Mister Got to Go: The Cat That Wouldn't Leave

Christine Linge is a past director of the Toronto & District Parent
Co-operative Preschool Corporation and a freelance writer.

Mister Got to Go is a stray cat who appears on a hotel manager’s
window sill one soggy evening. The kindly manager takes pity on the
animal, although he insists that, as soon as it stops raining, “that
cat’s got to go!” However, the cat keeps showing up and eventually
becomes a fixture at the hotel, performing some services (he detects an
unwelcome canine hidden in a customer’s coat) and having several
adventures (including a rollicking fight with a peeping-tom racoon). The
episodes are held together by the book’s running joke: the manager
keeps saying, even during sunny weather, that the cat will be evicted
when it stops raining.

Based on a true story that occurred at Vancouver’s historic Sylvia
Hotel, Mister Got to Go captures the quiet charm of life in a fine
hotel, while tickling the reader with gentle humor. Children will
appreciate the episodic nature of the tale, its running joke, and the
occasional peek inside the mind of the cat, who displays a winningly
hybrid human/feline nature.

Using both cat and human vantage points, Nugent’s colorful drawings
combine authentic detail with heartwarming caricature. These elements
enhance the simple, sweet story with its positive role models (the
caring manager, a female veterinarian). Recommended.