Bought this adorable book for $3 at a book sale when I was only browsing. Initially, I was admiring the awesome cats immortalised by known and obscure painters alike — from Leonardo da Vinci to Tsuguharu Foujita, classic to contemporary art — I just had to buy this once I closed the book and saw a Charles Dickens' quote plastered on it: "What greater gift than the love of a cat." Honestly (other than a dog's).

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Other than featuring a cat that looks like a frog (pictured above: Cat and Butterfly by Xu Gu. Photo from MET museum site), it also includes in each painting a short description/critique concise enough to warrant some interest on the artwork plus a background history on some of their conception and inspiration. In between these are quotations about cats, my favourite amongst them are ** "For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a cat." (Anonymous) and ** "One cat just leads to another." (Ernest Hemingway). A very light-hearted and interesting introduction also opens up this small book proving yet again humans' strange relationship with cats compared to the hailed man's best friend, dogs, who always try to please and devotedly worship us. Cats on the other hand don't really try and often give us a snobbish, could-not-care-less attitude. Some of us keep coming back for more because we love the chase. Some of us love the indifference with their bodies rubbing across our legs for some warmth or rare affection. The only gripe I have with this collection is how short it is and how it ends with Picasso (who for personal reasons I don't like all that much).

These are my favourite Cat in Art from this collection. Two of them have birds in them because I also love birds:
-Bruno Liljefors's A Cat Stalking a Mouse in the Snow, 1892
-Peter Blake's The Owl & the Pussycat, 1983
-Diane Hoeptner's In the Shadow, 2014
-Karen Hollingsworth's Connected, 2010

The Book of the Cat: Cats in Art is a feel-good collection of artworks featuring cats, not only as a subject but also as secondary characters. I miss all the stray cats we feed and adopt back home. Recommended for all feline and animal lovers alike.