Loving or aloof, mischievous or cuddly--for many people, their cats are an integral part of the family. Here are extraordinary stories of some of the world's most charismatic and captivating cats: * Princess Kitty, dubbed ''The Smartest Cat in the World,'' was trained to play the piano and do 100 other incredible tricks * ASPCA 2007 cat of the year, Winnie, led her family to a carbon monoxide leak * Simon received the Dickin Medal for his efforts in consoling the wounded on the British navy ship HMS Amethyst * A hospice cat named Oscar can predict patients' deaths * Fred, the ''Undercover Kitty,'' won the Law Enforcement Appreciation Award for helping to nab a fraudulent vet * Scarlett, an incredible mother cat, damaged her eyes saving her five kittens from a New York inferno * Smart and adventurous, Macavity caught a bus several times a week to the nearest fish and chips shop * Lewis, nicknamed ''The Terrorist of Sunset Circle,'' was put under permanent house arrest after biting and scratching six neighbors * And many more.

Omar Mouallem is an author, filmmaker, and educator. His journalism has appeared in The Guardian, WIRED, and The New Yorker, and his latest book, Praying to the West, was named one of The Globe and Mail’s 100 best books of 2021 and nominated for two Alberta Literary Awards in the categories of Memoir and Nonfiction. His short documentary The Last Baron, about the unlikely link between a Canadian fast-food institution and the Lebanese civil war, is currently being expanded into a feature film to be released later this year. Omar is also the “fake dean” of Pandemic University, a virtual school he founded in support of writers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his family.

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