Customer Reviews

1,001 Things You Always Wanted To Know About Cats

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My wife and I both fell in love with this book from the moment we saw it on the store shelf. Put simply, it is a collection of 1,001 one-paragraph tidbits about everything related to cats--different breeds, the cat anatomy, habits (good and bad), cats in history, famous people who loved cats, "catty" words and phrases, even a section about cat in movies, cartoons, and TV. As a longtime cat lover, I thought I knew cats pretty well, but I'm a lot wiser after reading this. (Finally I understand why our cats like to knead my belly.) My personal favorite was the section dealing with cats in history, particularly their connection with the ancient Egyptians.

OK, I'll admit I always wondered what it is about catnip that gives a 'high' to cats, and now I know. This very enjoyable collection of cat tidbits explains catnip, purring, 'kneading' and other cat phenomena. The section dealing with myths and legends about cats is really fascinating. I never knew there were so many wild (and dangerous) misconceptions about cats. I also never knew that so many famous people through history were cat lovers--including Cleopatra, Winston Churchill, and Mark Twain. I'm writing this before Christmas, so I'm remembering the wonderful legend connecting the Nativity with the 'M' on the foreheads of tabby cats. I wish this book had better illustrations, frankly, but that is a minor point since it is a good read and a good stocking stuffer for any cat lover that is hard to buy for.

Well, actually, you can read this while holding your purring cat. Anyway, if you love cats, this is a great book, full of one-paragraph tidbits about everything in the world related to cats--their health, different breeds, even off-the-wall things like cartoon cats, cat folklore, the whole nine yards. I liked the section about cats in history, since it added to what little I knew about cats being so popular in ancient Egypt. The book's first section, which explains a lot of mysterious cat behaviors like purring, kneading your belly, or getting high on catnip was really enjoyable. My cat Rufus gives it a 'paws up.'

We cat lovers can't seem to get enough of cats, even books about cats, right? I enjoyed this one immensely, got it for my birthday (Dec 3), so curled up by the fire with cat in my lap and book in hand and proceeded to learn so many facts and legends that I ended up taking the book to bed. (My husband is used to this by now.) It is fun to pick up and open just anywhere but I read it more or less straight through, utterly fascinated by some of the tidbits about cat behavior, even learned some new things about the feline body. (Did you know cats have whiskers on the backs of their front legs? Funny I'd never noticed it before, but it's true.) Some of the myths and legends are really fascinating, particularly the one about the apostle Thomas. One omission: every science fiction buff will wonder why the book made no mention of "Schrodinger's cat" or Robert Heinlein's "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls." Maybe some future edition will include it!

Well, if you don't already know what an ailurophile is, you will after reading this book, plus a thousand other things about cats, present and past. My husband and I have eight cats, and I think we've owned every breed there is, but I still found lots of fascinating cat info I never knew before. The book covers all breeds (I get the feeling the author isn't wild about Siamese, but I can overlook that), plus lots of factoids about their mating habits, their appearance in myths and legends and literature, famous people who kept cats (and a few poor souls who really hated them, like the composer Brahms).

I love any book about cats, but this one is kind of special because it's written with a sort of light touch--lots of good solid information here, but handled well, often humorously. I especially like the section about all the myths and legends (and nonsense) relating to cats. My kids got into the section about cats that appear in ads, TV shows, movies, cartoons, etc. (Did you know the cartoon cat Sylvester was named 'Thomas' in his first appearances?) I won't say I love this book as much as I love cats, but it's a close second.

Interesting read if you're a cat lover like myself. I've read numerous books on cats and this one seemed to really help me out.