Guys Can Be Cat Ladies Too: A Guidebook for Men and Their Cats

by Michael Showalter

Michael Showalter’s Guys Can Be Cat Ladies Too is the hilarious all-access guide to help a man comprehend, appreciate, and bond with the felines in his life. They say dogs are a man’s best friend. True! But what if that man’s girlfriend/boyfriend, wife/husband, or mother-in-law has a cat? Is that the end for him? Is he resigned to an eternity of estrangement from this furry creature with which he shares his life partner, his favorite chair, and his sock drawer?
Showalter offers hope for men everywhere in their quest to understand and love cats. In this intimate portrait of one man’s love for cats, you will learn the answers to burning questions such “Why are they all aloof and weird and stuff?”; “They hate me, right?”; and “Is it true that they have nine lives?” Armed with these and countless other valuable lessons, by the book’s end any guy can be on the fast track to becoming a cat’s best friend.


Praise for Guys Can Be Cat Ladies

“Deep stuff is decorated by fabulously absurd humor.”
―Catster.com
 
“So what have your cats taught you about loving yourself?” Michael “Not a lot, I’ll be honest.”
―Esquire.com
 
“Fabulously illustrated.”
― Entertainment Weekly  

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Animals, Cats, Comedy

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Michael Showalter is the star/creator of Michael & Michael Have Issues, The State, Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, Stella, Die Hard* and Die Hard 2: Die Harder**. He lives in Brooklyn with his lady and a bunch of cats."

Reviews

[Bill Powers]

Not the kind of book I would have purchased myself. My wife gave it to me. It's actually quite "cute" and interesting with a lot of cat trivia facts you'll love if you're a "cat-Nut" like me. I love the kitties...

[Autumn]

The easier question here would be what did I Not like about this book. Nothing. From one crazy cat lady, who is looking for her crazy cat lady guy, I have to say this book was amazing. I was laying in bed last night, after being up for 20 hours straight, and I still could not resist reading for another 20 - 30 minutes. I had to take small breaks so I could get myself together during the laughing fits. I do believe one of my favorite chapters was Chapter 5. Congrats to the author because, even though I won a free copy as a first reads, I have now ordered and purchased a second copy to give my sister's boyfriend for Christmas. There is no way this book is leaving my apartment, I will need it to be a guide for my own future cat lady guy. I give this book 5 gold, shiny stars. Love it, love it, love it.

[Stuart]

Quite ridiculous, and subsequently very entertaining!

[Andy]

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew it was a must read. The title alone could be viewed as a biography of sorts, as I'm a full-fledged, non-apologetic Cat Lady Guy.

I'm not a huge fan of humor books, but Showalter succeeds at infusing the right amount of absurdist humor with facts to make this a quick read for all cat-loving dudes. If you are already a Cat Lady Guy, you won't find much new info here (it's certainly not a handbook), but you'll have some chuckles around the tips of interacting with your cat (hint: treat them like a teenager).

Bottom line: A novelty book that delivers for the target audience. I read it in two hours so a great gift for the cat-loving guy in your life.

[Jonathan]

Very funny book for any cat loving guys out there. Fantastic illustrations that show the reality of sharing your life with a feline friend/boss, accompanied by text that is quite true, but often made me laugh out loud. Useful sections include: questions to ask your cat on your first day together; what to wear; how to identify if your cat is on drugs or a member of a gang. All good stuff. Tigger thought it quite amusing, but would not be too happy knowing I have told you so.

[Nathan Dehoff]

I believe Showalter had four cats in his household when he wrote this book, a tongue-in-cheek guide to cat ownership for men. Playing on the stereotypes of guys and cat ladies, he describes increasingly absurd activities you can do with a cat, and employs some absurd humor. We're told, for instance, that a toaster strudel and a six-pack of beer are not cats; and how to tell if your cat has joined a gang. It's obvious he really does know quite a bit about cats, however, and there are some actual facts mixed in.

[Derkanus]

This book is really short (there are probably more pictures than words), but it still took me a month to get through it. I love Michael Showalter (and his style of comedy), and I like cats just fine, but this book just didn't do anything for me. Honestly, it's exactly what you'd expect from the book's description--it's like 30% cat facts and 70% jokes about how men can be cat ladies too--but I was hoping it would be funnier than it sounded. If the premise sounds hilarious to you, or you're reallllly into cats, you'll probably love it though.

[Al]

Like most of what passes for humor in the humor section of your local bookstore, most of “Guys” is not funny, just inane. Heavy on graphics but light on wit, there’s a lot of wasted filler in “Guys” (ex. “What is Not a Cat?”, “Outdoor Fun,” “Feng-Shui Your Cat Crib.”) There is some practical advice and facts but since they are often mixed with “fake” facts, I’m not sure that readers would feel comfortable relying on them. With so much (better) competition for cat humor on the Internet, this book is an unnecessary purchase.

[Adriana]

This might just be out of my comedy comfort zone, which is partially why I read it yet I'm still not convinced. It does contain a few good points for anyone (of any gender) considering getting a cat for the first time, so there is that. It's just too weird and snarky, but it did pull a few laughs from me.

[David]

A hillarious read!

I am not really sure if this is overall a comedy book or a partner self-help book.

Being a guy myself, and having had cats for a while, I didn't actually learn anything new, but had a good laugh.

I CAN actually see it as a useful present to give to a guy you are dating who doesn't 'get cats'.

Got it as part of the 23/7/23 pet books HumbleBundle.

[Dawn S]

This was a cute read. I used it as a "between book" when I finished a book but wasn't ready to start the next one. You can read it in small spurts over a period of time and still enjoy it without losing anything. I never had a cat and always wanted one. This is definitely not a real guide 😹 but it is comical and has *some* usable pointers!

[Ryan Purchase]

I love Showalter's humour, which is usually a strange combination of the banal and the horrifyingly inappropriate. Unfortunately, this book has far too much of the former. If you imagine his voice reading it to you, it's slightly funnier. Buy the audiobook, maybe.

[DaN McKee]

It’s fun to read a book where the deeper you get into it the funnier it becomes to think about the fact that the writer actually wrote this. That he was so committed to this crazy idea he saw it through to completion and wrote an entire book. Kudos.

[Kelly]

Very quirky. It was humorous, but I think it would be more humorous for a dedicated cat dude.

[Jerika Wallace]

Very entertaining. The information given about cats and cat care is either wildly, hilariously ridiculous or actually true and very good advice.

[Mischelle Smith]

Great for passing time in a waiting room. 😊

[Mehsi]

An interesting book with some funny parts, but at times it felt like it was just trying a bit too hard.

[Amy]

JD Vance can go suck it.

[delphia]

Technically DNF'd at the last 30 pages, but it was so boring and unfunny I couldn't take it anymore.

[Isaac Jensen]

Not great. Lived in the bathroom, and I did read it, so it goes on the goodreads.

[Hannah Illuzzi]

this would’ve been a banger in 2013

[Matt]

Great quick read. If you already own cats, will be even funnier.

[Hillary]

I received a free copy of this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I'm not a guy, nor am I a cat lady, so I don't fit either of the target audiences for this book. I wanted to read this manual-of-sorts because I have a close guy friend who has been contemplating getting a cat (seriously!) and I think he'd find this book hilarious. Before this book came in, we had literally just had a conversation about how, as a guy, getting a cat is basically like having your mancard revoked. Thanks to this book, it really doesn't have to be that way anymore!

As a crazy dog lady, I totally despise cats, but I still found this book (mostly just Part 1) laugh-out-loud funny. I despise cats because I'm highly allergic to them and I feel like I might die if I even just walk into a room where a cat has been in the last five years. I'm like a damn magnet for cats when I go over to people's places. Cats are always attracted to me and I can't quite figure it out. They love jumping in my lap or rubbing against me, even though I'm shooing them away while attempting to cover my face with something. If a cat rubs up against me (or does anything else within a 100 ft radius of me), I'm messed up for days, so I try to avoid cats AT ALL COSTS... Okay, cat hating rant over.

I think that the "information" in this book would have been better suited (and would have a chance of going viral) as a comic on the internet. I don't know if that's how this book originated or not, but I would gladly read a blog with funny little comics about guys and their cats. The subject matter is funny, but it's not really something that you'd buy just to read. You're pretty much only buying a book like this as a gag gift for a guy friend, which is great, but I really think some of the stuff in this book would be better suited for short little episodes on a blog.

I'd like to applaud the author for donating part of the proceeds to the Humane Society of New York, for talking about spaying/neutering and for encouraging the future cat lady guy to adopt from a shelter or rescue. You rock, sir!

[Justine Olawsky]

OK, so this is a book that I read in a night back in January. I'm remembering it now because it was so laugh-out-loud funny in spots, and I am currently reading another man's outrageous odyssey with animals: Outwitting Squirrels. In chuckling over my current read, I was reminded of this one.

Guys Can Be Cat Ladies, Too really was a hoot. I liked the utter guy-ness of it all, mixed with the sublimity of felinity. Men and cats: two of God's most glorious creations! Together at last! With understanding and affection! And coordinated dance moves!

Anyway, if you like cats (secretly or blatantly) and you either are a man or very, very much appreciate men and all their marvelous ways, then you probably will get a kick out of this book. I surely did.

[Alexander]

As a guy who does, indeed, love cats, I got this book given to me on my birthday and had a great time reading it. I don't usually read humor books, but this was a nice change. It's full of slightly absurdist humor, and don't expect to really learn anything, but it's a nice read nonetheless. However, it's not a book to seriously sit down with and decide, I'm going to read this for the next few hours, because the humor can get annoying after a while. Rather, this is a book to read on the side, whenever you're tired of reading that convoluted thick book that you had been reading previously. If you do so, it will be a lot of fun.

[Cyndie Courtney]

Within 5 minutes of starting this book I was laughing so hard that I cried. Avoid this book if you are easily offended by marijuana references or making light of hoarders. Otherwise get ready to enjoy gems like "How to tell if your cat or teenage child has going a gang," "Your cat, the ultimate wingman" and "Why is it so cute when cats stick their tongue out like this?". Fun wordsearches and sudoku also included.

[Meredith Ann]

i was sadly disappointed in this book. i had high hopes for it because it's about dudes & cats and michael showalter wrote it! i thought it would be more of a celebration of guys who love cats but instead, it's an "instruction manual" on how guys can become cat lovers.

some parts were funny but overall, it was meh and relied on stereotypes too much.

[Sean]

This book is perfect. If you've ever wondered if your cat is on drugs, or if it's been rubbing against other people's legs, it's the book for you.

Guys Can Be Cat Ladies Too is hilarious. If you like Michael Showalter's work, this will be no exception. The illustrations are great but the straight-faced absurdity frequent in the text is by far my favorite part.

[Crystal Mitton]

I loved this book. It's not often I find a book as funny as this one. The pictures really made the book funnier. I recommend that if you love animals or know someone that does then read this book. Thank you Michael Showalter for this great book!!

[Alan]

Very fun and funny, and even a little bit informative. This is all about being a fella who is als a good caretaker. Longer review is located here: http://eyesandearsblog.blogspot.com/2...