The Comfort of Cats

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.

Pamela Wallin—a media personality, a consul general, and an
author—has no shortage of human contacts. But when undergoing
treatment for cancer and needing comfort, she turned to her cats.

This small book packs in an amazing amount of material on cats.
Character, personality, mythology, physiology, history, behaviors, even
their relationships with well-known writers are all covered through
text, quotes, and photos. (The black-and-white photos are a puzzle. A
few are innovative and creative, but most are of dubious value.)

For most of the chapters the approach is personal, with the various
topics anchored in Wallin’s experiences with her own cats. In a few
sections, the style deteriorates to that of a typical school essay, as
the various snippets gleaned from a quick bit of research are strung
together to round out the work. The uniformly pro-cat slant to the text
elaborates on a philosophy verbalized by Leonardo da Vinci, who is
credited with saying that even the smallest feline is a masterpiece.