Catalyst by McCaffrey & Scarborough

About the book: Pilot, engineer, doctor—ship’s cat? Since the early days of interstellar travel, the so-called Barque Cats have become essential to the well-staffed space vessel. Assisted by humans—Cat Persons—with whom they share a deep and loving bond, the Barque Cats are responsible for keeping spacecraft free of vermin, for alerting crews to environmental hazards, and for acting as morale officers.

But a widespread epidemic affecting livestock on numerous planets throws the felines’ future into doubt. Suddenly the galactic government announces a plan to impound and possibly destroy all exposed animals, including the Barque Cats. With the clock racing against them, a handful of very special kittens and their humans will join forces to save the Barque Cats, and quite possibly the universe as they know it, from total destruction.

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey (December 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345513770

First line: "How much for that pretty kittycat you got there, young lady?"

My Thoughts: McCaffrey is one of my favorite sci/fi writers so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this book. I also enjoy several cat mystery series, which added to the appeal of this book for me. I didn't expect it to sound so juvenile and simplistic, which was a disappointment. It would have helped if the target age group had been listed in the descriptions I checked before deciding to read this one. Had I known, I wouldn't have been disappointed. Youngsters would surely love this one. While I didn't like it as much as books in some of her other series, I found it to be a nice light fun read but not one that really grabbed me.

Rating: C