Customer Reviews

The Company of Cats: 20 Contemporary Stories of Family Cats

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Some of the stories are fairly good. However, many are depressing, or worse. Do you really want to hear someone describe how his cat gets weaker and weaker and finally dies as he intentionally starves it to death? There are better collections of cat stories out there.

If you are a cat lover, do not be fooled by the title of this book. One would assume that this book would contain heartwarming stories of cats and their owners. That is not the case. Most of the owners in these stories don't even care about their cats. In one particular story, a man starves his cat to death. In another, a man poisons his cat with toxic paint. You are even led to believe that another man throws his cat into a bonfire. I was appalled by this book. This book should be thrown in the bonfire!

This is NOT a book for cat lovers. As I read the forward by the editor Rosen, a clear disdain for cats came through. Thinking this was odd, but would not reflect the sentiment of the authors of the short stories, I continued reading. I read the first handful of stories and was forced to stop. Each and every story I read was worst than the last one....a woman who dates a man who is mean to her cats, a man who doesn't want or like cats gets one and then ignores it, a woman finds a kitten and returns it to owners she knows are abusive and neglectful, a man who starves his cat to death. After the one about the guy who starves his cat to death I had had enough of this book and debated stop reading it. But thinking a book marketed to cat lovers couldn't possibly continue on this vein, I read one more story...a man throws poisonous objects at his cat until the cat finally eats one and dies. At this point, only 1/3 of the way into this book, I stopped reading.
Michael Rosen's disdain for cats, which came through in his forward in a weak voice, came through loud and clear by his choice of stories to include in this book...it's sick and demented.

I got this book from a friend, and judging from the cover, I thought it was a book of warm, fuzzy cat stories. As I read along, I started to question the stories. Some seemed to have "unresolved" endings. However, I soon learned that several of these stories have horrible endings! The story about the sea captain and his wife disturbed me greatly--the cat gets squished in a suitcase (and obviously, dies)! I could not read any further.

If you love cats, or any animals, I recommend you NOT buy or read this book. You will only be disturbed and upset.

If you are an actual cat lover, don't waste your time! Beginning with Michael Rosen's 19 page introduction, which was unnecessary and made no point, to the depressing short stories, which were so similar as to make me feel that they were all written by the same author, it was not worth it. All of the stories involved either a dysfunctional human relationship or a dysfunctional human living alone, and the cat or cats involved (all of them being cats who were left or let outside to roam) either disappearing or dying. The cats in every story were secondary or barely mentioned at all, plus the stories ended either on a very sad note or with nothing resolved. I actually did not read 5 or 6 of the stories, I was so disgusted by then that I couldn't bring myself to read any more.
The pictures and cartoons, while enjoyable, had nothing to do with the book itself, but I guess they fit the overall theme of the book, which was pointless.

The other reviews are right...this book is not for anyone who likes animals. When I read the forward, I thought I was picking up on a negative tone about cats, but convinced myself to continue reading thinking no one who hated cats would actually put together a collection of stories about them. But he did. I only could stomach the first 5 stories or so...but each and every one of them was sick and demented...intentionally killing cats, abusing cats, neglecting cats. I could not continue reading this book.

I purchased this thinking THE COMPANY OF CATS 20 Contemporary stories was about people loving and taking care of cats and/or how people/cats/other animals got along. The book is depressing. It reads more like short horror stories about what happens to cats. I completely agree with the other reviewers who gave this a one star rating.

This is a disgusting book and should be pulled off the shelves at Amazon! It is not worthy of even being offered for sale. I would use it to start my fire in the fireplace in my home.

This is a cruel look at how some cats are treated. I cannot find one redeeming thing about it. Don't buy it!!!!!

As if we don't have enough animal abuse in the world today, this sick demented person has to write a book like this? For what purpose?
DO NOT read this book, do not buy this book. Do not give this person money for writing this sick stuff. Thank you.

This book is not for anyone who loves cat and is looking for a collection of heartwarming cat stories. It is depressing and I found some of the stories to be outright cruel. If you are looking for a nice collection of cat stories by a veterinarian who writes fondly of cats, I suggest James Herriot's Cat Stories.