For the Love of Cats

Last month Kip picked out the book I’m reviewing today titled “For the Love of Cats
From A to Z,” written by Sandy Robins.  Unbeknownst to Kippie, the back cover sports a full-page Petie look-alike.

Though it took me three weeks to read the book and post this review, you should not take that as any indication of the difficulty level of this book. I’ve never had fur-less children but it seems to be best suited for the 6 and over crowd. An audience that might already know their alphabet but be less tempted to rip the pages out of the book while also having the aptitude to learn about cats.

The artwork by Michael Anderson is hands down, my favorite part of the book. Michael is world-renowned artist whose work has graced the New Yorker, National Geographic and The Atlantic Monthly in addition to numerous advertising campaigns.

It didn’t surprise me to learn that he does in fact live with a cat named Mary, described in the book jacket as “rescued-in-a-rainy-park cat.”

The book touches on a wide range of cat-related topics from their early history in Egypt to references to Garfield reference.  When I reached “Y” for “Yawn,” I learned something new.  A cat’s yawn can mean hello and goodbye much like the word “shalom.” Must all be in the context.

There’s a lot they do right with this book like the chapters for “U,” “R” and “C.”

U = Urine addresses medical issues that can lead to pee problems.

R = Rescue!

C = Companion talks about the Delta Society.

But if I wanted to be picky, there were things they could have done better. Cases in point, “I,” and “L.”

I = Identification, they talk about the need for both collars and micro-chipping but don’t explain why. Believe it or not, it didn’t cross my mind that someone might find a cat and assuming it was a stray, keep him/her without going to a vet for a microchip scan.

L = Lucky, says that cats falling from a higher place have a better chance of survival than falling from a lower height – YIKES!

But overall it’s a beautiful book and you won’t go wrong purchasing it as a gift. And you can even purchase posters of the beautiful renderings on Mark Anderson’s website (kitty images are not yet on the website but if you email them, they’ll hook you up.