Cat Novels

[scraggles]

Hello all! – I was wondering if anyone has any cat literature that they might like to recommend?! – novels, poetry, plays..? - Or you often hear of artists etc. that have had cats - any biographies that describe their relationships?

It might be an odd question but I recently finished reading “The Guest Cat” by Takashi Hiraide. I bought it after coming across it in a small bookshop and being enticed by the green eyes on the cover. I had never heard of it nor the author before but enjoyed it I have to say, even if not much happens in it…

Going by the blurb on the back – well – not to give much away – but I found myself reading with an anticipation that wasn’t fully satisfied, if that makes sense. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful little book and certainly makes for an interesting read.

It just made me wonder if there anything similar out there that I'm missing out on. Any recommendations for the next book to accompany my cups of coffee?

 

[jcat]

We've had a couple of threads on the subject, though not all of them are recent.
Cat books
*****KatKwery! - July 24 - @#&^!
Great Cat Fiction Books

I read a lot of "cat mysteries", my favorites being the Joe Grey series, the Magical Cats mysteries, and the Second Chance Cat Mystery series.

 

[scraggles]

Excellent - thank you for that! That's definitely given me some books to add to my Amazon trolley.

 

[neely]

I loved the book, "Dewey," The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. It's a very heartwarming and true story.

 

[Docs Mom]

Homer's Odyssey, by Gwen Cooper

Real life autobiography of a amazing blind kitten who lost his eyes early on....

It's great, does stir up the emotions some...

 

[scraggles]

I love books based on true stories!! - I find it always adds something to the story. Have found both those books on Amazon and they're in the trolley.

 

[jcat]

I love books based on true stories!!

Then you might enjoy
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat

about a nursing home cat sensing when residents were about to die.

 

[scraggles]

Tears are coming to my eyes already.

Definitely another one to add to the trolley.

On a side note - I worked in a nursing home once and the loneliness was at times heartbreaking - I really think more nursing homes should allow pets - the level of comfort and companionship they can bring can only be of benefit surely.

 

[daisyd]

I've been told to read and watch 'A streetcat called bob'. It's a true strory about a homeless man who was an addict in London who befriends a cat and the latter helps him ! Apparently the guy is a millionare now as it was made into a film

 

[scraggles]

Ah yes - I've heard of that film alright - forgot it was a book first - definitely one for the list!

 

[neely]

On a side note - I worked in a nursing home once and the loneliness was at times heartbreaking - I really think more nursing homes should allow pets - the level of comfort and companionship they can bring can only be of benefit surely.

Ditto, I couldn't agree more. I know the nursing homes in our area have regular pet therapy visits. Several of my friends with dogs have gone to therapy training for this exact reason. Before our dog passed away I would bring him to a small privately owned nursing home only a few miles from our house. He was so patient and loved all the hugs. The look on the residents' faces was priceless and I made a lot of friends. One woman who was normally very feisty and generally disagreeable showed a completely different side when I came with our dog. She was the first to pet him and the last to leave.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I enjoyed the Jacques and Cleo, Cat Detectives series by Gilbert Morris. It's a 3 book series not too heavy or suspenseful but definitely good for passing some time in a waiting room, or poolside, or somewhere like that. It looks like its out of print but used copies are on Amazon for cheap! Jacques is a Savannah and Cleo is a Ragdoll; but there are other animals in the home too. Including a raccoon that gets into everything.

What the Cat Dragged In
The Cat's Pajamas
When the Cat's Away - This one even has a cat show as the location for the crime; a cat-napping!

 

[scraggles]

definitely good for passing some time in a waiting room, or poolside, or somewhere like that.

Purrfect for summer so!

 

[arouetta]

A Wizard in Rhyme series had a book called "The Feline Wizard". A 6 month old baby was left alone and earth spirits changed her into a kitten since a kitten of the same age could survive on her own. She could change forms at will, and did spend a lot of time as a cat when in danger, and most of the book was written from her point of view. She definitely had the proper mindset for a cat.

Tears are coming to my eyes already.
On a side note - I worked in a nursing home once and the loneliness was at times heartbreaking - I really think more nursing homes should allow pets - the level of comfort and companionship they can bring can only be of benefit surely.

Ever hear of Oscar?
Can Oscar the cat predict people's deaths?

The cat apparently has unerring accuracy, he cuddles only with those who have only hours left to live and he has yet to miss a dying patient. In the original article I read (before his allergic reaction), apparently he refused to cuddle with one patient who they thought for sure was going to die in a few hours and then the patient rallied and lived 2 more days and only at the end of that did Oscar cuddle with the patient. The original article said they ruled out all potential environmental causes like heating pads in the beds of the dying.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

We've had a couple of threads on the subject, though not all of them are recent.
Cat books
*****KatKwery! - July 24 - @#&^!
Great Cat Fiction Books

I read a lot of "cat mysteries", my favorites being the Joe Grey series, the Magical Cats mysteries, and the Second Chance Cat Mystery series.

LOVE the Joe Grey series. I have "Cat Shining Bright" on preorder. I really have to love something to do that! I just started the Magical Cats series, and Second Chance Cats is on my list to buy! Let's see...A Dixie Hemingway Mystery series by Blaize Clement and A Bookmobile Cat Mystery series by Laurie Cass are both a lot of fun. And there is, if you can find it, Tad William's absolutely beautiful "TailChaser's Song," which does for cats in a small way what Tolkien did for elves and such. He creates a world and a mythology of cats.

 

[scraggles]

The cat apparently has unerring accuracy, he cuddles only with those who have only hours left to live and he has yet to miss a dying patient.

I think there's a lot about the animal (and plant) kingdom that we've yet to understand (or possibly understand again...) - I find it fascinating - looking forward to reading up on Oscar.

My list is growing as we speak - this is great!

On another side note - I'm trying to relearn French at the moment - I might see if any of these have been translated - if I know a book is good, and on a subject I'm interested in, I'll be hopefully more likely to stick to reading it even if in a foreign language..!

 

[foxxycat]

The book about The blind cat is really good. So is Dewey. There's a ton of these on Amazon-that's how I found Homer. There's one about the cat who rides the bus-that was a good book-there's another called Squeeky the cat-about a tricolor girl who wins over a couple who normally never have cats=it's written by the husband and he really put a lot of character and comedy into it...just a really good quick one-two night read.

I also think there's mystery ones- Lillian Jackson Braun I think is her name-the Cat Who books-I haven't read them but I have many people asking me to find those titles and heard they are really good.

I would sit on Amazon and read forever if I could!

 

[scraggles]

O.K. - so I've put in an Amazon order - I've put many books in my saved for later list but for the moment what I've ordered includes -

Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul by Amy D. Shojai
I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume
and the French translations of
Dewey by Vicky Myron and
Love in Lowercase by Francesc Miralles

I've added so many of your suggestions to my buy for later list so keep them coming! - I can't wait for these to arrive, to start reading and to then order more!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If you don't mind used books, I've had very good luck with Thriftbooks. With my budget, it allows me to order several books a month, and save Amazon for the new releases.

 

[scraggles]

Ooh no - I haven't heard of that site - must look into it! - Amazon can add up - although I think I managed to get one of the books for a penny! - it's trying to work it out that the postage doesn't end up costing too much though...

I don't mind second hand books at all - more character