]

Not an exact match, but perhaps Breed to Come?

[G.G.]

Nope it's not that one but it sounds good too ;)

Thanks for trying!

[G.G.]

Bumping! Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

[Michele]

Hm, you said it was a translation -- any idea what the original language was? Do you know if the version you read was from a British publisher, U.S. publisher, someone else? Are you positive it was a full-length novel and not a short story or novella?

[G.G.]

I should have been more precise. I read it in French, but I'm pretty sure it was translated from English. I don't remember the author's name but the book was published by a company that only had science-fiction and all the covers kind of look alike (blue and black with some white if I remember right).
So even the blue and black could have been just done especially for that publishing company.
It was a full-length novel.

That was so long ago, it's probably out of print by now. :(

[Michele]

Out of print does not mean we can't find it -- don't despair :) Do you happen to remember the French publisher's name: Gallimard, Olympia, Flammarion? Are they listed here?

[G.G.]

Thanks Michele for the link!

I asked my cousin since it was her book. She's pretty sure it was Fleuve Noir. If it was, then it might not have been a translation.
One good thing about that is that she said she will search her old boxes in the garage and see if she can find it. I won't hold my breath. She had thousands of book back then and kept buying more every year. IF, (yes IF) she finds time to search, it might not mean she'll find it anyway.
I checked your link and a few publishers already. I'll continue to check them tomorrow because I'm not totally sold on Fleuve Noir. Although I read a lot of them, the format/size I remember is not the same as the book I'm looking for. Mine was shorter and thicker than most Fleuve noir I remember.
But hey, 30 years is a long time. Memories are not always reliable. :(

[Michele]

Not an exact match, but maybe Cat Country : A Satirical Novel of China in the 1930's?

[G.G.]

Nope, not that book but thanks for trying. :)

[G.G.]

Bumping it up.
I still have no clue what the title is. :(

[Gail]

A long shot, but. . .The Door into Summer, Robert Heinlein

[Heather]

The Cat from Outer Space. I know it best as a movie, older movie, but there is a novelization or some such.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_...

Edit: No, maybe not... :/

[G.G.]

Thanks Gail and Heather.
It's neither of those but I have to say that The Door into Summer by Robert Heinlein sounds interesting. :)

[Michele]

bump

[G.G.]

Thanks Michele. I still haven't found the title or the author or anything and my cousin who was supposed to check never did. :(

IT's one of those books that stay with your forever. I don't tend to remember stories much. After I am done I move to the next. Except for this one.

[Kris]

G.G., can you tell us more about the man - his job (astronaut/scientist/trader/etc.), age, skills/interests, family/friends, etc.? Where was he going when his spacecraft crashed? Did he have a crew that didn't survive the crash?

Is this sci fi book for young adults (teens) or older adults?

[G.G.]

Ok, back then, there was no such thing as YA. While there were no violence or sex, I still wouldn't say it was intended for a young audience.

Now you are asking an old brain to work over time. ;) I don't remember much extra, aside that he was alone in the spaceship with his cat, which turned out to be pregnant, thus the population of cats on the planet.

I don't think they mentioned anything about friends or family. If, big if, I remember right, the story starts with him and his cat (he thought the cat was a male). He is alone not sure why or where he was going, when his ship starts to malfunction and he crashes. The story takes place on that planet.

I think he was an explorer,but I'm not 100% sure. I had the impression that he was in his twenties maybe thirties. The cat is a companion so he doesn't feel so alone by himself in space.

I usually don't remember stories. That I remember this one something like 30-35 years later is a wonder already.

This was one of those stories that is good, but you know, like any other good stories, until he finds his old spaceship and you realize and understand all that happened and why and you have that ahh moment that darn sticks with you for years. :p

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

G.G. left the group. Moving to Abandoned.