The Book of Cat Poems

by Ana Sampson (Editor), Sarah Maycock (Illustrator)

See the kitten, how she starts,
Crouches, stretches, paws and darts;
With a tiger-leap half way
Now she meets her coming prey.
Lets it go as fast and then
Has it in her power again.
From 'The Kitten at Play' by William Wordsworth

Curious, enigmatic and playful, cats have often inspired the literary imagination. This beautifully illustrated anthology of cat poetry is a celebration of the world’s most loved pet by the world's most loved poets. The purrfect gift for cat lovers.

Genres: Poetry, Cats, Fiction, Anthologies

128 pages, Hardcover

Published September 7, 2021

About the author

Ana grew up in Kent. She studied English Literature at the University of Sheffield and gained a BA and MA before starting a career in publishing PR. Ana has contributed articles to various publications including Writers’ Market UK, The Book Club Bible (Michael O’Mara, 2007), Cringe and The Bookseller. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud: And Other Poems You Half-Remember From School, her first anthology of well-loved poems, was the third bestselling poetry book of 2009. This was followed by Tyger Tyger Burning Bright: Much-Loved Poems You Half-Remember, Poems to Learn by Heart, Green and Pleasant Land: Best-Loved Poems of the British Countryside and Best-Loved Poems: A Treasury of Verse. She has appeared on television and radio discussing books, book clubs, teenage diaries and poetry. Ana lives in Surrey with her husband, two daughters and two demanding cats.

Reviews

[Shari]

I mostly love this book for the wonderful watercolor illustrations.

[Amy]

The illustrations are beautiful and I really enjoyed reading the poems!

[Jana]

Purrrrrrrfect book to relax in the park with a cup of tea and a chocolate mousse

[Solveiga]

Awesome and legendary (and purrfect). Sorry, I couldn’t resist…

[Lea]

Some were better than others but overall enjoyed working through this (even though the poems started to be about beloved pet cats dying at the end of the book).

[maria ☆]

bought this for rebecca but might as well read it while it's still in my possession 🐱

[Cliona Walker]

Lovely poems with beautiful illustrations <3

[Bri]

⭐️2,5 starts⭐️

I adore the illustrations. If I could I would really like them on a big print in my room, but I can’t. And that would be too many.

On the poetry itself I cannot really speak, that is not my cup of tea. In total I think I liked 15% of the poems. Which aren’t that many. I must admit the last ones made me tear up a little bit.

[Mikey]

A touching collection of poems that spans the past couple centuries. The accompanying artwork for each poem is a lovely addition.

[Aïda Maria]

I wish some more recently written poems were added to compensate for the ‘weighty’ language of the older ones, but the illustrations really elevated this poetry collection. Probably the prettiest little book I own.

[Sunny D]

Delightful.

[Jenny]

Poems I liked in this anthology:
- Fin by Luke Kennard
- The Duel by Eugene Field
- The Tom-Cat by Don Marquis
- Pangur Bán by Anon trans. Robin Flower
- The Cat by William Henry Davies
- Finding the Cat in a Spring Field at Midnight by Pattiann Rogers
- The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats
- French Cat in French Window by Helen Burke
- The The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats
- The Rum Tum Tugger by T.S. Eliot
- The Language of Cat by Rachel Rooney
- February by Margaret Atwood
- My Cat and i by Roger McGough
- The Tortoiseshell Cat by Patrick R. Chalmers
- From The Retired Cat by William Cowper
- Cat by Jean Cocteau trans. Alastair Reid
- To a Cat by Algernon Charles Swinburne
- The Cat’s Tale by Valerie Thornton
- The Black Cat by Rainer Maria Rilke trans. Stephen Mitchell
- On a Cat, Ageing by Sir Alexander Gray
- Grimalkin: An Elegy on Peter, Aged 12 by Clinton Scollard
- On the Death of a Cat, a Friend of Mine Aged Ten Years and a Half by Christina Rossetti
- Last Words to a Dumb Friend by Thomas Hardy

Illustrations I liked in this anthology:
- Illustration accompanying Fin by Luke Kennard
- Illustration accompanying The Mimic Harlequin by Charles Lamb
- Illustration accompanying The Tom-Cat by Don Marquis
- Illustration accompanying Cats (LXIX) by Charles Baudelaire
- Illustration accompanying The Witch’s Cat by Theodora Goss
- Illustration accompanying The Cat by William Henry Davies
- Illustration accompanying Finding the Cat in a Spring Field at Midnight by Pattiann Rogers
- Illustration accompanying The Cat and the Moon by W.B. Yeats
- Illustration accompanying The Cat and the Sea by R.S. Thomas
- Illustration accompanying From Julibate Agno by Christopher Smart
- Illustration accompanying French Cat in French Window by Helen Burke
- Illustration accompanying February by Margaret Atwood
- Illustration accompanying Cat by Jean Cocteau trans. Alastair Reid
- Illustration accompanying The Black Cat by Rainer Maria Rilke trans. Stephen Mitchell
- Illustration accompanying From An Elegy on a Favourite Cat by Ann Francis

[Everett]

A perfect panoply of poetry featuring beautiful illustrations by Sarah Maycock and an excellent forward by Ana Sampson. My favorite from this collection is from Brian Patten (1946-2025), a Lancastrian writer unknown to me, whose poem Inessential Things stood out to me for capturing tender pathos and remembering simple gratitude.

What do cats remember of days?

They remember the ways in from the cold
the warmest spot, the place of food.
They remember the places of pain, their enemies,
the irritation of birds, the warm fumes of the soil,
the usefulness of dust.
They remember the creak of a bed, the sound
of their owner’s footsteps,
the taste of fish, the loveliness of cream.
Cats remember what is essential of days.
Letting all other memories go as of no worth
they sleep sounder than we,
who hearts break remembering so many
inessential things.

[chloe]

i loved the vast majority of the poems featured in this little compilation. i found it fascinating that poets, regardless of time period, depicted cats in similar ways: cats are independent, elegant, mystical, and intelligent.
yet they are also cold, aloof, mischievous, and mysterious.

i think that amy lowell captured this dichotomy perfectly when she wrote the following:

”cat, i am afraid of your poisonous beauty,
i have seen you torturing a mouse.
yet when you lie purring in my lap
i forget everything but how soft you are”

overall, it was heartwarming to reflect on how long humans have loved cats and it was a wonderful experience to be able to relate to poets from as far back as the 18th century.

[Sanjuro]

I read this with my 9 year old daughter, who, like me, is a huge fan of both poems and cats. We loved the art work, and the poems were wonderfully chosen, spanning regions and time periods. The only very slight downside was ending the book on several poems about cats passing away. Such poems certainly belong in the collection, and I understand the logic of ordering them this way, but my daughter told me she would have preferred that the book end on something sillier, and I could see her point. She read most of the poems with such joy, but then was a bit sullen at the end. Overall, a great collection.

[Emma Piette]

All cat lovers will relates to the poems written in here. I haven’t read poetry in a long time and it felt nice. The most common moments spent with cats, retold in such beautiful words.
The illustrations of each poems amplify the text in a lovely way. It’s very sweet to read.
Some of the poems are written by the greatest as Wilde and Tolkien.
The last poems are a bit hard though, they are mostly about cats that passed away so if you’re sensitive I reckon you avoid those.
I shall read it again as English is not my native language some words are not in my vocabulary and I need to study more the poems.

[Olivia Nahmias]

*4 stars*
The watercolor paintings sporadically dancing around the poems are really what's receiving the higher rating. The poems are cute and kitschy, but the illustrations are really where the magic is.

[Faith]

The illustrations are beautiful. Some poems were better then others. The order of poems was an issue. The last 15% of the book was about cats that have passed away. Very hard to finish.

[Amber Johnson]

The poems: meh; the art: fantastic, gorgeous, lovely. I want all of them framed and hanging in my home

[Angela]

Lovely illustrations.

[Erv Reyes]

This compilation is extraordinary and the art is gorgeous; the bibliography opens the door to other cat poems books!

[Aida]

cute

[Sarah Thomas]

A wide range of poems by lots of poets. Enjoyed this book, funny in places, accurate descriptions too.

[Yeylene]

Made me tear up at the end, it's such a good book with smiles and laughter

[Aislyn Clarke]

crying screaming shitting

[Bree Hatfield]

This was a nice anthology book of poems all about cats with absolutely stunning watercolor art by Sarah Maycock. The art was by far the best part of this, and it’s honestly worth it just for that. The poems themselves were okay. I adore cats so much. But Victorian-age poetry? Not so much. There were some modern poets featured (“modern” as in the 20th century movement), but there were very, very few poems from the last 20 years. I understand having a few classic poems here and there, but when 75% of them are pre-1950 I’m gonna get bored. This wasn’t an awful collection, especially if you love old poetry. But it was disappointing at the very least.

[Gisele]

3.5 stars
A lovely anthology from different writers/poets from across the years...from Tolkien, Baudelaire, Dickenson all the way to Atwood. Not all the poems resonated with me (as poetry is a very subjective thing) but all captured the essence of our feline companions. Such lovely art work!

[Alex Mattie]

Honestly, I loved this book. As an avid cat lover, I’ve often heard people be kinda mean to cats, so having a whole book dedicated to the wonder, mystery, and annoying aspects of loving cats is really quite beautiful. Many of these poems were relatable and funny and poignant. I felt that the poets collected here were true lovers of cats, and it was lovely to hear their takes on these sweet beings we call friends. I think it’s a must read for cat lovers.

Also to be mentioned, the absolutely gorgeous watercolors of cats included in this book. They accompanied the poems so well and really added to the reading experience.

[Romy]

I enjoyed the selection of poems, and the variety in style. The accompanied drawings are simply beautiful, and every single one I have admired thoroughly. A detail I appreciate, is the flow from kitten into adulthood, into the life of an elderly and eventually into death. Overall it’s a beautiful addition to my growing collection of cat literature.

[Tanja Elín Sigurgrímsdóttir]

Beautifully illustrated to bring life to the cats in the poems. The poem selection is very well done and all the poems are entertaining in one way or another. One poem that reminded me of my cat moved me to tears.