name that children's book filter: cat airships?

May 26, 2016 1:30 PM

another installment of the name-that-children's-book-with-no-details-about-title-or-author:it was a picture book; it came out or was out around 1993-1998; I have almost no memory of the plot...I read it as a child and it reappeared to me in my mind's eye suddenly and is driving me crazy; it involved fantastical themes of animals with complex societies, at least one of which were cats (but maybe woodland creatures?)

The animal societies had a war
-there was a bad side and a good side, but with a war of the roses tone rather than high fantasy or Redwall-esque
-there were heraldic elements/coloring to the animal's uniforms
-there were air battles involved
-there were cat-shaped airships involved
-post-battle, there were white medical cat airships nursing the other cat airships
-one of the sick/injured cat airships had, I think, a thermometer in its mouth and a glass-bottle-style IV
-there was an animal sovereign in a white and gold outfit at the end?

thanks, Ask MeFi, hope you can work your magic on this one!

posted by zingiberene to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Best answer: I immediately thought of Trouble for Trumpets, which doesn't match everything, but it looks like the cat airships arrive in the sequel, Trumpets in Grumpetland.
posted by nonane at 2:01 PM on May 26, 2016 [4 favorites]

Oh thank you thank you both of you! I have been meaning to ask the same question and am so happy to see it answered!
posted by (Over) Thinking at 2:11 PM on May 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: nonane, that's the one! From one sort-of-chemist to another, I thank you for translating my extremely vague and fairly incorrect half-rememberings into reality. I thought I might have imagined it.

A pity it's out of print!
posted by zingiberene at 12:09 AM on May 27, 2016

Response by poster: a cat airship (actually helicopter) if anyone is intriguied
posted by zingiberene at 12:15 AM on May 27, 2016