Diary of a Santa Fe Cat

I meowed pathetically; I meowed playfully. I gave them my most winning "Please take me home" look, right before licking their outstretched hands. ~Vanity Diary of a Santa Fe Cat defies categorization. Is this a diary or an engaging celebration of the life of a contented kitten? Peggy Van Hulsteyn and Jacquelyn Quintana have created an unforgettable treat for all cat lovers, pun aficionados and anyone who has visited Santa Fe. Vanity the cat is a delight from the first page. We find her being whisked away in a car to the animal shelter. Vanity is not amewsed by this car ride and from the first page she shows her delicate breeding and sybaritic tendencies. Not only does this cat know she is the cutest cat around; she is determined to show her intellect, all while curbing her instinctive tendencies to pounce upon mice the moment they appear. Can I just say that by page six I was already laughing and the story had just begun on page five. By page seven I was nearing a point of no return and could not stop laughing. I think the comment about the "petting zoo" really got me. You will see why. The art is rather whimsical and evokes definite emotional responses. You can really see Vanity's personality in all the artwork. Vanity reads Vanity "Fur" and dines on such delights as "Salmon enchiladas with Chanterelles and sorrel sauce." What is not to love? This cat is a lover of gourmet food and she knows how to dress for dinner. My favorite diary entries included, Abandoned, Rescued and In the New Adobe Abode. The Adventures to the Cat Spa were also quite creative. I loved the observation about writers and the picture of Vanity prancing across the keyboard all while wearing glasses. As Vanity discusses various occasions you can't help thinking that she reminds you of a cat you know. In fact, she rather reminded me of my own Princess Sasha who definitely considers us to be "her" pets and not the other way around. When reading this book, you may find yourself suspended between hilarity and more hilarity. Fortunately Peggy gives the reader some time to breathe before she catapults you into more laughter. Either Peggy Van Hulsteyn was a cat in her past life or this was defiantly written by Vanity the Cat herself. I'm almost purrfectly sure it was. Meowingly, ~The Rebecca Review

The Independent Reviews Site writes in their April / May 2001 review:// Vanity the cat chooses her ideal owners, visits the vet, falsifies her pedigree, and collaborates in writing a book. Accompanying these adventures is a string of delectable satires of human types indegenous, the author says, to Santa Fe. You will enjoy recognizing many of them yourself. The chapter on writing should be framed and hung next to the desk of any writer with a feline roomate.In the first section of the book Vanity's charachter comes across with catly vigor and playfulness. In the second half Vanity goes sking, leads a museum tour, attends City Council, and gets a job. She wears clothes and does the culture circuit. No more satire, this is fantasy; and the jokes are all about cat conceit.DIARY OF A SANTA FE CAT is a book to choose by subject and location. Recommended dosage is to read the fisrt half straight through, taking time to savor. Once the book has changed character, pick it up for a quick chortle when you have a spare moment. You won't even have to take an allergy pill if you are allergic to cats, but if you are allergic to puns, medicate heavily before reading.

I'm not a cat person, but I still find Peggy van Hulsteyn's writing to be hilarious. She captures the fun of Santa Fe through the eyes of a cat -- and it works! If you've ever visited Santa Fe, if you want to visit Santa Fe, if you can spell "Santa Fe," you'll enjoy this book about the adventures of a mischievous cat at the center of attention in every chapter. A good gift book, a great choice to place in the guest room, or fun reading for anybody, cat lovers or not!

Cat lovers know that feline intelligence is the example toward which human being and other animals aspire. In "Diary of a Santa Fe Cat," author Peggy van Hulsteyn, has transcribed her own cat's insightful observations about the behavior of that odd breed who lives in the gilded cage known as the City Different. The cat, Vanity, a sleek beauty with a playful attitude trusts her instincts, buoyed by catnip, and her experience, conditioned by the social whirl, to share one cat's witty remarks with us. Vanity is a potent art critic as well as an analytical social commentator. About Georgia O'Keeffe's famous forms, Vanity says, "Don't they look like mice? Bat the images around in your mind and put them on the canvas. Think of how many of her images look like fish bones. How about the skulls-- wouldn't they be fun to chew on?" Or this about a new-age spiritualist: "Some goofy looking woman named Sioux Casa entered swinging crystals and incense for all she was worth. She had on a dirty short denim skirt that would lhave barely covered Minnie Mouse's private parts." After continuing with a devastating description of this spiritual healer, Vanity says, "I've learned after living in the The City Different my entire life, that in Santa Fe every day seems like Halloween."

Readers older than 10 might be wary of books with animal protagonists, but "Diary of a Santa Fe Cat" is the exception that proves the rule. Peggy van Hulsteyn's grasp of what is amusing in the antics of concho-belted, squash blossom-necklaced nouveau-Santa Feans is keen, as is her understanding of cats. She skewers Santa Fe prentensions with a deadly aim as she describes "The Great Earth Mother... decked out in a calico long swaying skirt with combat boots barely visible beneath it" and another, "recently arrived from Oklahoma" with "four rings on every finger and a kachina doll picture embroidered on her blue jean jacket"... wearing "Santa Fe designed cowboy boots."Left at an animal shelter by her unfeeling owners, Vanity the cat is adopted by the perfect New Age Santa Fe couple, who carry her to their "adobe abode" where she dines on tuna tacos and uses a Georgia O'Keeffe-designed litter box. Presenting their new pet with her personal Crystal Healing Meditation Center, the "pet humans" honor their new cat, who "by doing what comes naturally" is one of "the spiritual gurus of Santa Fe."Vanity casts her devastating feline eye on the excesses of Santa fe style with uproarious results.