The Company of Cats : 20 Contemporary Stories of Family Cats

Rating:
Summary: Real(istic) stories..not chix soup for fanciers...
Review: Look at the roster of contributors: the best in the business of writing. NOT the best at making cute kitten posters for dorm room or trotting out platitudes about how "the cat OWNS me!" Look at the world: are cats happy? Some. Are cats neglected, are cats stray, are cats, like most things that come to us, all blessing and no burden? These are amazingly touching, troubling, and compassionate stories that require a little more than just a pat on the head or a pat answer. It's a smart anthology. And it's a $10 hardcover. What's to lose? So what if you don't agree with every author's story (stories aren't campaign promises). The idea is: we're in this complicated little life together, dogs, and cats included. And they don't always get the easy, cushy life...just as people don't. I admire the candor of these authors. Almost 2 dozen who take the time and the trouble to think clearly about this companionship. And, finally, the book is uplifting. It's heartening. It's about increasing our appreciation of the frail beauty these animals, and our lives, possess. The book's profits help humane societies.

Rating:
Summary: sick and demented
Review: The other reviews are right...this book is not for anyone who likes animals. When I read the forward, I thought I was picking up on a negative tone about cats, but convinced myself to continue reading thinking no one who hated cats would actually put together a collection of stories about them. But he did. I only could stomach the first 5 stories or so...but each and every one of them was sick and demented...intentionally killing cats, abusing cats, neglecting cats. I could not continue reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Sick and Demented
Review: This is NOT a book for cat lovers. As I read the forward by the editor Rosen, a clear disdain for cats came through. Thinking this was odd, but would not reflect the sentiment of the authors of the short stories, I continued reading. I read the first handful of stories and was forced to stop. Each and every story I read was worst than the last one....a woman who dates a man who is mean to her cats, a man who doesn't want or like cats gets one and then ignores it, a woman finds a kitten and returns it to owners she knows are abusive and neglectful, a man who starves his cat to death. After the one about the guy who starves his cat to death I had had enough of this book and debated stop reading it. But thinking a book marketed to cat lovers couldn't possibly continue on this vein, I read one more story...a man throws poisonous objects at his cat until the cat finally eats one and dies. At this point, only 1/3 of the way into this book, I stopped reading.
Michael Rosen's disdain for cats, which came through in his forward in a weak voice, came through loud and clear by his choice of stories to include in this book...it's sick and demented.