The calculating cat returns

by Eric Gurney

Book by Gurney, Eric

Genres: Cats

138 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1978

About the author

Eric Gurney (1910–1992), Canadian-American cartoonist and illustrator.

Reviews

[catzkc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has had a spot on my bookshelf since I was 5 or 6 years old, when it was published.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tongue-in-cheek book mostly composed of black-and-white cartoons. The “calculating cat” is a bit like Terry Pratchett’s “real cat” from The Unadulterated Cat, but comes in a few varieties (or “CAT-egories,” as they’re called here): Pampered Cats, Working Cats, and Tramp cats. My cat was apparently the third type, living on the streets, for a short time, though you’d never know it to look at him now. During his 10th summer he tried working as a hunter, but quickly retired. He’s now solidly of the pampered class.

There are chapters here on playtime, eating habits, sleep, travel, and mating (not something many of us cat owners have to worry about these days). This remains reasonably undated because cats don’t change; it’s the human fashions that evolve and would look different in a book published today.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is about how cats act and i like the book b/c it funny.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like all books about cats. This one left me flat. Partly, it's outdated. More importantly, it is (human) male-oriented.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text style not my favorite for the prose, but excellent comic text and art.