SOLVED. fantasy about talking cats, main cat goes on a quest [s]

[Sarah]

I remember I read this book because I thought it was very similar to Watership Down (rabbit society). And it was very similar, except with cats. So the main cat must go on a quest for something, and I think he ends up in a cat underworld or afterlife or something like a cat-greek-underworld-realm-of-hades. The story is interspersed with cat myths about the great cat heros (much like Watership Down, where they tell stories of their rabbit heros). I remember one story in particular, where the cat hero must fool a dog into thinking that the hero is also a dog, so he finds a rubber tire and rubs it in all sorts of dead and rotten things. I read it in the early 1990's. Thanks to anyone who can help me remember the title!

[Kit★]

Maybe Tailchaser's Song? The main cat does go into an underworld type place.

[Sarah]

That is it exactly. Thanks so much.