Old possums book of practical cats from wikipedia the free encyclopedia old possums book of practical cats 1939 is a collection of whimsical light poems by t s eliot about feline psychology and sociology published by faber and faber it serves as the basis for andrew lloyd webber s 1981 musical cats. Veroffentlicht wurden sie in england erstmals 1939 unter dem titel old possums book of practical cats und dienten spater andrew lloyd webber als vorlage fur sein beruhmtes musical cats nun zum 70. T s eliots playful cat poems have delighted readers and cat lovers around the world ever since they were first published in 1939 they were originally composed for his godchildren with eliot posing as old possum himself and later inspired the legendary musical cats. Title old possums book of practical cats author eliot t s thomas stearns 1888 1965 date of first publication september 1939 edition used as base for this ebook london faber and faber december 1948 ninth impression date first posted 12 january 2016 date last updated 12 january 2016 project gutenberg canada ebook 1295 this ebook was produced by al haines and mark akrigg