How cats are made is a mysterious process. Of course, to be astonishingly mysterious is one of the 201 instructions for cats in this delightful little book by Leigh Rutledge. These are the instructions which every cat should know, and every cat person should realise. Some are conventional cat wisdom (which, ironically, is often the least understood or apparent). Others are inventive and new.
Sometimes the instructions come in three's:
+ Stay out of the rain
+ Stay out of the snow
+ Stay out of the clothes dryer
and
+ Be bold.
+ Be winsome.
+ Be wildly tender.
From the start to the finish, this book is a cute, tender, touching collection of aphorisms, ostensibly intended for cats (but they really don't seem to need this kind of instruction), but really for human beings who live with and around cats to both better understand the cats, and better understand themselves. There is implicit wisdom in some of the things that cats do, and some wisdom for us to follow:
+ Chase, but don't hurt, butterflies.
+ No matter how old you are, never be afraid to express the kitten within you.
+ Remember that foxes, skunks, and owls usually have the last word in any confrontation.
How could I not fall in love with a book authored by a man with 28 cats (and people thought my four or five were excessive!) who is said to rescue them from storm sewers, interstate highways (my cat Silver came from such a place) and other such harrowing places?
The sayings are memorable and true; the graphics are adorable and fun. This book makes a good gift for a friend, and a good treat for oneself, almost as good as catnip for human beings!
