Feline Humor

Bad Cat by Jim Edgar (and contributors to a cat calendar)

This book is one of the funniest I've ever seen. It's a collection of 244 hilarious cat pictures (you know, when you try to take a nice shot but the cat comes out with glowing red eyes and fangs sticking out like Devil Cat, or when you're lucky enough to have a camera ready when Kitty does something really cute—or stupid). Each photo includes a caption plus the cat's name, age, and hobby. There are so many great ones I can't even pick a favorite.

Historical Cats by Peter Gethers and Norman Stiles 

Meet funny felines throughout history, like Moses' cat. The 11th commandment was probably written with his input:

Thou shall not eat the same food two days in a row.

The New Yorker Book of Cat Cartoons

Classic humor of New Yorker cartoons.

The New Yorker Book of All-New Cat Cartoons 

French for Cats: All the French Your Cat Will Ever Need by Henry Beard

When you hear "Je veux qu'on remplisse mon bol immediatement," you'll know how to respond (I want food in my bowl now).

Advanced French for Exceptional Cats by Henry Beard

Even more French than you thought your cat could ever use.

Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse by Henry Beard

Henry Beard's anthology is appealing even for non-poetry loving cat fans. Even if you don't know the poems they're based on, you can't help but laugh at the perfect fit. It sounds like Edgar Allan Poe's cat really did write "The End of the Raven." Likewise, Dylan Thomas' cat's "Do Not Go Peaceable to That Damn Vet" is its own kind of poetry:

Young cats who want to keep their claws to whet

On sofa legs, and save their privates, too,

Hide, hide, when your appointment time is set.

 

Zen for Cats by Henry Beard

More humorous insight into felines from Henry Beard.

Composition With Cat: Lost Masterpieces of the Twentieth Century by William Warmack

The author combines a knowledge of modern art with a knowledge of cats to create a catalog of masterpieces by such creative geniuses as Chien Magritte (1939-1946), feline friend of Rene Magritte, and Stijl Mondrian (1919-1927?), pal of Piet. Read Stijl's "biography" to find out what really started Mondrian on his trademark "squares and rectangles" style, and see the work "Composition with Cat" for an example.

Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver and Heather Busch

Another combination of cats and art, this book explores the motivations and inspirations for cat painters, all in a delightfully serious-sounding spoof of art criticism. Many full color examples of feline art show off these cats' talents, and profiles of the feline artists give more insight:

Despite the fact that Smokey (b. 1987) uses catnip or catmint before painting, her work does not reflect a psychedelic element. She seems to use it more as a way of intensifying the harmonic resonance experience which acts as such a strong stimulant to feline creativity.

Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver and Heather Busch

This time, the cat is the canvas.

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Last modified: 9/22/2007