Cat House

by Michael Peak

Halina, a spayed cat, lives like an ordinary house cat in a human home with other cats who work as prostitutes. But in the Canyon lurks coyotes whose demon leader hates not only the altered females of Halina's Den, but the entire cat world. With the feline world in turmoil, Halina knows she and her Den must somehow survive the murderous wrath of the coyotes.

Genres: Fantasy, Cats, Animals, Fiction, Adventure

1 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 5, 1989

Reviews

[Lone Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about cat prostitutes. Yes, you read that correctly – cat prostitutes. A group of spayed female cats have sex with males in exchange for food. This annoyed me considerably since the whole premise is flawed – cats do not have recreational sex! A female cat only wants to mate when she is in season. A male cat only wants to mate when he smells a female in season. Since spayed cats don’t come into season, they would have no interest in mating, and males would have no interest in mating with them.

Quite why the author thought this strange set-up was necessary is beyond me. The main gist of the plot is the conflict between the cats and a gang of coyotes that wish to kill them. This story could have been told perfectly well without the prostitute angle. There are other mistakes too – the author seems to have no idea how a coyote pack is organised, and uses the terms bobcat and lynx interchangeably, as though they are the same thing (they’re different species).

The story itself is reasonably entertaining, but the factual errors spoiled it for me, and there are also a few spelling and grammatical mistakes (e.g. “breath” instead of “breathe” and “it’s” instead of “its”). Additionally, the cover has a ginger cat in pride of place, and not one of the cats described in the book is ginger!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of years ago, I visited a bunch of different used bookstores on a road trip and ended up with several science fiction books featuring cats. Or cat aliens. I figured it would be a fun summer project to read through them, so here we go.

This one isn't really science fiction. It's more of a fantasy novel in the same way that Watership Down is. In fact, I imagine that's what Peak is going for: Watership Down, but with cats. The main characters are a group of spayed cats who don't want to give up mating, so they form a kitty house of prostitution (cat house, get it?). They're quite popular with the local tomcats, which provokes the still-fertile female cat population into forming basically a morality society to bring an end to the cat house activities.

Because the story takes place in the suburbs of San Diego, near a canyon, there are also coyotes and other wildlife to deal with. Which is cool, because a big strength of the novel is that it explores these various factions and their motivations. The coyotes are the antagonists, but they're complex ones with relatable motivations. Peak even gives the human characters something to do, though that doesn't really go anywhere and isn't as satisfying as the animals' stories.

It's a weird book and way more interested in cats' sex lives than I care about, but it's never dull.

[A. Gusenkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught me off guard! Like many people who would be enticed by a book cover like this one, I grew up with a steady media diet of Warrior Cats. As such, I was expecting something akin to that from this book - cat kerfuffles, inter-community kitty politics, and perhaps a dash of magic or religion for flavor. I got all three of these things, but dialed up five notches in intensity. Perhaps I'm only saying this because I was not expecting to read a book about cat prostitutes - who would? - but this book felt very raw and primeval. It continually caught me off guard with where it was willing to take its plot.
I do not say this as a detractor! I think the courage of this book makes it a very memorable experience, and it still manages to maintain an air of whimsy and fantasy that balances out the grit and makes it an easier read. I was intrigued and engaged the entire way through. The characters are interesting and the subplots are skillfully woven together into a coherent story. Overall, I'm very glad I chose to pick this book up - it was a very welcome break from the textbooks and nonfiction of my typical literary wardrobe.

[Kennwynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just set up weird. The basic plot is a group of spayed cats team up with their larger cousins to beat back coyotes. Okay you're thinking sure why not? These cats are essentially prostitutes. Why are they prostitutes? Because unspayed females only want to mate in heat. Don't ask me i just read the book.

You also get to see this conflict from the human point of view? And for some reason the author threw in a drug angle? I don't know, it was a book I picked up for a dime and thought I was on something when I read the back.

[Ellaura Shoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this book starts off a bit strange, as in basically with a group of prostitute cats, it is well worth the read. The description is a bit misleading as the story is told mostly from another cat's perspective and not Halina's, who is told to be the main character. Otherwise I found that it made me think and was very entertaining. I enjoyed the book.

[Linda L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great, creative book. The spayed females in the story decided they didn’t want to cease having the pleasures of the toms and figured out how to continue. There is lots of things going on in the story that are not only great depiction of a female cat centered society with its own culture and religion who fight back in every way but perhaps a bit of allegory tossed in.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I have read it a few times and every time I enjoyed it. I love the perspective from the animals and the wildness of the animals beyond the human environment.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, easy to read. A fun, delightful story.

[Amanda Carpenter]

I read this book when I was a teen from the library. I don't often take the time to re-read books, but I have been looking for this book again for years. I may just have to pick this up and re-read it as an adult because I still remember liking this book. I would like to see my opinion of it after all these years.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and different. I loved it.