The Tao of Meow

I have owned, and loved, this delightful book for many years. I sent this second copy as a gift to a friend, who had just lost her life partner to Alzheimer's. She was thrilled. I hope the reflections here will give her many hours of comfort.

Great book for any cat lover author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

This book is, quite simply, a masterpiece. It manages, at one time, to be a book that anyone who has ever owned (or been owned by!) a cat will find laughing-out-loud funny while at the same time being a fascinating look at Lao Tzu's classic 'Tao Te Ching'. Each of the poems in Tao of Meow have a lot of similarities to 'Tao Te Ching', which makes the book a fascinating dialogue with Lao Tzu's work. It's an interesting way to gain some new understanding of it. All philosophy should be studied with such a sense of irreverent joy! This is a book that you'll want to own and have on hand so that you can thumb through it -- either to learn or to laugh -- again and again.

There have been many translations of the Tao Te Ching, but who better to do it than a cat? Cats just naturally understand the wisdom of the Tao. Although this is categorized as a humour book, and is very funny, it in fact a good interpretation of the Tao. Yes, it is meant to be read by humans. Besides, this book is worth buying just for the sweet picture on the cover.

If you have ever been owned by a cat, you have probably wondered what your pet is thinking at those moments when their smug, aloof feline behavior has you endlessly opening and closing doors, worrying over what cat food will entice their taste buds, or hoping they will come and play with you today. Carl Japikse's cat, Waldo, provides us with many wonderful insights into cat thinking. "The Tao of Meow" is full of anecdotes and cat tales about the simple, common-sense thinking that gives cats access to nine lives, while we, as their faithful nameless ones, have but one life to live in service to them. "Tao of Meow" is a series of 81 short poetry-like pieces reflecting cat thoughts on subjects that range from cats raiding rabbit nests, through a cat's view of human luggage, to insights on what control really means. "Tao" is funny and thought-provoking. Many of Waldo's guideliens for everyday cat living serve as excellent advice for how we humans can live our lives more effectively. This book is a must for anyone who has loved cats and been mystified by their uncanny knack for controlling our human behavior.