Faust the Dancing Cat Does Vegas

Faust the Dancing Cat Does Vegas, the third book in the Faust the Dancing Cat trilogy, has his nibs up to his amber eyes and vampire fangs in new wild-and-woolly un-cat-like exploits. If there's a way for this shoulder-riding cat to turn a situation around into a laugh-fest or a looming disaster, Faust demonstrates once again he's a past master at it. This time his escapades occur not only on land but also in the air and on water. When he's not slogging through sand dunes looking for lizards and hiking up rugged Telescope Peak trying to spot squirrels, he's scrambling up slippery marble canyon walls or trying to tip-toe around sharp halite crystals on the Devil's Golf Course in Death Valley. When he's not experiencing close encounters of the dangerous kind with rattlers, cougars, and raccoons, he's matching wits with pervert dogs and malicious teenagers. When he's not being baptized in an airplane bathroom, he's emulating Dracula to "terrorize" children at Halloween trick-or-treating or practicing to be the first feline Flying Wallenda. After years of perfecting his audience-adoring, performance magic, he almost makes it into Continental Cablevision programming as a choreographed Zen Master. Then, out of the blue, he sees his forever-desired chance to play the Big Time. Will he take it or won't he? His decision making takes less than a nanosecond. And it's no surprise that he charges ahead with fearlessness and Gene Kelly-inspired gusto. "Amazing!" Some exclaimed. "I didn't know you could train cats." Others questioned, "How in the world did you train him to do all that? Does he do his act here regularly. I hope so." He had done his full performance, dancing his heart out, and presenting his acrobatics repertoire, to their delighted oohs and ahs and broad smiles. With his whiskers raised, eyes gleaming, and his furry cheeks configured into a cat grin, Faust savored their acclamation as he continued to luxuriate in the accolades. Unlike faded silent film star Norma Desmond, in the film noir, "Sunset Boulevard", who was trying to revive a long-dead career, Faust really was ready to approach the camera and a fresh, new career, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." If only I had had my camera handy. But I was already challenged taking him through his paces as I simultaneously tried to avert having a myocardial infarction. Faust's ultimate ambition? Besides being a dancer par excellence, getting salmon and a good back scratch, he appeared to have two goals. One was to manipulate his human "servant" to spread word of their relationship in order to influence others to rescue and adopt homeless cats. The other was to personally relish turning his companion's life eccentrically, and often hilariously, upside-down ... but, of course, always with lots of love. His first two books are: "What Faust the Dancing Cat Taught Me"; "Faust the Dancing Cat Tackles Strippers, Scammers & Bears."