COVER STORY
Love 'em or hate 'em, they are a national mania
Cat: One Hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf.
—B. Kliban, cartoonist
Muhammad cut the sleeve from his robe rather than disturb his friend, asleep on the Prophet's gown. Samuel Johnson daily pampered his spoiled companion Hodge with meals of fresh oysters. Victor Hugo cherished Gavroche. Cardinal Richelieu left a generous legacy for the 14 he owned. Napoleon is said to have broken into a cold sweat at the sight of one. In his childhood, Smerdyakov, in Dostoyevsky's The Brothers...