There are many cats who do not care if the city is taken over by rats.

At night, when the rats come out, you will find those cats in warm houses, sleeping on pillows and eating food that comes out of little cans ... or hanging out in alleys, meowing and keeping everyone awake.

But not Noodles. He was not that kind of cat. Noodles worked out of the Third District Police Station.

Every night at eleven o'clock—2300 hours in police time—Noodles left the station and went on patrol.

He chased away the rats who hung around the garbage cans.

He checked around the basements of houses to make sure that rats were not sneaking in through holes or broken windows.

He went up and down the streets and alleys of the city, keeping it safe for the children asleep in their beds.

Every morning, when Noodles returned to the police station, he walked past a police car, called the K-9 cruiser, where Truman the police dog sat. Truman jumped up and down and barked. He was always trying to get out of the car to chase Noodles.

Noodles did not pay any attention to the ill-mannered dog. "No dignity," he thought, "and useless. He probably never caught a rat in his life. Police dogs are nothing but squirrel chasers."

Noodles meowed and scratched at the station house door. Sergeant Bowser, the desk sergeant, let him in. Then Noodles curled up to go to sleep in a box underneath a desk where the Commander could not see him.

"Unauthorized!" shouted the Commander whenever he caught Noodles inside the station. Then he would order the officers to throw Noodles out.

Because even though Noodles was the best rat-chaser in the city, he was not an official member of the Metropolitan Police Department.

The police department had K-9 units for dog—sthey even got special police cars and collars—but nothing for cats. Not that any self-respecting cat would wear a collar.

Early one morning, Noodles was on his way back to the station when he saw a pack of rats scamper out through a broken basement window and run down the alley.

"Mischief is afoot," he thought.

Noodles climbed through the broken window into the basement. He smelled smoke. He saw flames in one corner: The rats had chewed a wire and started a fire.

Noodles had to warn the people in the house!