It's Like This, Cat treats subjects such as the importance of compassion and the acceptance of loss without excessive sentiment or emotion. Neville chooses to explore these issues in a straightforward manner through an examination of the characters and the difficult decisions they must make: Dave decides to neuter Cat out of concern for his pet's welfare, and Kate kills the young kitten rather than let it suffer. As Carolyn Kingston points out in The Tragic Mode in Children's Literature, these events demonstrate that spiritual toughness can balance tragedy. Some readers may be uncomfortable with the scene in which Kate kills the kitten, but because Neville does not dwell too long on the incident, most readers will not find it offensive.

One potentially disturbing element is Neville's portrayal of Tom's father, who abandons him while Tom is in college and does not leave a forwarding address...