the art of the cat

Cats are beautiful, mysterious, venerated creatures. They choose us, entertain us, and make us better. And all they ask in return is that we feed them, clean up after them, play with them, let them knock all our stuff onto the floor, leave the bathroom door open for them, and worship their every move. No wonder they have been celebrated in fine art for centuries.

And now bestselling author Nicole Tersigni (Men to Avoid in Life and Art) has combed through art collections to find paintings with cats and uses them to give cats a voice. So when we’re saying, “My friends asked if I want to see a movie, but I told them I’m too busy snuggling with you,” the cat is thinking, “What friends?”

When we’re saying, “My cat is always grooming me because she loves me,” the cat is thinking, “No. I do it because you clearly don’t know how.” When we’re saying, “I guess I’ll cancel my plans for the rest of the day,” the cat is thinking, “You’re awfully chatty for a chair.”

Cat People to Judge in Art and Life looks specifically at five types of cat parents: The Smotherer, The Oversharer, The Pushover, The Proud Parent, and The Roommate. And as these types of cat parents are paired with classic paintings, the pictures and captions tell a true story of what it’s like to own a cat. For example, in a painting where a woman is sitting and reading as a cat watches her, she says, “This is my reading time. You have to respect my boundaries if this is going to work.” So the cat replies, “My boundaries are ‘Feed me now.’”

I loved Cat People to Judge in Art and Life. I grew up with dogs and didn’t get to experience the joy of living with a cat until I was well into adulthood. But I have come to embrace it fully, from the sweet snuggles to the occasional scratches or love bites, from the catnip highs to the litter box lows. And as I read through these pages, I found myself laughing out loud, a lot. Author Tersigni clearly understands life with a cat, and she has found a unique way of translating the cat life into bite-sized moments that are beautifully illustrated and insightfully funny. This is a perfect gift book for any cat lover with a sense of humor, but if you gift it to a cat, they’ll probably just knock it off the table onto the floor.

Egalleys for Cat People to Judge in Art and Life were provided by Chronicle Books, with many thanks.