Cat Haiku

by Deborah Coates, Sandra Bruce (Illustrator)

This humorous collection of 150 haikus captures the psyche of cats, and distills the essence of kitty behavior in the five-seven-five scheme of classic Japanese poetry. The poems are accompanied by line drawings.

Genres: Poetry, Cats, Animals, Nonfiction, Humor, Pets

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Deborah]

What a charming
collection of cat poems
to delight us all.

Full of whimsy, wit,
and feline behaviors
to titillate our souls.

My cats meowed why
read a haiku when you
can play and caress me.

[Gerry]

In this little book
My feline wit and wisdom is
So clearly shown - so there! [Sorry, the book unfortunately got me thinking in haiku!!]

Yes, the cat expresses all his/her thoughts and demonstrates all his/her actions in haiku and most of them are instantly recognisable to the cat owner and cat lover - even though some of them can sometimes be terribly annoying. Deborah Coates very definitely captures the feline mind in a most amusing and sometimes sympathetic way and all through she sticks to the five/seven/five syllable style of the haiku.

There are plenty to drool over in these 123 pages but some of my favourites are: 'Visitors come. They/Coo over me. Ignoring/Them, I wash my rump.'; 'Au contraire; I think/The couch looks better with a/Few shredded cushions.'; 'I disagree with/You. I think cat hair dresses/The place up nicely.'; 'I would have thought you'd/Thank me for getting sick where/You could not see it.' What cat owner does not recognise these thoughts and actions of our beloved felines? Not many I suspect.

And when your cat is feeling miffed he/she might utter, 'There's Mother's Day and/Father's Day, but no Cat Day./Someone's head should roll.' And one truism is certainly, 'You play cards; I like/To creep inside paper bags./To each their own, huh?' While contraryism reigns in 'I sit in front of/The door. You open it; I/Stare. Nope, Changed my mind.' And every country dweller knows how true this one is: 'To help support us/I leave small dead things on the/Doormat. Want some mouse?'

There are haikus aplenty but my particular favourite is, 'I feel no need to/Accomplish things. I exist;/That's triumph enough.' My view on that is 'Rene Descartes would/ Have been proud of the cat that thought/That little gem up' - or could it have been the talented Deborah Coates who put the thought in our cat's mind.

Whatever, the book is splendid fun and very well illustrated by Sandra Bruce, who uses line drawings to match the haikus.

[Flo]

You read books; I like
to lie on top of them. We're
Both bibliophiles.

*

You want to cuddle;
I don't. No offense meant, but
Right now you bore me.

[That's universal.]

*

You're dashing to work
In the rain. I yawn and strecht—
Don't you just hate me?

[Envy and admiration, kitten.]

A lovely and fast read, especially for those who love the most dignified creatures in the world.


Aug 4, 18

[Reading_ Tamishly]

"You warn to cuddle:
I don't. No offense meant, but
Right bow you bore me."

Totally catty 😄


This collection is cute and says exactly how we see our cats as everyday.

Lobster the sketches 🐱

[Sophie]

Absolutely adorable and intellectual....like cats! Quite funny as well. I go back to this little treasure whenever I need a good laugh >^.^<

[Ellie McKee]

I think this is a very cool concept — I love cats, and I love Haiku — but I’m afraid I didn’t find it excuted well at all. The author meets the 5-7-5 syllable rhyme structure, but a lot of the time she loses the poetry in forcing it so. The cover, illustrations, and finish of the book are really nice.

[Alexandra]

Such a cute and fast read!

[Anya Toomre]

Quite delightful.

[MERRYN]

so cute 😽

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins]

Since I am a cat owner, and have been for many years, this book really rings true to me. It is all in Haiku, and is written in sections....Socializing, Recreation, Home Decorating, Small Amusements, Secret Pleasures, Holidays, and so many more. It really is humorous because it is so true. It really could be a cat saying these poems because I've watched my cat do these things the author writes about.

"A tree to climb, light
Cords to bite, presents to prowl.
I love Christmastime."

"Repeatedly, our
Door opens to loud children.
I loathe Halloween."

You will notice that haiku is a three-line, unrhymed Japanese verse form of five, seven, and five syllables respectively.

This is a great book to read anytime; especially cat lovers.

[K.R. Green]

A cute read full of truths. I laughed out loud every couple of pages, and the illustrations are gorgeous.

I'm not a big poem-reader, but I loved writing haikus when I was younger and some of the arrangements were really clever. I especially laughed at those giving context to the random aspects of cat-hood like going crazy in the dark, swearing with a mere flick of the tail and leaving presents to be trodden on by their humans.

A sweet and funny book. Brilliant for cat fans or cat-parents. 

[Annie Flanders]

I adore haiku. The other day - in a post on Facebook - someone mentioned cat haiku so I searched for a book on it and found this one.

It is quite delightful. When my cat comes to sit on the bookshelf behind me - I grab the book and read 20 pages or more to him. He falls asleep.

Mama reads haiku to me
Nightly

I am so bored

I fall a-sleep.

[bels]

"I feel no need to
Accomplish things. I exist:
That’s triumph enough."

What a refreshing, insightful book! The honesty and cockiness of this feline, just perfect. Very fitting for any cats' slaves out there.

[Kris Hennon]

Read this book by the campfire. Though I am not fond of cats nor particularly interested in Haiku, it was fun to share with my family.

[Ana]

1,5

[Jean Nicholson]

Very easy read for both cat lovers and Haiku lovers.

[Karina]

Noooo. I wish there's more.

[Madalina]

Witty, funny, relaxing. A book where every cat owner would recognise their feline.

[Jenna_readit]

Basically random thoughts from the cat. I laughed out loud at quite a few. Short book but fun to read and share.

[Alicia Moore]

A wonderful little book full of haiku. Witty, endearing, and so true haha.

[Jane]

Super fun book that all cat-lovers will enjoy.

[Ren]

Short but sweet. A nice little treat for cat lovers.

[Ted]

Funny even for a dog lover.

[Kathryn Pulman]

A cute, quick read, but the line divisions didn't always make sense. I know that the syllables had to be broken that way to fit the Haiku rules, but some of them felt forced.

[Manisha Rajpurohit]

Had Paw-tential.

[Leonie]

"Cats are, simply, the animal emodiment of haiku. Both are subtle, elegant, succinct; every nuance is fraught with meaning (however obscure that meaning may sometimes be, and believe me, it frequently is)."--Introduction.

This is the perfect book to keep in the bathroom or beside the bed for those occasions where one needs to get back to the simple truths. For someone who is temporarily catless, it brings back happy memories of those dear departed feline companions who deigned to share their lives with me.

"I sit in front of
The door. You open it; I
Stare. Nope. Changed my mind."

Purrfect.

[Nancy Zorn]

Well aren't I the two-star party pooper. I like cats. I like haiku. This book, though, didn't float my boat. I enjoyed the illustrations more than the haiku. I think I'll pass this on to someone who'll appreciate it.

[Ricky Barnes]

I delightful set of western-styled haiku (3-lines 5-7-5 syllables) from the cat's point of view. A wonderfully funny addition to any lover of cats, poetry, haiku, etc.

[Bhagirathy]

ahahaha. helped me understand my cat more. :P

[Carol]

I enjoyed this collection of poems. Some of them were hilarious.