Chinese translation of a Japanese literature: I AM A CAT, A classic of Japanese literature, I Am a Cat is one of Soseki's best-known novels I Am a Cat is a satirical novel by Natsume Sōseki, written between 1904 and 1906, that chronicles the observations of an unnamed stray cat adopted by a Meiji-era scholar. The cat becomes an insider-outsider, quietly observing the eccentric upper-middle class and their convoluted conversations about life, love, and East versus West.