Cat Psych 101: I Hate My Cats (A Love Story) by Davide Cali

Okay. Cats are quirky. If you have a cat, you can't deny it.

Take Ginger for example. Does she play with her cute cat toys? NO. Ginger prefers to play...

... with peas.

Does she purr and rub her head sweetly against her owner when they cuddle? No. She saves that to do with--avocados.

Does she lap from a lovely little water bowl that says KITTY on the side? NO.

She only drinks water from the sink.

And then there's Fred. Does he curl up for a nap in his cozy cat bed? Or snooze sweetly on a stylish black leather hassock? NO. Where does Fred sleep and leave his unwanted black cat hair?

On sweaters (preferably white ones) and ....on towels (obviously white ones.)

Or in the sink.

Why do cats suddenly ambush your bare feet from behind the curtains? How do they manage to take up most of the chair or bed when you want to take a rest? Why do cats always want to lie down on the newspaper you are reading (or sit down on your keyboard right in front of the screen?) How is it that they can walk the narrowest handrail with the skill of high-wire walker, but always manage to knock over vases full of flowers or cups full of coffee? How is it that they make messes right where you will invariably step in the wee hours of the morning?

How is it that we forgive all and still leave little treats in their little bowls at bedtime?

Davide Cali's I Hate My Cats (A Love Story) (Chronicle Books, 2018) accurately describes the curious, puck-ish nature of cats in this affectionate and funny treatise on life with cats that ends with the forgiven felines joining the author lovingly in bed, with Fred agreeably lying on his head with his tail where his owner's mustache would be--if he had one.

Anna Pirelli's illustrations are both subtle and prescient in portraying Ginger and Fred in all their piquant catitude, with one final lights-out double-page spread in which the chastened cats finally join their guy in bed, with only the luminous alarm clock dial and the two penitent kitties' eyes visible. A book for cat lovers who know their critters and love them for the quixotic nature that makes them the second-most popular pet. Says Booklist, "A perfect encapsulation of the madness of cats, and those that love (or hate) them."