Crazy Cat Ladies Everywhere, Rejoice – It's International Cat Day!

Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

If the cat found buried with a human on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is an accurate indicator, humans have been affectionately attempting to herd cats as pets for 9,500 years. Cats started showing up in primitive art around 1950 BC, so it's safe to say that humans and felines go waaay back.

According to the research journal Science, all domestic cats descended from a Middle Eastern wildcat, Felis silvestris, or "cat of the woods," and cats were first domesticated in the Near East; a process that began up to 12,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians worshipped and even mummified cats, which archeologists confirmed when they found a cat cemetery with 300,000 of them. (Clearly, they don't ALL have nine lives.)

Fast forward to the present, and there are 90 million(ish) domestic kitties slinking, pouncing, and napping in 34% of US homes. The celebrity feline roster includes Grumpy Cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, the Cheshire Cat, Sylvester, Garfield, the Aristocats, Oliver, and, of course, the most purrrrfect cat of all, Catwoman. A search of the word "cat" on ThriftBooks.com yields over 10,000 results, so they're a favorite of the literary world as well. For anyone curious (heh heh) what the top kitty name is in the US, it's Max.

The Cat's Pajamas: Books for Grownups

Cats and humans have a (mostly) harmonious and undeniably symbiotic relationship, yet they've maintained their independence despite being domesticated for thousands of years. Their unpredictable ambivalence is more than offset by their ability to win us over with their purring and playful personalities. Here are some ThriftBooks reader favorites for grownups:

• Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book by Grumpy Cat (aka, Tartar Sauce)
• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
• Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
• Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot (the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats)
• I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano
• Cats, Cats, Cats by Andy Warhol
• Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Series, Book #13) by Rita Mae Brown
• The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

Cats Rule and Dogs Drool: Books for Kids and Young Adults

The Cat in the Hat would have been a flop if it had been about a dog, but luckily, that didn't happen, so it's at the top of the "cat book" list in the YA and kids' book categories.

• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
• Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág
• If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Joffe Numeroff
• Madeline and the Cats of Rome by John Bemelmans Marciano
• Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle
• Dewey the Library Cat (Dewey Readmore Series) by Bret Witter and Vicki Myron
• Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Figures (Kit) by Anne Akers Johnson
• Secrets of the Clans (Warriors: Field Guide Series, Book #1) by Erin Hunter

The Cat's Meow: Cat Books for Everyone

Whether you're thinking of joining the cat ownership club for the first time or you're well on your way to becoming a bona fide crazy cat lady, ThriftBooks has a plethora of resources to help you out, so here are a few to start with:

• Why Don't Cats Like to Swim? An Imponderables Book by David Feldman
• How to Speak Cat: A Guide to Decoding Cat Language by Aline Alexander Newman
• Cats: The Visual Guide to More than 250 Types of Cats From Around the World (DK Eyewitness Handbooks) by David Alderton
• ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats: Everything You Need to Know About Choosing and Caring for Your Pet by James Richards

Happy reading, and PLEASE remember to spay and neuter your kitties!

Read more by Beth Clark