Secrets of the Cat: Its Lore, Legend, and Lives - Softcover

Holland, Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345361490 ISBN 13: 9780345361493

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1989

Synopsis

What is really going on behind those luminous feline eyes?

Affectionate yet aloof, intelligent and inquisitive yet dangerously careless, the more-or-less domesticated house cat intrigues us as no other animal can. Now Barbara Holland offers cat lovers a fascinating, funny, and refreshingly candid look at their feline companions: their history, lore, and secrets, and their complicated relations with people and with each other.

Secrets of the Cat is a lively appreciation of cats as we know and love them, with witty analysis and fresh observations about felines both high and low. Here are Winston Churchill's ginger tom, who attended cabinet meetings; Teddy Roosevelt's cat, Slippers, who came to dinner; and even the author's own George II, who was bitten by a mouse and adopted by a blue jay. Barbara Holland's warm, vivid speculations on cats' lives and times—on their social, psychic, and mythological legacy, and their impenetrable mysteries—will give readers a delightful cat's-eye view of the world.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Profound yet merry, eloquent but bristling with insightful and stoutly–defended opinions, this singularly appealing volume celebrates the special “otherness” of the domestic cat—its incomparable grace and manners, skills and mysteries, even its failings and maddening peculiarities. Originally published in 1988 under the title The Name of the Cat. New Foreword by the author.

From the Inside Flap:

"Smart, bright, well-written, absorbing and informative...A book about cats as good as this one is rare."
SMITHSONIAN
A lively appreciation of cats from tip to tail, this witty analysis considers everything we think we know about cats, and offers something new, too. Meet cats in high places such as Winston Churchill's ginger tom, who attended cabinet meetings, and Teddy Roosevelt's cat, Slippers, who came to dinner. Filled with warm, vivid speculations on their lives and times, their social psychic, mythological legacy, and their impenetrable mysteries, this charming book offers a delightful and loving cat's-eye view of the world to be read and cherished by all their human friends.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0345361490
• ISBN 13: 9780345361493
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 228