We must begin this section, of course, with book that inspired our name, My Cat Jeoffry, by Christopher Smart and illustrated by cat artist Martin Leman. This is a small, glossy book, perfect for your coffee table, is comprised only of the poem about Smart’s cat Jeoffry, taken from his larger work, Jubilate Agno, which he wrote between 1759 and 1763. Leman’s illustrations are beautiful and really add to the sweet, beautiful poem about how awesome, and absolutely divine, cats are!
Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat, by Gwen Cooper. This super popular memoir about Cooper’s adopting a rescue cat, blinded as a kitten, and watching him cope with – and totally conquer – life is truly deserving of all the accolades it has received. Homer is a real hero. We’re excited to check out more of Cooper’s cat books!
Absolutely anything by Queen Rita. Seriously, if you like mysteries at all, then Rita Mae Brown is the master. Her Sneaky Pie Brown / Mrs. Murphy series features both cats and a dog as sleuths. The animals all have strong personalities and are very instrumental in helping their human solve the crime. In fact, they often outsmart her 🙂 Have a look at the first one in the series, Wish You Were Here.
Ditto for Lilian Jackson Braun and her fabulous Cat Who series. Her cats are the Siamese pair, Koko and Yum Yum, and their human is reporter Jim Qwilleran. Koko and Yum Yum don’t speak, unlike Brown’s trio of animal sleuths, but they are wonderfully clever felines and they help solve crimes by giving clues, such as batting books out of a bookcase and the like. If you haven’t experienced Braun and you are a cat lover, what are you waiting for? Find out more about title modeled above by Katusha here.
A stunning, eye-opening, un-put-downable memoir about a teenage girl and her family struggling to survive the 1990s genocide in Bosnia. Amra is Muslim and when the Serbs invade her country, and her city, atrocities begin. I requested an ARC from the publisher because it features a cat, and the cat, called Maci, helps Amra and her family to survive – both emotionally as a much-needed comfort during a horrible time, and literally, as some of the family members are averted from a sniper’s bullet or a bomb by Maci. I felt so much for this wonderful, miraculous cat, and of course for the family as well. The book is sad and shocking but ultimately uplifting, and I was so happy to know that Amra eventually makes her way to the U.S. where she is currently a scholar and teacher. A must-read for cat lovers, for anyone wanting to know what it’s like to live in a war-torn city during a genocide, and for anyone just wanting a very absorbing read. Get your copy here.
See more of our favorite cat titles here.