Historical Cats

by Norton, the Cat Who Went to Paris, Norman Stiles, William Bramhall (Illustrator)

It has long been suspected that behind every great human is an even greater cat.  Now the truth will out, as meticulously documented by that great feline historian, Norton--aka, The Cat Who Went to Paris--and his cohorts, Peter Gethers and Norman Stiles.

The world knows all about Nathan Hale.  But where are the tributes to Nathan Hale's cat, who uttered the immortal words, "I regret that I have but nine lives to give for my country"?  Where are the biographies of Sigmund Freud's cat, who changed the twentieth century with his discover that the primary motivating factor behind all behavior is the urge to rub up against furniture?  Why do historians shy away from Marie Antoinette's cat, who actually caused the French Revolution with her dismissive bon mot, "Let them eat dry food"?  This extraordinary and important book is already receiving advance raves.  No less an observer of feline nature than Oprah Winfrey's cat has gone on record as saying, "Every man and woman who cares about the future of the planet must buy Historical Cats.  Hey, where are you going with that bowl?!  I'm still hungry!!"

Genres: Humor, Cats, Nonfiction, Animals, History

86 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1996

Reviews

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This quaint little book packs a punch despite its size. Behind many famous figures lurk their cats, and these cats speak their minds. Some had ambitious ideals, others were more concerned with their own desires, and still others offered sage advice. But all had entertaining bons mots in this lavishly illustrated book. To paraphrase Nathan Hale’s cat, “I regret that I have but five stars to give this book.”

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, fast read. My mom didn't like it, but I found it amusing.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

First sentence: Nathan Hale's Cat: "I only regret that I have but nine lives to give for my country."
Albert Einstein's Cat: Ran around the living room at the speed of light for no reason at all, relatively speaking.
Sigmund Freud's Cat: Discovered that the primary motivating factor behind all behavior is the urge to rub up against furniture.

Premise/plot: What if historical figures had cats? Cats who were perhaps just as famous or just as worthy of being famous?

My thoughts: If you love cats--I'm talking LOVE cats--and are easily amused this may be a good fit for you. It is a super-quick read. Each page features an illustration and one or two sentences. I think the aim of the book was to be clever and funny. I'll be honest, there is a LOT of hit or miss within the pages.

I paid fifty cents for my copy. I'm wishing it had been a quarter instead.

Marie Antoinette's Cat: "Let them eat dry food."
Ponce de Leon's Cat: POUNCE de Leon discovered the fountain of catnip.
Eva Peron's Cat: Felita: "Don't meow for me, Argentina."
Pablo Picasso's Cat: Accidentally ran into window and created cubism.

My favorite:

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Cat. Wrote Crime and Punishment and Do It Again Anyway, a complex novel about an evil Russian Blue, Raskolnikat, who eats off his owner's plate despite many stern warnings. Raskolnikat has overwhelming feelings of guilt but looks so cute he is never punished and ultimately dies weighing 57 pounds.

[Danielle Cozzola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute and amusing. I liked the illustrations. Some pieces were better than others.

[Stephy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albert Einstein's Cat: "Ran around the living room at the speed of light for no reason at all, relatively speaking."

Plato's Cat: "Theorized that all life is merely a physical reflection of our subjective imagination, thus it is doubly important to clean ourselves as often as possible."
And so on. Delightfully funny.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another little book I thrifted as part of my cat-loving friend’s Christmas present. I read it today before wrapping it, and it made me laugh so many times, despite my not being a fan of cats. (Read in Elaine’s smiling voice: “I’m a dog person.”) The authors are obviously very clever and intelligent. Each page features an illustration of a historical figure’s cat and a line or two of the cat’s accomplishment. There are also some historical “timelines”. Here are a few my favorite timeline entries:

1658: John Milton’s cat loses pair of dice under bed
1665: John Milton writes Paradise Lost
1824: Simon Bolivar becomes dictator of Venezuela; still can’t get his cat to eat canned tuna
1908: W.G. Grace ends his cricket career having scored 54,000 runs; his cat chases a cricket around the room. 54,000 times
1986: Mikhail Gorbachev’s cat spills bottle of indelible ink on his head

I kind of want to keep it. ;)

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was simply a fun little book that I'm ALMOST embarrassed to include on my Goodreads list, except I've read enough 400+ page books that I think I deserve a gimme. I loved Peter Gethers' books about Norton and, in this little book, every drawing of a famous person's cat and quip by the author, Norton himself, brought a smile to my face on a really, REALLY cold winter day.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book --- I actually laughed out loud at some of the 'historical cats' :) I admit that I didn't know who some of the human/historical figures were, so may have to look those up. A big kudos to the illustrator, as the cat drawings were so obviously similar to their human counterpart -- very good job!

[Diana Petty-stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

86 illustrations of the cats of famous people and their famous quotes. Everyone from Moses' cat whoncarried down the 11th Commandment from the mountaintop: "Thou Shalt Not Eat the Same Food Two Days in a Row." to Eva Peron's cat Felita "Don't meow for me Argentina."! Maybe it should have been called Hysterical Historical Cats!! It's a keeper.

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the credit for this book should go to the illustrator, William Bramhall. Some of the cat quotes were clever, but the cartoon characterizations were spot on! I had a handful of favorites, but I don't think I'll ever forget Pablo Picasso's cat.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some are a bit of a stretch, but all of them are funny. Dr. Kevorkian's cat helped a neighbor's cat commit suicide nine times... hee hee.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift. What's it like? An example: Shakespeare's cat: "Two bees or not two bees?" (It was definitely two bees. Got stung on the nose--twice.)

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I'm not a big cat fan - this was cute / funny. Nice quick read for a lazy sunday

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars... enjoyable for glancing through but nothing to really make you come back and look again.

[Beverly J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't this I was going to like this at all, but then a few of these I outright laughed at.

[Sharri Delk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to my son and he kept flipping through the illustrations, which are very nicely done. It’s a cute and clever book. It’s a sweet book to have in his library so he can look at the pictures whenever he pleases.