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The Zen of Cat: An A–Z of Japanese feline philosophy
There's no doubt cats are a meaningful feature of Japanese from folklore to fashion, they've left a giant paw print on the culture. It's believed that felines first appeared in Japan with the arrival of Buddhism via China in around 552, when their main role was to stop vermin from damaging scriptures.
But what can we learn from these philosophical felines? Surely they can teach us a thing or two, through the wisdom gleaned over the centuries residing in ancient temples and co-existing with artists, courtesans, monks and writers.
The Zen of Cat is interwoven with stories and facts about cats, Japan and Zen philosophy. Carla Francis includes discussions with Japanese cat lovers, and invites reflection and 'mindful mewsings' on life through an A-Z of Japanese words to inspire.
Cats are unburdened by worry. They maintain an enviable equilibrium. Maybe we can too?
But what can we learn from these philosophical felines? Surely they can teach us a thing or two, through the wisdom gleaned over the centuries residing in ancient temples and co-existing with artists, courtesans, monks and writers.
The Zen of Cat is interwoven with stories and facts about cats, Japan and Zen philosophy. Carla Francis includes discussions with Japanese cat lovers, and invites reflection and 'mindful mewsings' on life through an A-Z of Japanese words to inspire.
Cats are unburdened by worry. They maintain an enviable equilibrium. Maybe we can too?
- GenresNonfictionCatsPhilosophy
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2023
22 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 9, 2024
I enjoyed the insightful observations and practical exercises, the book demonstrates how our feline friends can guide us towards a more mindful and serene existence.
July 29, 2024
I bought this because I like cats and I'm interested in zen teachings, so when I spotted it on the shelf in the bookshop it seemed like a good find. It's a gentle book and it is clear that writing it was a meaningful personal project for the author. I think it would have made for decent content on an informal blog. However, overall I wouldn't really recommend it.
Things are a bit disjointed throughout the book. The A to Z structure doesn't work particularly well, as ideas that are conceptually adjacent end up being chapters apart, and so the book keeps repeating different iterations of the same vague conclusion and circling back to old topics. With regard to individual ideas, it is not always clear how conclusions relate to the content of sentences that preceded them.
Most of the allusions to cats are contrived and often irrelevant - there were some interesting pieces of cat-related information, but once the observation has been established that cats live in the moment more than humans do, there's really not much else to say on cats.
There is not much authority in the author's voice. Several times, something that seems interesting and relevant is mentioned but then swiftly dropped without any further details. I think the author lacks confidence in her ability to do justice to other people's ideas or to explain scientific findings, and so she uses the book to signpost these things to the reader instead of actually explaining them. The book therefore doesn't really fulfil its purpose. Most ideas the author offers are things that any reader interested in zen will already have considered. Together, these things meant it didn't really feel like I was learning anything as I read.
Sources are not particularly reliable. Sometimes a scientific study is mentioned in the text but the listed source is a third-party article about the study instead of the study itself. Wikipedia is referenced multiple times (in secondary school and university this is a big no-no). Sources largely consist of webpages the author has presumably found on Google and friends she has chatted to. I think that a dedicated, structured research process might have had the potential to lead to some good analysis and original insights on the part of the author, but instead, any references to sources seem like attempts to bulk up the book around the author's existing ideas, which are not particularly original.
The above points aren't dealbreakers, but the reason I felt compelled to write a review is that to be honest, I really, really struggled to get through the book, and this is because I was distracted by how poorly written it is. I'm astonished that it made its way past a professional editor. The pages are rife with bad grammar, awkward sentence structure, and misuse of words. There is also a lot of repetition of buzzwords ("transformative" "powerful" "deeply" etc). In some places, there are blatant direct copy-pastes from the introductory sentence of a Wikipedia article. The author has made sure each sentence is as long as it can possibly be, usually by making tautologies. Presumably this is for fear of sounding blunt, but it makes for quite a chaotic read and I think the book would be about two thirds of its length or less if it was written more concisely. The book could have been an easy, gentle read, but instead I found myself constantly pausing to figure out what the last clause I'd read was actually adding to the text, and finding more often than not that the words were just acting as padding or rephrasing something that had already been said.
Things are a bit disjointed throughout the book. The A to Z structure doesn't work particularly well, as ideas that are conceptually adjacent end up being chapters apart, and so the book keeps repeating different iterations of the same vague conclusion and circling back to old topics. With regard to individual ideas, it is not always clear how conclusions relate to the content of sentences that preceded them.
Most of the allusions to cats are contrived and often irrelevant - there were some interesting pieces of cat-related information, but once the observation has been established that cats live in the moment more than humans do, there's really not much else to say on cats.
There is not much authority in the author's voice. Several times, something that seems interesting and relevant is mentioned but then swiftly dropped without any further details. I think the author lacks confidence in her ability to do justice to other people's ideas or to explain scientific findings, and so she uses the book to signpost these things to the reader instead of actually explaining them. The book therefore doesn't really fulfil its purpose. Most ideas the author offers are things that any reader interested in zen will already have considered. Together, these things meant it didn't really feel like I was learning anything as I read.
Sources are not particularly reliable. Sometimes a scientific study is mentioned in the text but the listed source is a third-party article about the study instead of the study itself. Wikipedia is referenced multiple times (in secondary school and university this is a big no-no). Sources largely consist of webpages the author has presumably found on Google and friends she has chatted to. I think that a dedicated, structured research process might have had the potential to lead to some good analysis and original insights on the part of the author, but instead, any references to sources seem like attempts to bulk up the book around the author's existing ideas, which are not particularly original.
The above points aren't dealbreakers, but the reason I felt compelled to write a review is that to be honest, I really, really struggled to get through the book, and this is because I was distracted by how poorly written it is. I'm astonished that it made its way past a professional editor. The pages are rife with bad grammar, awkward sentence structure, and misuse of words. There is also a lot of repetition of buzzwords ("transformative" "powerful" "deeply" etc). In some places, there are blatant direct copy-pastes from the introductory sentence of a Wikipedia article. The author has made sure each sentence is as long as it can possibly be, usually by making tautologies. Presumably this is for fear of sounding blunt, but it makes for quite a chaotic read and I think the book would be about two thirds of its length or less if it was written more concisely. The book could have been an easy, gentle read, but instead I found myself constantly pausing to figure out what the last clause I'd read was actually adding to the text, and finding more often than not that the words were just acting as padding or rephrasing something that had already been said.
January 4, 2026
The book sounded promising and had so much potential but sadly, Carla Francis presumed her readers lack interpretation skills and broad understanding of diverse subjects. There was too much retelling of the Japanese dictionary and explaining me what to think, instead of letting me get to my conclusions.
Big part of the content were transliterations of Japanese ideologies and rich Karen’s problems - dieting, or “it might feel like the world has ended when a shop no longer stocks your favorite brand, or the hotel you’ve booked in France doesn’t have views of the Eiffel Tower”. Or being in a “fancy restaurant and you’re told your favorite main is unavailable”.
“Have you met the kind of cat that vomits chunks of grass all over the Persian rug rather than doing it neatly on the ground outside? Perhaps they need a lesson in etiquette and good manners.” - One, not all people have Persian rugs to worry about. And not all have a backyard to ease this burden. Second, losing my cat to sickness, where she would vomit in the toilet to keep it clean like the lady she was and would later on keep on vomiting wherever due to lack of control and pain - I do not care about that rug.
I reckon a book must provoke the reader, as I also believe the author should be aware in what ways it can be provocative. Are they all constructive and needed? I’m sure Francis’ intention wasn’t to remind me of my loss, but her superficial examples do sound inconsiderate.
The author lived in Japan for a few years but failed to present me this faraway land and its philosophy, as Francis herself only absorbed the latter on a superficial level. Lived in Japan for four years and stayed culturally limited: “If you haven’t heard of it before, you’d be forgiven for thinking ikigai was some kind of exotic sushi” sounds tacky and disparaging of the Japanese language. This leads me to believe Francis wrote the book not to educate, as she herself isn’t educated enough to be credible. But stole someone else’s ideas to monetize them. Given her social media presence is mainly focused on advertising her books, instead of actually promoting knowledge.
The book consists of poor retelling of interesting concepts non of which are personally hers and plain examples. She points statements and studies vaguely and doesn’t reference them correctly so this leaves me with a feeling her content isn’t trustworthy. In addition, there were chapters I didn’t feel truly related to cats but right at the end of them, Francis remembers to mention a thought or two on felines. To justify the book title.
Nevertheless, I give the book 2 ⭐️⭐️ instead of 1, as I still took a few things from The Zen of Cat. I liked the diversity of viewpoints included - Japanese cat figures, cat behaviorist opinions, holocaust survivor & neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s theories on logotherapy, Adlerian approach, documentary movies (Inside the Mind of the Cat), cat cognition and alpha brainwaves, etc.
Maybe Carla Francis was overwhelmed with all the information she could have put in her book, but chose to keep it simple - as simplicity is one of the lessons Francis is trying to teach us. And I simply missed the point.
Big part of the content were transliterations of Japanese ideologies and rich Karen’s problems - dieting, or “it might feel like the world has ended when a shop no longer stocks your favorite brand, or the hotel you’ve booked in France doesn’t have views of the Eiffel Tower”. Or being in a “fancy restaurant and you’re told your favorite main is unavailable”.
“Have you met the kind of cat that vomits chunks of grass all over the Persian rug rather than doing it neatly on the ground outside? Perhaps they need a lesson in etiquette and good manners.” - One, not all people have Persian rugs to worry about. And not all have a backyard to ease this burden. Second, losing my cat to sickness, where she would vomit in the toilet to keep it clean like the lady she was and would later on keep on vomiting wherever due to lack of control and pain - I do not care about that rug.
I reckon a book must provoke the reader, as I also believe the author should be aware in what ways it can be provocative. Are they all constructive and needed? I’m sure Francis’ intention wasn’t to remind me of my loss, but her superficial examples do sound inconsiderate.
The author lived in Japan for a few years but failed to present me this faraway land and its philosophy, as Francis herself only absorbed the latter on a superficial level. Lived in Japan for four years and stayed culturally limited: “If you haven’t heard of it before, you’d be forgiven for thinking ikigai was some kind of exotic sushi” sounds tacky and disparaging of the Japanese language. This leads me to believe Francis wrote the book not to educate, as she herself isn’t educated enough to be credible. But stole someone else’s ideas to monetize them. Given her social media presence is mainly focused on advertising her books, instead of actually promoting knowledge.
The book consists of poor retelling of interesting concepts non of which are personally hers and plain examples. She points statements and studies vaguely and doesn’t reference them correctly so this leaves me with a feeling her content isn’t trustworthy. In addition, there were chapters I didn’t feel truly related to cats but right at the end of them, Francis remembers to mention a thought or two on felines. To justify the book title.
Nevertheless, I give the book 2 ⭐️⭐️ instead of 1, as I still took a few things from The Zen of Cat. I liked the diversity of viewpoints included - Japanese cat figures, cat behaviorist opinions, holocaust survivor & neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s theories on logotherapy, Adlerian approach, documentary movies (Inside the Mind of the Cat), cat cognition and alpha brainwaves, etc.
Maybe Carla Francis was overwhelmed with all the information she could have put in her book, but chose to keep it simple - as simplicity is one of the lessons Francis is trying to teach us. And I simply missed the point.
June 26, 2023
Calming ideas, Japan and Cats
This is an interesting, easy to read book about how to achieve a more balanced and calm life. As well as many useful ideas on restoring calm into our often (always) hectic lives, there is plenty of wonderful information about Japanese culture, and of course cat comparisons and stories are interwoven into the narrative.
Straight away I must admit that I don’t know anything about Zen, apart from what was within these pages, however I loved the various ideas around habits, lifestyle and intuition which all make sense and are easy to incorporate into everyday life and thinking patterns. The chapters, which are labelled as letters of the alphabet (minus the 4 letters that don’t exist in Japanese) are further broken down into small sections, so this is a perfect book to read in small chunks – if you can put it down.
Carla Francis refers to the many people she has spoken to about beliefs and customs in Japan, plus books she has read – these are referenced at the end. The writing style is light and enjoyable to read, with great cat anecdotes, and ideas on how humans might learn from cats. I must admit that there were moments when I thought “but my cat doesn’t have to pay the bills”, but I quickly put aside these frivolous thoughts and got back to enjoying this book and its message.
5*s for this beautiful and enjoyable book which I read because I loved The Cat With Three Passports by CJ Fentiman (same author, different name), not because I felt any great need to be calmer. I loved so much about this book including learning about many aspects of Japan’s culture and lifestyles, and enjoyed the ideas to bring more calmness to my inner world – I’m already incorporating many of these into my days.
Afternote: I am now going to lend this book to my young Ragdoll cat, in the hope that he can be a little more Zen-like, and a little less manic, though he is always “in the moment”! (for the picture that goes will this comment, you will need to visit EmmabBooks.com)
This is an interesting, easy to read book about how to achieve a more balanced and calm life. As well as many useful ideas on restoring calm into our often (always) hectic lives, there is plenty of wonderful information about Japanese culture, and of course cat comparisons and stories are interwoven into the narrative.
Straight away I must admit that I don’t know anything about Zen, apart from what was within these pages, however I loved the various ideas around habits, lifestyle and intuition which all make sense and are easy to incorporate into everyday life and thinking patterns. The chapters, which are labelled as letters of the alphabet (minus the 4 letters that don’t exist in Japanese) are further broken down into small sections, so this is a perfect book to read in small chunks – if you can put it down.
Carla Francis refers to the many people she has spoken to about beliefs and customs in Japan, plus books she has read – these are referenced at the end. The writing style is light and enjoyable to read, with great cat anecdotes, and ideas on how humans might learn from cats. I must admit that there were moments when I thought “but my cat doesn’t have to pay the bills”, but I quickly put aside these frivolous thoughts and got back to enjoying this book and its message.
5*s for this beautiful and enjoyable book which I read because I loved The Cat With Three Passports by CJ Fentiman (same author, different name), not because I felt any great need to be calmer. I loved so much about this book including learning about many aspects of Japan’s culture and lifestyles, and enjoyed the ideas to bring more calmness to my inner world – I’m already incorporating many of these into my days.
Afternote: I am now going to lend this book to my young Ragdoll cat, in the hope that he can be a little more Zen-like, and a little less manic, though he is always “in the moment”! (for the picture that goes will this comment, you will need to visit EmmabBooks.com)
September 5, 2024
I enjoyed the writing style - which is poetic and accessible. It captures the essence of felines and their quiet wisdom. The author’s deep appreciation for cats is evident in every page, and the ability to draw parallels between a cat's behavior and Zen principles is both refreshing and enlightening.
September 6, 2024
I saw this book at the bookshop and it was the last copy left. As an admirer of cats and Japanese culture I felt I had to get it. I'm glad I did because after a rough few months, it gave some much needed reflections and insights. I liked the fact I could pick it up and find inspirations in the writing and reflect on the content I read through the rest of the day.
January 2, 2024
Mostly Zen Buddhism philosophy, some Shintoism, mixed in with some cat and Japanese culture. An easy read. Perhaps not what I was expecting (actually thought it was going to be focused on cats).
Best wishes to Carla
Best wishes to Carla
September 5, 2024
The Cat with Three Passports is a heartwarming read that will captivate animal lovers and adventurers alike. This book offers an insightful blend of travelogue and memoir, centered around an extraordinary feline who holds not one, but three passports.
September 7, 2024
This book is a gem for those interested in mindfulness and meditation, especially if you’re a cat lover. The Zen of Cat integrates the calm and poise of cats with Zen principles, providing practical exercises that can be easily incorporated into daily life.
September 9, 2024
I liked how each chapter offers a blend of philosophical insights and practical advice, enriched by delightful cat anecdotes. This book is a meditative journey that will appeal to both cat enthusiasts and those seeking greater peace and presence in their lives.
March 17, 2025
At times this cat zen is very far-fetched, but the book gives a necessary overview of Japanese philosophy and culture. I usually don't read this kind of literature, I decided to because of the small volume. I don't regret it and I still dream of adopting a feline.
June 11, 2024
a very peaceful book ! made me want to go visit japan
July 14, 2024
Vejam a minha opinião em vídeo, AQUI
September 8, 2024
The format is easy to read and offers daily insights that you can pick up when you need it most.
September 8, 2024
It’s a great read for anyone looking to enhance their mindfulness practice with a touch of feline grace.
September 9, 2024
Each chapter is sprinkled with charming cat anecdotes that beautifully illustrate the principles of Zen.
December 13, 2024
This book comes with great life teachings. Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2024
It is a beautiful book to read – simple and short with cute cats as guides.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2024
I’m halfway through this book and really enjoying it. I love the feline philosophy concepts.
December 14, 2024
This book blends cats, Zen, and self-help. Some of the takeaways for me were learning about mottainai and wabi sabi.
December 15, 2024
It’s an easy and pleasant to read book with some useful insights on Japanese culture and cats.
December 15, 2024
This book explains various Japanese concepts and is filled with anecdotes and engaging insights.
December 16, 2024
The author has done a great job, explaining the concepts in a clear and easy to understand way.
December 16, 2024
This is the second book that my sister has given me that I really enjoyed!
December 17, 2024
I enjoyed reading this book. I’d recommend for anyone looking to remain present, be mindful and loves cats!
August 11, 2024
Livro para ir lendo com calma, não para “devorar”. A autora conseguiu expor os pensamentos e costumes da cultura nipónica muito bem, e foi ao mesmo tempo criando alguma interligação com os nossos amigos felinos.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews