Cats in Space and Other Places(1992)

Margaret BallAnne McCaffreyMercedes Lackey

Space. The feline frontier.
It has been said (by Mark Twain) that "if man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." In this volume we explore the many and manifest reasons why humans should voluntarily accord first place in space to their feline brethren. From Robert A. Heinlein's "Ordeal in Space" in which the merest kitten confers the gift of courage on his human, to Cordwainer Smith's "Ballad of the Lost C'mell," which answers the very question of what would be the outcome of the melding of human and cat, we offer here 16 reasons why cats are Number One in our book.

Contents:

The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith
Mouse by Fredric Brown
Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber
Schrodinger's Cat by Ursula K. Le Guin
Tales of a Starship's Cat by Judith R. Conly
Who's There? by Arthur C. Clarke
Bullhead by David Drake
Ordeal in Space by Robert A. Heinlein
Space-Time for Springers by Fritz Leiber
The Tail by M.J. Engh
Well Worth the Money by Jody Lynn Nye
Chamur's Homecoming by C.J. Cherryh
Duty Calls by Anne McCaffrey
Black Destroyer by A.E. Van Vogt
The Pride by Todd Hamilton & P.J. Beese
The Ballad of Lost C'mell by Cordwainer Smith
The Man Who Would Be Kzin by Greg Bear & S.M. Stirling