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Feline Images from Bast to Garfield by Katharine M. Rogers
The New York Times Book Review, Zoë Helena Rice:
...sheer catnip for the intellectual feline lover...
The Cat and the Human Imagination is a fascinating investigation of the changing cultural attitudes toward cats and the myriad ways they have been depicted in literature and art over time. Feline images have permeated civilization since the ancient Egyptians, and during this time the status of the cat has changed dramatically. The book examines the changing images - fertility goddess, agent of Satan, aristocrat, spirit of the home, bloodthirsty killer - and relates them to the contexts in which they arose. It also analyzes how human attitudes toward cats seem to have evolved in parallel with attitudes toward other animals, toward authority, and toward gender.
cat, cat book
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Why Cats Paint - a Theory of Feline Aesthetics by Heather Busch and Burton Silver
An unprecedented photographic record of cat creativity that will intrigue cat-lovers and art-lovers alike. As far as we know, no theory of feline aesthetics has yet been presented, at least not with such remarkable clarity and thorough documentation.
cat, cat book
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Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver, Heather Busch
by Burton Silver, Heather Busch
While the popular and enduring Why Cats Paint (1994) profiled the creative output of house pets, highlighting tabbies and Persian long-hairs with smeary abstract canvases they ostensibly made, the authors' latest volume inverts the paradigm, and offers instead the cat-as-canvas. Rexes and Siamese sport rainbow colors on their faces and flanks or graphic designs on their hindquarters: cats are transformed into butterflies, or clowns, or furry American flags. Presented as the document of a developing art movement, the book features a potpourri of artists and their "schools" (Neo-Totemism, Semiotic Anthropomorphism, Avant Funk), pairing big photographs with faux-interpretive essays about each cat and artist. Perhaps the most amazing entry is a portrait of Charlie Chaplin, supposedly painted with peroxide and vegetable dye on the rear end of a ginger and white cat named Burger. Amusing as a novelty item if nothing else (and very amusing at that), the book also offers a gentle kick in the pants to the gods of art criticism: a cat painted like a fish, for example, succeeds in "redefining and blurring the relationship between fur and scale, fin and tail, in order to create a shared intent that transubstantiates the species and repositions the notion of symbiosis." It's all so weird that it's sort of irresistible.
cat, cat book
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Hip Cat by Jonathan London, Illustrated by Woodleigh Hubbard
From Kirkus Reviews
``Living all alone in a riverside shack:/Oobie-do the Sax Man Scat Man,/the cool cat man'' takes his sax to the city and wails ``his song of longing, his song of joy,/his song of loneliness and looniness'' to great applause but so little pay that he's reduced to working at the Doggie Diner. London recounts the black cat's adventures and eventual success as ``a jazz magician...and a poet of the blues'' in rhythmic rap, the words sometimes looping and swirling through Hubbard's stylish art. Her vibrant colors and expressive figures are the strongest feature of a book that will appeal to admirers of Raschka's Charlie Parker Played Bebop (1992), though this is neither as witty nor as original. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved
cat, cat book
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The Cat in Ancient Egypt by Jaromir Malek
Most modern domestic cats are descendants of the cats of ancient Egypt. These beautiful and engaging creatures represent, therefore, a living link between Egyptian civilization and the completely different world of today. Dr Malek's absorbing survey shows that wild cats were probably domesticated at least as early as 2000 BC but started to be regularly included in tomb paintings of family life only some 500 years later, during the New Kingdom. Dr Malek draws evidence from a vast range of artistic and written sources to show how the cat became one of the most widely-esteemed animals, revered as a manifestation of the goddess Bastet. Large numbers of mummified cats were buried in the Late Period, and bronze statuettes of cats were dedicated to temples during religious festivals. Illustrating the text with representations of cats in tomb paintings, sculpture, papyri, jewelry, ostraka, mummies and coffins, the author conveys the affection and respect in which cats were held in ancient Egypt. This lively and readable book will surely prove to be the definitive account of the Egyptian cat: aristocrat of domestic animals.
cat, cat book
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The Cat Lover's Cookbook by Franki Papai Secunda and Art Decker
Feed your cat the healthiest meals possible--at a fraction of the cost of store-bought cat food. Papai presents fresh and easy recipes for anyone who wants to serve tasty, homecooked food to a family cat. All recipes approved by a licensed vet who specializes in a holistic approach to pet care. 24 illustrations.
cat, cat book
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The Mediterranean Cat by Hans Silvester
Hans Silvester's cats have clawed themselves an assured niche in the cute-cat book world. The reissue of 'The Mediterranean Cat', as well as 'Cats in the Sun' and 'Asleep in the Sun', makes for three beautiful photography books, exquisitely portraying the cats of the Greek Islands as they patrol this sun-drenched landscape. The felines of The Mediterranean Cat are an eclectic bunch. Some are a little rough and tumble, the end result of a territorial battle over the best spot in the sun. Others are regal, as they sit nose in air on an honored whitewashed doorstep, or slink up a step with a prized (and no doubt stolen) fish in tow. Here are tabbies and Russian blues, cats with pristine white fur, others with matted orange. Some are wild and feisty, others are well fed and tended to by a caring Greek household. Yet all retain their independence and self-assured aloofness. The Greek fishing boats and sunny promenades, the cobblestone streets and high rooftops all belong to the cats. --Naomi Gesinger
cat, cat book
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National Geographic Cat Shots
Full of magnificent photos that would melt even the coldest of hearts, National Geographic Cat Shots is perfect for the coffee table, nightstand, or bookshelf. The photographs found throughout--of farm felines and castle cats, city kitties and island cats from around the world, including Turkey, Ireland, Greece, New York, and Japan--give new insight into the elusive cat. In addition, each photograph is annotated with the date, location, and photographer's name, as well as a textual snapshot of the circumstances surrounding the photo. Cat lovers and animal enthusiasts alike will find this truly beautiful homage to the enigmatic feline a delight.
cat, cat book
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