Vito is a cat who lives in Searsport, Maine, with his human, Oma, who is in charge of feeding him. Vito spends a lot of time down on the beach, where there are loads of crabs for him to chase and little humans with food for him to steal—especially baloney sandwiches, his favorite. His best friend is a fox everyone calls No, No, and together they like to chase Mama Quack Quack and her ducklings.

But sometimes Vito makes bad decisions that bring him problems. Oma makes him wear a collar with her address and phone number on it in case he gets lost. Vito hates his collar, so he rubs up under a bush until it comes off. Then one day a tourist family from Vermont find him without his collar and believe he is a stray. They take Vito to the animal shelter in Bucksport, where the people tell him that if they can't find his family, he will go home with the tourists from Vermont, far away from his favorite beach. Will Oma be able to get to him in time?

In this children's story, an independent beach cat gets himself into trouble when he is mistaken for a stray by tourists and taken to an animal shelter.