The Unadulterated Cat

Terry Pratchett is, as far as I'm concerned, the funniest writer to ever live, and while The Unadulterated Cat flies far afield of the mythical Discworld universe, it is simply hilarious. You don't have to be a cat lover to enjoy it, but only the cat lover can appreciate the strong current of truth that runs throughout this wildly comical look at the world of our feline friends. The Campaign For Real Cats, Pratchett tells us, wants to celebrate the dwindling number of Real Cats in the world by helping people identify Real Cats among their modern, Unreal Cat compatriots. To this end, Pratchett goes about describing how to spot a Real Cat in any of its several variations, defines eleven types of cats such as your classic farm cat, boot-faced cat (as Real as they come), arch-villain's cat (always Unreal), and cartoon cats. He offers useful tips on naming cats, describes common illnesses such as impatient feet, gives tips on feeding and disciplining cats, describes common cat games, indulges in the theory of the Schrodinger, time-traveling cat, looks at the cat in history, and offers other insightful, highly comical ideas and theories on cat-ness in general. All of these subjects are examined, of course, from the point of the view of the cat. By far the funniest and most insightful section is devoted to the games cats play; the book's worth acquiring for this one section alone.I should point out the fact that this is in no way a useful guide for current or potential cat-owners; this is rollicking comedy from first page to last. Given this point, there are still a number of astute observations that will make cat lovers smile and perhaps even guffaw, for the behaviors Pratchett expounds upon are quite familiar to those sharing their lives with feline friends. Pratchett really captures the cat personality remarkably well at times; for example, he expounds upon the common shifty look cats wear by describing one particular cat as breathing in a manner that suggests it is stealing air with every breath it takes. This book is so insightful and screamingly funny that all Pratchett fans will surely get a big kick out of it. The numerous cartoons of Gray Jolliffe that fill this little book are also excellent, simple yet evocative. The Unadulterated Cat is a short read, mind you, requiring much less than an hour's effort, but it is so good that upon finishing it, you are quite likely to turn all the way back to the beginning and start again or, at the very least, go back to the sections you enjoyed the most and read them once more.

For those of you who absolutely need to know what a 'real' cat is... Also tells you how to extricate your 'real' cat from flypaper. I laugh every time I re-read that part (and I re-read it frequently). Also, an informal introduction to Schroedinger's cat. I absolutely loved the book. Cat lovers, and those odd few who aren't, will probably find it amusing. I sure did...

A definite must-have for anyone who is owned by a cat, or several cats in my case. Full of gems which describe cat behaviour perfectly (just why are they always on the wrong side of any door?) and makes no attempt to explain anything - cats are inscrutable, after all. Typical stylish and side-splitting writing you'll be familiar with from the Discworld series, and Gray Joliffe's cartoons really bring the book to life. Buy two, if your friends are like mine they'll like it so much they'll forget to bring it back - and if you're like me you'll just keep re-stocking :-)

Pratchett is known for his artistic use of words - even if they make no sense (yes, this happens). In this book he's remarkably serious (?) and tells you EVERYTHING what you have to know about the Real Cat. Furthermore, the cartoons are funtastic. If you love cats - get it!

Tired of those books where you finally get around to calculate that your cat has an IQ of just above 160 and that he could get paid more than you should he decide to take a job? Terry Pratchett is one of the funniest author ever and this is no usual 'rate-your-cat' book. Anyone who likes cats but who is not really keen on answering questions like "If your cat could choose to read any of the following newspapers, which would it be?", will be happy to read this. It doesn't try to be clever like some other books may try, but you can see through it all that Terry Pratchett has had his share of feline company. While most other books 'rating' any kind of animals are not really meant to be read as a whole ( tedious explanations before and after in order to understand the ratings, numbers, calculations etc really prevent that ) this book is just funny and entertaining all the way through. Of course, there is _some_ kind of rating process, but the book was more written, I would think, to unite cat lovers in recognizing the most annoying and delightful traits of our furry friends. Something he did with his usual witty sometimes nearly sarcastic sense of humour.