Garfield: The Truth About Cats

by Jim Davis

Garfield shares his observations on the characteristics and behavior of cats

Genres: Humor, Comics, Animals, Cats, Comedy

64 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 1991

About the author

James Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on are Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, Slapstick, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.

Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.

Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.

Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former cat owner, I could see a lot of my late feline friend and other cats I’ve known reflected here. This is different than usual for a Garfield book, but it works very well.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Jim Davis is amazing. It’s hard to think of many authors whose books convey such a sense of fun. These cartoon vignettes don’t seem to have much purpose beyond simply trying to delight their readers, and at that goal, this book excels. The style is a bit different from the daily comic strip, but the humor is completely on point. And of course, Garfield himself is pure gold.

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know the truth about cats, you should go to the number one expert of cat-information, Garfield the Cat. If Garfield says it, you know it must be true, or at least, close enough to the truth, or maybe, not totally wrong. Really, if you can’t trust Garfield on the subjects of cats, who can you trust!? One thing you can trust is that any book by Jim Davis is worth reading, and is sure to be filled with good humor and fun illustrations.

[Casey Kiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Cats will use scratching posts/ but only as a last resort'

'Most cats don't own teddy bears/ those that do however, are much more well-adjusted'
(Garfield hugs Pookey)

'Cats don't do guilt'

[Michela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got bored reading this book to be honest. Just found it kinda slow and uninteresting.

[Keegin Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good laugh

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really funny/fun book to read especially to read to a younger child.