  We discuss several methods to produce superpositions of optical coherent
states (also known as "cat states"). Cat states have remarkable properties that
could allow them to be powerful tools for quantum information processing and
metrology. A number of proposals for how one can produce cat states have
appeared in the literature in recent years. We describe these proposals and
present new simulation and analysis of them incorporating practical issues such
as photon loss, detector inefficiency, and limited strength of nonlinear
interactions. We also examine how each would perform in a realistic experiment.
