Masson, Jeffrey
Moussaieff. (2004). The Cat Who Came in
from the Cold : A Fable. New York,
NY: Ballantine Books.
ISBN: 978-0345478672
Pages: 107
Genre: historical fiction
Annotation: An
explanation for why the first cat allowed domestication.
Summary: Billi observes
humans from his favorite perch in the mango grove. Feeling a need to learn more
about them he travels across India to speak with different domestic animals
about their relationships with humans. His decision will change the
relationship between humans and cats forever.
Evaluation: good read.
Billi, Hindi for ‘cat’,
is the main character. The author shows an understanding of cats that rings
true with this cat lover’s experience. Masson’s explanation for cat behaviors
such as blinking, how they handle embarrassment, their opinions on being
confined, etc. feel right. Billi’s thoughts on how to associate with humans on
an equal level versus being a worker or toy at human beck and call did seem
cat-like. On the other hand, Billi seems too human: he understands human
languages and religion. Billi seeming too human also keeps me from giving the
book an excellent rating, but otherwise the storyline is good. The interweaving
of thoughts on Indian religions was interesting, but could be seen as
detracting from the cat-human storyline. The pacing of the story felt excellent
as Billi does not spontaneously end up with humans, but goes through a lot of
thinking and some false starts. The descriptions of cat movement, other
animals’ opinions of humans and Indian landscape/religions were engaging. A
good read for cat lovers.
What else to read:
James Herriot's Cat Stories by James Herriot and illustrated by
Lesley Holmes shares a veterinarian’s stories about his interactions with cats
and the humans in their lives.
Catalyst (Tales of the Barque
Cats series) by Anne McCaffrey has
cat protagonists working with humans to save both species from domination.
Lillian Jackson Braun’s Cat Who mystery series has a cat-human
relationship where cats help their human to solve mysteries.
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