Gagner sa pâtée

摸布想自己賺罐罐：黑山的烏鴉原創故事集 [Mobus Diary+ #1

by Kathy Lam

Une vie de chat... au boulot !
Un poil rebelle, espiègle et feignante, la chatte Mobu adore par-dessus tout siester et déranger son humain. Alors que celui-ci se donne un mal de chien pour qu'elle ne manque de rien, l'ingrate en a ras-la-gamelle d'être chouchoutée et décide de gagner son indépendance - et sa pâtée. Après avoir épluché les petites annonces, elle décroche un job au Chat-chat café. Mais dans une vie de félin, le salariat au quotidien n'est pas de tout repos... Album broché sous jaquette.

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Cats, Comics, Cozy, Adult, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2025

Reviews

[Andra-Mihaela · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Today is #review day!🥰

From me, #mobusdiary by Kathy Lam gets 4.5⭐! 🥳

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for a honest review!

General info: a graphic novel about a anxious, introverted calico wanting to earn her keep! Perfect for readers wanting a wholesome story with cats!

CW: N/A

BOOK THOUGHTS

This was extremely wholesome!!!!😆Mobu is such a grumpy girl!🥰

This is perfect for fans of cat books that need a simple, heart warming story about a feline looking for a job.😂
I really like the style…I believe even if the reader initially isn't too thrilled with the art style, they'll find it perfect for the narrative by the end of it.👌
The pacing is moderate…as we first spend some time at home with Mobu, as she's contemplating why she's soo bored and lacking in fulfilment, to later move on to a steadier pace with the job hunting. This has a little bit of whimsy, as the owner doesn't find it strange that Mobu wants to apply for jobs or that she want to write her own resume.🤭
After that...we go to the main event and, let me tell you, this was the moment the story grabbed me! Mobu is more complex than I initially thought…she's anxious, doesn't really like people, but she tries!🥺...and that's everything!🥰 I also liked the funny elements included, the secondary characters ( the personalities were everything 😂) and the cozy setting.

This is very much a slice-of-life type of #read. We get to know our characters, we see their struggle and we watch them find solutions.
The only reason I didn't give this one 5 stars, is because the #book had another snippet with a capybara…and unfortunately...I don't think is as good as Mobu's story. ( plot-wise)😅

Did I want more?? Sure! Who wouldn't?! Sooo..you can bet I'd read more if I'll have the occasion!

I highly recommend you read this if you like funny little stories with cats, if you need a break from other kinds of books, or just love cats!😸

[Agathe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donnez moi du drôle
Donnez moi du chat
Donnez moi du mignon
Et Agathe contente

[Monica (switching platforms) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this graphic novel on Instagram after seeing someone talk about it, and when I remembered that it was available as a Read Now on NetGalley, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. Judging by the five stars, I think it's pretty obvious what I thought of it, but I still wanted to say a few words about why I loved it so much.

First of all, I genuinely didn't expect this graphic novel to make me laugh as much as it did. Mobu has basically one facial expression, and somehow that made everything even funnier. She is such a relatable, awkward and easily frightened little cat, and I had so much fun following her as she stepped out of her comfortable life and started working at the cat café in an attempt to earn her own food and become independent, only to end up doing pretty much the exact same thing she was doing before.

I definitely don't regret picking this one up, because not only is the story incredibly fun and lighthearted, but Mobu herself is such a funny and lovable character. I also really enjoyed the other cats and seeing how she slowly learns to interact with them(??), help others and become more confident. It's not a particularly deep story, but I honestly didn't need it to be. It was cosy, funny and just such an enjoyable read.

And I absolutely loved the art style! I really liked the combination of watercolour for the backgrounds, animals and people, with pen and coloured pencils adding all the little details. Some of the pages even looked like rough sketches, and I actually really liked that because it felt perfectly aligned with the concept and playful nature of the graphic novel. It gives the whole book such a soft and charming look without making everything feel overly polished.

I also loved the way the humans often have very similar expressions, while the cats' presence somehow adds so much personality and emotion to each scene. There is so much character in the artwork, even in the simplest moments.

I also really enjoyed the bonus material at the end, especially the artist interview and the behind-the-scenes look at how the graphic novel was created. It was such a lovely addition and made me appreciate the artwork even more.

This was such a delightful, cosy and genuinely funny graphic novel. If you love cats or animals, I really think you'll have a great time with Mobu and her little adventures at the cat café.
I love you, Mobu.


Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for putting this graphic novel on Read Now and giving me the chance to read it and laugh for 10 minutes straight. 5/5 experience.

[Snowdrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ici on suit Mobu, une chatte tricolore qui veut gagner sa propre pâtée et qui se fait embaucher dans un café à chats, on y suit alors ses jours de travail.

C’est vraiment super relax comme lecture et les dessins sont trop drôles, j’adore comment l’auteure dessine les chats 😭

[chloereadsallday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I AM OBSESSED with Mobu's Diary. I can't believe how lovable Mobu is. This is the best cat ever. His adventures had me laughing out loud. Which I honestly rarely do! So that's a testament to Mobu's Diary. I loved each story. The illustrations were perfect as well. I appreciated the colors and how wonderful the each character was. They were very distinct and memorable. I would definitely buy this book for all of my friends who love cats! And for my friends who don't like cats!


Thank you Andrews McMeel for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Annelies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaak moeten gniffelen of zelfs explosief uitademen via de neus = goed kattenboek

[Lucille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très drôle j’ai adoré !

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel about Mobu the cat and friends. The art is fun and it's just a fun light hearted graphic novel for people who love animals, especially cats.

[Cat]

Two kitties go work in a cat cafe. Took less than an hour to read. Art is cute and the content is light and funny. Definitely a BD I would recommend to French learners since it’s very light on the words and uses rather simple language.

[♡ kitty *:･ﾟ✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely slice of life comic following a cat who gets a job and what she gets up to at work. I absolutely loved it!!
The story was wholesome and the art style was very unique and cute. All the characters were adorable but also incredibly human feeling, and I especially loved Mobu and Franz!!
I spent almost the entire book smiling, it is truly just a feel good book and perfect if you want a light read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obsessed with how Lam draws Mobu

[Boris Nonveiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regarde ben la couverture de ce livre et ose me dire que t'as pas envie de le lire tout de suite

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grande fan de Kathy Lam, je me suis jetée sur sa première BD comme un chat sur une pâtée ! Son trait est simple et efficace, ses histoires drôles et attachantes, tout pour plaire aux fans de chats et de BD ! J’ai adoré !

[Zainab]

Mobu is a happy but somewhat shy cat, who makes a determination to go out and earn her food rather than continue being pampered by her loving owner (most un-cat like!). One job interview later, she begins work at a cat cafe, getting to grips with her feline colleagues and the venn diagram of what people expect of her (abundant petting, cute selfies) and what she feels comfortable doing (sleeping out of reach).

Kathy Lam's wonderful art is the main draw here; her expressive lines and delightful watercolours lend this its personality, teetering between traditional whimsy and something more absurdly rambunctious. Light, cat slice-of-life fare, but the type you could easily devour pages and pages of.

[Feriale Ravenclaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est doux, chill, mignon avec tous ces petits chats qui travaillent pour gagner leur pâtée. Et qu’est ce que ça fait du bien des lectures légères comme ça ! Je l’ai tout juste après l’avoir acheté et c’est un baume au cœur.

Je conseille cette bd si vous cherchez un peu de légèreté, de la mignonnerie et des ronrons !

[Vanyel Declark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want a franz in my life. Magnificent silky Maine coon with glorious black fur. Ugh. Fantastic.

Also did not realize till the end of the book Kathy Lam is the artist behind that one meme cat where they’re passed out drunk like a Japanese salary man. Makes sense though in hindsight.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est drôle, les dessins sont beaux, il y a des chats, la recette d’un excellent moment finalement

[Sara]

Thank you to Andrew McMeels Publishing for this E-ARC! Publication date is Sep 22nd, 2026.
Review to come closer to release date.

[yona!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trop mignon roh

[✧₊⁎Haru⁎⁺˳✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

cosa sarebbe la mia vita senza i gatti ciccioni, pigroni e tontoloni🥺🩷

5⭐️

[Aguuuzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fumetto scorrevole e divertente, adatto a tutte le età

[Aurélie · Rating 3 out of 5]

au début, Mobu me faisait penser à mon chat, mais très vite je me suis rendue compte qu’elle avait surtout beaucoup de points communs avec moi (genre, elle aime pas vraiment les humains, ne veut surtout pas qu’on la touche et préfère faire la sieste, same girl)

[Flavescente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plus drôle que de nombreux autres mangas humoristiques avec des chats (je trouve)

Fun fact j'écris ça avec mon chat me défonçant la main

[lauwisteria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this arc!

Read Mobu's Diary. An absolute gem of a manhua. This story is about Mobu and his wish to be independent and work for her own food. She gets a job at a Cat Café, but she make it? She is not as outgoing as the other cats, but Mobu is determined! Loved the sketches and the faces of the cats! I cannot wait to see Mobu in other adventures! As a cat lover myself, this was a treat to read.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% true real cat life.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mobu is a three-year-old calico, and she loves chicken. This is her story.

Mobu is not a cuddly cat. She doesn’t like to be touched but she likes things that are blue. She sleeps in the sink and keeps a close eye on her human, making sure he is well supervised.

Jackie is a four-year-old snowshoe cat who lives nearby. When his human goes out of town, he stays with Mobu and her human for a few days. He’s happy to be there because there are lots of comfy places to sleep and fish treats.

Mobu sees Jackie relaxing and decides she wants more for herself. She wants to be self-reliant. She wants to earn her own food. She explains this to her human, and he supports her, even giving her a booklet that lists jobs for cats. There is the cat yoga teacher, who can earn two cans of food per session. Or there is a job as cat cafe staff, where she can earn a can for two hours of work keeping guests company. Or there is the job in pest extermination that also pays a can for two hours of work.

Mobu decides to go for the job at the cat cafe, and Jackie tags along. Mobu had put in work beforehand on her resume and was ready for the interview, but Jackie just showed up, and they both got the job. Mobu was nervous about working around the humans, but with some good advice from a coworker and her affinity for blue toys, she figures out how to be around the humans and keep her own boundaries. And just by being herself, she learns how to heal others just by being herself.

Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Pate is a heartwarming comic about a self-reliant cat who wants to earn her way in the world and figures out how to use her unique gifts to help others. It’s a beautifully illustrated book filled with the art of international sensation Kathy Lam. After Mobu’s story are more of Lam’s illustrations and an interview about how she creates her art.

I loved this story. Mobu is sweet and hard-working, not willing to change her ways but wanting to do what she can to make the world better. And the art is whimsical but powerful. Lam has clearly studied art for many years, and her work has an energy to it that brings Mobu and all her friends to life. While younger humans could be attracted to the cat story, it was the sophistication of the art that drew me in. Mobu’s Diary has something for readers of all ages.

Egalleys for Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Pate were provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing through Edelweiss, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

[Maria Flora Pitini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mobu's Diary is a full-color manhua created during 2020, by Kathy Lam. It's a story, dedicated to the author's own cat, named Mobu.
Mobu is an anxious, introverted three-year-old calico cat with white fur, gray-brown spots, pink toe beans, and a round shape like a rice ball.
Tired of her cozy but repetitive daily routine — sleeping, eating, and playing with her blue ball — she wants a job, just like a dog, and decides it's time to become self-sufficient by getting one.
So, she asks her owner to help her look for a job in a cat's newspaper.

She's immediately drawn to an ad for Neko Café, which is looking for new cats to entertain humans. Despite her fear of strangers, she puts together a résumé — cheekily claiming she "enjoys interacting with humans" — and heads to the interview, bringing his friend,Jackie, along with her.
Lisa, the café's owner, interviews them both — and guess how it turns out? They both join the team! From here on, their adventure as café cats begins.

The cats Kathy Lam draws are humanized: they interact with people, they talk to us, and above all, they're spitting images of their own owners. The world of cats turns out to be not so different from our own.

At its heart, this is a witty, no-frills story that teaches us not to stay stuck in our home routine, but to get out there and find a job! Finding employment helps us overcome our fears, meet new people, and even help them. Perhaps K.L. herself struggled with the drastic isolation of the lockdown.

I enjoyed her artwork, and I appreciated the details at the end of each chapter, which often introduce the next one — for example, Mobu drawn as a bee, or the bonus chapter where Mobu wants to become an influencer, or the illustrated pages featuring Mobu's friends. I also loved the interview with the illustrator, through which I discovered she loves drawing capybaras — perhaps she'll create a capybara story sometime in the future! I recommend this graphic novel to cat lovers and pet-comic fans.

Thank you to the Publisher and the author for providing me with an Arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opionios are my own.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Pâté by Kathy Lam

Mobu’s Diary is a charming and quietly hilarious graphic novel that asks an important question: what if a pampered house cat decided to become financially independent? Mobu, an anxious calico who is tired of simply being fed, gets a job at a cat café and quickly discovers that employment is far less glamorous than it sounded in theory. The premise is playful, but the book uses it to explore insecurity, ambition, and the emotional toll of interacting with others.

Mobu is an instantly lovable lead because she feels so recognizable. She is awkward, overwhelmed, and constantly trying to appear more capable than she feels. She lies on her résumé, overthinks every task, and seems one minor inconvenience away from needing a nap. Anyone who has ever felt underqualified, socially drained, or mildly terrified by responsibility will probably see themselves in her.

The humor lands because it is rooted in truth. Kathy Lam captures the absurdity of workplace life and anxiety with a light touch, letting small moments and expressions do most of the work. The art style is warm and inviting, full of personality, and it gives the story an easy coziness even when Mobu is internally unraveling. It is cute, but never shallow.

By the end, Mobu’s Diary feels like more than a simple cat comedy. It becomes a sweet and relatable story about finding confidence, surviving discomfort, and realizing that nobody really knows what they are doing. I had a great time with it, even if I wanted just a little more depth to push it into five-star territory. A very solid 4.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Veron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Newly translated to English from French, graphic novel Mobu's Diary explores the cat/café literary device from the perspective of a calico cat Mobu who "worked" in a cat café in exchange for food.

The main pull of the graphic novel is its visuals which every cat or animal lover would find cute. The animals, such as what real cat cafés do, are given distinct anthropomorphic characteristics. Admittedly, I haven't heard of Mobu before but Kathy Lam, or dawningcrow, has an instagram page with 220K followers with hand drawn Mobu among different animals as its content.

The book is generally very light and comedic. Still, it's fun to think of the applications of labor economics and the hierarchy of needs to the plot. Mobu doesn't work for survival as his "human" owner provides him with every need from shelter to love. The work in the café doesn't demand much either, as he later discovers that cats are paid the same rate for sleeping or looking "cute" for the customers. Given his anxious and introverted personality, he would prefer just that. However, as he looks for the difference he could contribute to the café, he explores the value of cats to people, beyond being animals to pet and take pictures of.

While I did like the book for what it is, I would've loved an exploration of the personalities and dynamics of the other cat workers in the café aside from Franz and Jackie. There are other volumes not yet translated so I assume Mobu's life has more adventures still.

A cute and harmless light read recommended for anyone, especially cat lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC of the book in exchange for a review.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in dire need of a cozy, cute book to curl up with before the end of the night. Something where I could just dissolve into the author’s world without being reminded of the stresses of daily life - mostly to find comfort.

Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Paté, by Kathy Lam was the perfect choice! This book has absolutely beautiful illustrations that are heartwarming, kooky, and laugh-out-loud funny.

Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Paté tells the story of a young anxious calico kitty called Mobu. They are a massive introvert who doesn’t really enjoy people petting them and is easily startled by loud noises. One day, Mobu decides to challenge themself to get a new job, mostly to receive more cat food tins.

They quickly find an advertisement the local cat cafe. After getting the lay of the land on her first day, Mobu quickly realizes that her life of napping and coziness can continue at the cafe as well! She is very pleased to learn that her sheer exisstence is enough to succeed at her job.

One of my favorite moments of this book is the sheer comedy of how Mobu approaches situations she perceives as difficut. For example, when considering what kind of job she would be good at, she reasons that her pink toe beans will definitely help her on the job and makes sure to highlight that fact in her resume! I love it. I too think that a kitty’s cute pink toe beans renders them qualified - for pretty much anything!!! I agree!

This book will quickly become a favorite for any cat lover, graphic novel lover, and anyone who needs a moment to slow down. Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Paté is a comforting, low-stakes story full of laughs, joy, and the quiet embrace of a slow moment.