Beginning ~ with comparing cats and dogs

Beginning

"I have always loved dogs and cats, having lived with both since I was a child.  Several years ago I wrote a book, Dogs Never Lie About Love, about the emotional lives of those wonderful animals.  It was a very popular book.  I noticed, however, that readers of that book would often speak to me disparagingly about cats — usually something about cats not really having an emotional life or cats being basically indifferent.  I knew this is not true, though it is untrue in ways that were not always obvious.  Too many people tend to see cats as uncomplicated creatures with few emotions, at least none worth thinking about in any depth.  I am convinced that, on the contrary, cats are almost pure emotion."

The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey Into the Feline Heart ~ by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, 2002, animal psychology

Drawing from literature, history, animal behavioral research, and true stories of cat experts and cat lovers around the world, the author vividly explores the delights and mysteries of the feline heart.  But at the core of this remarkable book are Masson’s candid, often amusing observations of his own five cats.  Their mischievous behavior, aloofness, and affection provide a way to examine emotions from contentment to jealousy, from anger to love.  This book offers readers a new perspective on the deep connection shared by humans and their feline friends.

On the sidebar of this blog, you can see some of the cats who have lived with me and some of the cats of my friends.  At the top is Clawdia, of course, since she's the cat who currently blogs here when she feels like it.  The next cat down is Kiki, who blogged about books until she died in 2012.

I think the nine chapters sound intriguing, so I'm ready to jump into this book.

1. Narcissism
2. Love
3. Contentment
4. Attachment
5. Jealousy
6. Fear
7. Anger
8. Curiosityy
9. Playfulness

My favorite reader review on Amazon was simply, "Great little book.  My cats read it from cover to cover."  Maybe Clawdia would like to read this one, too.  I like my cover best (shown at the top), but look at alternate covers.  Interesting.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click the blue link for more book beginnings.