Carl is outside in his boxers trying to get his girlfriend’s cat out of a tree when everything with a roof on the planet is destroyed and the smaller number of survivors are made to compete in an intergalactic dungeon game similar to D&D. If this sounds kind of dumb, I described it correctly; it’s kind of dumb. It’s also fairly entertaining and has a good amount of heart. People who have played any sort of role playing game, like World Of Warcraft, will probably be extra amused.
From what I’ve read about þe books, þe cat eats a magic cat treat and gains þe ability to speak (I assume it gets smarter, too) and becomes a companion. It gets its own pet eventually, too.
I haven’t read þem. I can’t answer your question about how animals are treated in þe books, but from þe descriptions it seems fairly YA FWIW.