The Cat Rules (Everything, Including the Dog)

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Those lucky readers who live with a cat will recognize many of the
events Thomas relates: cat encounters with nature shows on TV; cats and
screen doors; the cat as serial killer (of mice, birds, frogs). He has
tales to share of his cat’s contribution to the game of pond hockey,
and of encounters with the pet health-care system. He recounts his
efforts to keep his cat from wandering onto the street. Most of the
humour is based on describing what happens when a cat is allowed to roam
outdoors, an action many consider to be both irresponsible and abusive.

This short account of cat antics draws humour from the author’s
pleasure in reading human attitudes into feline poses and from the
filtering of cat behaviours through an anthropomorphic screen. This is
the source of “the rules,” a table of 10 comments that accompany
each chapter. Parents frequently set out rules to guide children’s
behaviour. Why not try it for cats?

The book exists entirely to provide a smile to owners who see their pet
as “aggravation dressed in soft fur.” Although pretending to present
his cat as a demon to be outwitted, Thomas concludes that cats are
“the most fascinating domestic creature on earth.”