For years, Tom Cox might have seemed like a regular, hard-living sort of bloke -- a lover of late nights, rock music and beer -- but he had a dark, furry secret. Tom was a cat lover. For a while, he kept his passion in check, but there was only so long he could postpone his true dream, especially after he met Dee, his moggy-loving soulmate. He let London and his job as a rock critic behind, and he and Dee, her cat Janet and three new kittens, moved to a remote part of Norfolk. They thought it would be easy. They thought their cat madness had reached its limit. They were wrong. In Under the Paw, Tom records the chaos of owning seven of the most charismatic, idiotic and duplicitous cats in the country. Suddenly on call around the clock for multiple sets of whiskers, Tom encounters death, depression, flying fur and the first human sentence spoken by a feline. Running through all the maelstrom is the heartbreaking story of his relationship with The Bear, his oldest cat: a 'painfully sensitive' survivor moggy who may or may not be an evil genius.
Under the Paw: Confessions of a Cat Man
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'Brilliantly funny and moving ... will act as an antidote to all the soppy, sloppy, spinsterish rubbish written about our feline f(r)iends'
-- Julie Burchill
'Tom Cox is a very funny writer, and he knows his cats' -- Kate Atkinson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
-- Julie Burchill
'Tom Cox is a very funny writer, and he knows his cats' -- Kate Atkinson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Tom Cox's writing appears in many national newspapers. He is the author of four previous books, NICE JUMPER, EDUCATING PETER, THE LOST TRIBES OF POP and BRING ME THE HEAD OF SERGIO GARCIA. He lives with his wife in Norfolk.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
91 of 91 people found the following review helpful
By Tabbygray
Format:Hardcover
I admit to being a Mad Cat Woman, in secret, but here is a man who has come out. He's a Mad Cat Man (a little known breed) and he admits it. This is the story of his life-long love for cats and how he currently lives at the beck and call of six of them, with his equally cat-loving wife.
It's a very funny, at times sad, always entertaining book about a man with an obsession. He explains how it started, and how he tried to control it: giving them up completely, and finding himself compulsively chatting up strange cats in the street, before finally giving in when he meets the girl of his dreams and a cat out of a nightmare. He writes about how all their different personalities emerge, and his attempts to understand and deal with them - The Bear: troubled sensitive artistic cat and Evil Genius; Ralph: Pretty Boy Rock Star cat suffering from depression. He explains how difficult it is to find a new house, deal with builders, work to pay for it all, when there are rather a lot of different opinions to take into account. Although he does know each cat's Catch Phrase and Theme Song, he is adamant that he knows they're not children and swears he would never refer to himself as their 'Dad'.
I would recommend this book to anyone, whether Mad Cat Person or ordinary animal lover - it's wryly funny, never over-sentimental and a very enjoyable read. It did make me want to rush out and get a few more cats, though, but maybe that's just me.
It's a very funny, at times sad, always entertaining book about a man with an obsession. He explains how it started, and how he tried to control it: giving them up completely, and finding himself compulsively chatting up strange cats in the street, before finally giving in when he meets the girl of his dreams and a cat out of a nightmare. He writes about how all their different personalities emerge, and his attempts to understand and deal with them - The Bear: troubled sensitive artistic cat and Evil Genius; Ralph: Pretty Boy Rock Star cat suffering from depression. He explains how difficult it is to find a new house, deal with builders, work to pay for it all, when there are rather a lot of different opinions to take into account. Although he does know each cat's Catch Phrase and Theme Song, he is adamant that he knows they're not children and swears he would never refer to himself as their 'Dad'.
I would recommend this book to anyone, whether Mad Cat Person or ordinary animal lover - it's wryly funny, never over-sentimental and a very enjoyable read. It did make me want to rush out and get a few more cats, though, but maybe that's just me.
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny & Fascinating Forray into the relationship between one man & his felines
10 Jun 2008
By Lilgreenmomo
Format:Hardcover
It has to be said that I come from a family of cat lovers, I think that it must be something genetic because it doesn't matter what sex we are we all wear our love of cats on our sleeves (The numerous cat hairs & blobs or purry drool can attest to that.)
Anyone becoming a member of our family has had to cope with this inherent moggy love. My dad just sneezed his way through it. My previously mog resistant uncle found his affections swayed by a particularly grumpy black stray with an unhealthy taste for raw liver & my husband, who had only ever lived in a dog household, found himself seduced by a slightly barking but completely adorable little tabby girl & is now also hero worshipped by a very camp ginger & white moggy named after a deceased movie star. So it was my husband that actually picked up our copy of Tom Cox's excellent book chronicalling his journey through his personal cat history that has lead to him being owned by no less than six cats.
This wonderfully written tail (sic) bristles with humour & anecdotes that even a reader giving lodging to just one cat can identify & empathise with & provides a wonderful insight for the non-cat person into the appeal of these little, beguiling but oft misunderstood creatures. I found myself laughing out loud from the first chapter in found it hard to tear myself away from its pages, though my cats found that an outstretched set of claws dug into a fleshy bit had the desired effect when trying to get my attention. A great read guaranteed to soften the resolve of even the steeliest catophobe.
Anyone becoming a member of our family has had to cope with this inherent moggy love. My dad just sneezed his way through it. My previously mog resistant uncle found his affections swayed by a particularly grumpy black stray with an unhealthy taste for raw liver & my husband, who had only ever lived in a dog household, found himself seduced by a slightly barking but completely adorable little tabby girl & is now also hero worshipped by a very camp ginger & white moggy named after a deceased movie star. So it was my husband that actually picked up our copy of Tom Cox's excellent book chronicalling his journey through his personal cat history that has lead to him being owned by no less than six cats.
This wonderfully written tail (sic) bristles with humour & anecdotes that even a reader giving lodging to just one cat can identify & empathise with & provides a wonderful insight for the non-cat person into the appeal of these little, beguiling but oft misunderstood creatures. I found myself laughing out loud from the first chapter in found it hard to tear myself away from its pages, though my cats found that an outstretched set of claws dug into a fleshy bit had the desired effect when trying to get my attention. A great read guaranteed to soften the resolve of even the steeliest catophobe.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly a book about cats, rather than another auto-biography in disguise
23 Aug 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being a lifelong incurable cat adorer, I am always on the look out for books about the feline species. However, most specimens I have tried so far have been either too brief, boring, or more often than not merely the authors' autobiographies in diguise, with more of the books being spent on themselves than on the main subject in question, i.e. cats.
Tom Cox's book, however, fitted the title and my requirements perfectly, and was the first book on cats I had picked up and read from cover to cover in a while. You could see his devotion to the species leaping out from every line, every page, every chapter. Every single one of his cats took on their own character and was given their own space. He even managed to make me fall in love with the malignant sounding 'The Bear' by the end of the book, which was no mean feat considering this was a creature that initially sounded like the cat from hell!
Finally, not only did this book fulfil all my criteria of what a cat book should be like, I thoroughly loved the style, wit and humour with which it had been written. Truly a cat lover's book - are there any more coming??
Tom Cox's book, however, fitted the title and my requirements perfectly, and was the first book on cats I had picked up and read from cover to cover in a while. You could see his devotion to the species leaping out from every line, every page, every chapter. Every single one of his cats took on their own character and was given their own space. He even managed to make me fall in love with the malignant sounding 'The Bear' by the end of the book, which was no mean feat considering this was a creature that initially sounded like the cat from hell!
Finally, not only did this book fulfil all my criteria of what a cat book should be like, I thoroughly loved the style, wit and humour with which it had been written. Truly a cat lover's book - are there any more coming??
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
really enjoyable read
I lost my 15 year old cat 6 months ago to cancer, and this book has been the perfect tonic for my feelings of loss and missing her. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Susiemooo
4.0 out of 5 stars
For cat lovers everywhere.
Bought this as a present for my brother-in-law. He thought it was wonderful. A great book for all cat lovers.
Published 7 days ago by sukiyaki
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and sweet
Worth reading if you're a cat lover. Great to find a man who loves cats too. It so rarely happens in my experience.
Published 10 days ago by Miss S. O'Brien
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun
An engaging read and good present, especially for stranded/single cat lovers being taken on by a maggie - lots to recognise
Published 27 days ago by C. Bratcher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant read!
I have enjoyed reading this book so much that I have now bought 'Talk To The Tail'. It is a really good read for someone who loves cats.
Published 28 days ago by Mrs H
5.0 out of 5 stars
How cute was this?
Well written and adorable, true to life story. Like a palate cleanser, it's a quick read between other novels, give it a go if you adore cats.
Published 29 days ago by Pitou
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing if you like his style
Some interesting and amusing anecdotes but found his writing style quite difficult follow. He would do well to read Vicky Hall's books about multi-cat households as that may have... Read more
Published 1 month ago by AndyT
5.0 out of 5 stars
under the paw
excellent book very well written, as I am a cat owner and have been through all the trial and tribulations with my own cats, this book was really written from the heart
Published 1 month ago by Catwoman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure awesomeness
I wasn't planning on writing a review today... was just checking Tom's Amazon page to see if perhaps another cat book was in the works. Read more
Published 1 month ago by KirkW1
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shipping condition/issue
The 2 copies I purchased were gifts for catlovers - so I did not buy these to read for myself and cannot accurately rate. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mary Anne Haskins
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