The Cat That Changed My Life: 50 Cats Talk Candidly about How They Became Who They Are

Really great book! The publisher of ALibrarycat.com recommends it: What would happen if you went around the country asking cats of all personality types one simple question: Who was the cat that had the most significant effect on your life, and why? In the delightfully charming book, The Cat That Changed My Life: 50 Cats Talk Candidly About How They Became Who They Are, illustrator and writer Bruce Eric Kaplan has captured what appears to be the secret personality of many a cat. Like the Broadway musical and film Cats, the felines described in the book have many human qualities - some good, some not so good. As Kaplan is an illustrator by profession, the book is set up in a very visual way with a picture of a cat on the right side of the book and a short passage of text on the opposite side. Fifty cats, fifty stories. Each of the felines is unique, and whether we approve or disapprove of the cat that had the most significant effect on their lives, the stories are so emotionally powerful it's impossible to forget a single one. My personal favorite is the story of Milton (from White Plains, New York). Milton writes about a friend who always suggested they climb a faraway tree with incredibly good bark, but somehow the friend kept making excuses and they never found or climbed this tree. One day, Milton learns his friend had been put to sleep. Shocked and disturbed, he finds the tree, climbs it, and rubs every part of himself against the tree's texture, vowing to never put off doing anything again. Later, Milton learns that his friend isn't dead - she had spread the rumor because she didn't want to see Milton. Though surprised by this ironic twist, Milton is glad for the lie because the whole experience made him feel more fulfilled and appreciate life. This cutely illustrated, clever book is short but packs a powerful punch. It is a delightful gift for a cat-loving friend or a book to pull out when you need to take a lesson from the felines.

My cats persuaded me to write this review, after I read this fine fine book to them. They admit that yes, they ARE "vain, decadant and self absorbed with few redeeming qualities, and many quirks", and they are quite happy to reside in this mode. One likes to lie flat on her belly and chew on my exercise bench when she is not sitting spellbound, listening to my female country music singer CD's. The other, a long haired foundling, likes to fill the hallways with her self-pitying wails. I have sometimes found my keys and my charge cards under their food mats..... They do delight in their personal perversions. And then again, am I, their human, considered by them to be any less bizarre? Anyway, they allowed me to read this book to them, and after the last page, they stopped what they were doing long enough to lie on their backs and wiggle their paws in the air, giving this book an unprecedented 8 Paw Salute. Then they went back to their usual routines. They insisted that they have KNOWN some of the book's characters personally, and tell me that BEK did a fine job -- for a human, that is -- in portraying the many twisted and not-so-twisted personalites of these feline individuals. They also want to know how much these cats were paid to be interviewed. Was their enjoyment of this book a one-time phenomenon? I doubt it -- As I started to re-shelve this wonderful little book the other night, one of my cats, who lay fully stretched out on my side of the bed said in her breathy catnip-tinged voice "Read it again, Sam." I was so shocked when I heard her say that -- now, I want to know who this Sam is...... Buy this book, even if you DON'T have any cats to read it to. Buy it for your friends, even if THEY don't have any cats to read it to.

This book is a literary masterpiece. If I could have one wish, it would be to meet Bruce Eric Kaplan and shake his hand. He has taken the art of animals "speaking" and really made them say "something." A lot of times I'll look at my cat and think she's trying to tell me stuff, like that she loves me or that it's time to change her litter. (But I can't understand her, because she's a cat.) Bruce, however, has used these piercingly perceptive creatures to voice the inner truths, anxieties, neuroses and longings of all cognitive creatures - great and small. Delightful!

This is my new favorite book...it really is. BEK is a genius...he might just be my favorite part of the New Yorker. I actually don't like cats, but I loved it -- it's hysterical for cat lovers and haters. His sublime and witty observations are brilliant. Is this guy straight? Single? Sign me up!!

This is a great book for people who truly love cats -- in other words, it's a series of marvelous sketches that reveal the rich, interior lives that these intelligent creatures may possibly have ... no, it's not for children, but for adults who like their humor with a touch of wry, this is grand fun.