*"Like every great lasagna,Garfield was born in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant on a winter's night in 1978, while outside snow fell like grated parmesan cheese. He weighed in five pounds, six ounces at birth - that's big for a kitten! - and right from the start showed a passion for Italian food. The restaurant owner, forced to choose between Garfield and closing his doors for lack of pasta, sold Garfield to a pet store. Garfield thought he was a goner untilJon Arbuckle walked in the door. The rest is history."* Source: backcover.