The Cat Inside

Posted on | February 15, 2010 | 6 Comments

Today’s post was supposed to be the third installment of my I Am a Cat review but, despite the additional month for the read-along, I am running behind; expect my thoughts later in the week.  As it is though, I do have something -well, two somethings- cat-related.  In my post on the first volume of I Am a Cat I mentioned The Cat Inside by William S. Burroughs and how I thought it would make a great companion read to the classic Japanese text; my boyfriend bought me the book for Christmas and I read it in early January before embarking on the third and final volume of the Sōseki novel.

The Cat Inside is a slight work consisting of vignettes and is rather unusual and philosophical in its content.  Burroughs reminisces about different cats that he has owned or been attached to -both domestic and feral- through his life as he lives in his old-age; this autobiographical novella is tender and wise and as much a commentary on human beings as it is on cats.    I love reading about cats and two of my favourite writers -Angela Carter and Colette- are both, among many others, advocates for cats in literature; Burroughs is very much a cat-lover and champions his feline friends in this non-fiction.  For fans of Burroughs, The Cat Inside features his experimental style and disturbing vision but it also shows the author at his most vulnerable and humane; he reveals his touching fondness for cats but is also vehemently disdainful of dogs and, at times, humans. A heartwarming as well as erudite collection of anecdotes about cats; a journal of his cat dreams; a history of cats; a meditation upon cats and their owners; The Cat Inside has much to offer those fond of cats and fond of writing.

Much later I was to learn that I am cast in the role of the Guardian, to create and nurture a creature that is part cat, part human, and part something as yet unimaginable, which might result from a union that has not taken place for millions of years.

Of course it often happens that a barn cat becomes a house cat.  And that is what every barn cat, every street cat wants.  I find the desperate attempt to win a human protector deeply moving.

The ancient Egyptians went into the mourning for the loss of a cat and shaved their eyebrows.  And why shouldn’t the loss of a cat be as poignant and heartfelt as any loss?  Small deaths are the saddest, sad as the death of monkeys.

Someone said that cats are the furthest animal from the human model.  It depends upon what breed of humans you are referring to, and of course what cats.  I find cats uncannily human on occasion.

Another witty and insightful cat book is Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations by comic book writer, Jeffrey Brown, which is a delightfully endearing look at cats and the crazy and cute things that they do.  Misty is representative of all cats in the quirky illustrations and anybody who knows cats can identify with the things Misty does; Misty’s owner is only ever shown in body-parts -legs in bed with Misty at their feet; an arm reached out to pet Misty; arms cradling Misty or lifting her away from trouble- as is a universal cat owner, potentially the reader. Cat Getting Out of a Bag is not a graphic novel as it has no words (excluding the introduction) nor overall story arc but consists of pages of episodic cat-astrophes. I recognise my cat and myself in many of its pages; with the keenest observational skills, Brown has created an engaging book that captures the essence of being a cat.  Misty encapsulates what endears me to my cat -and other felines- and what infuriates me about him but that I love anyway and that which simply makes me laugh and shake my head in disbelief: when he wakes me in the middle of the night meowing; little puddles of cat sick (sorry for too-much-information but there are several panel illustrations depicting it); an insistence on lying on uncomfortable and/or impractical objects; a fascination with -well, more a complete disregard for my anxiety- walking across my macbook lid when closed or keyboard when open; being ridiculously untidy with both food bowls and litter tray; an uncanny sense for when I am upset and require him to soothe me; his distress at the bathroom door being closed when I’m otherwise occupied; when he sizes up a jump, gains a sense of balance, and misses it anyway …

This celebratory book about cats has also been reviewed by Simon of Stuck in a Book and is a book that non cat lovers need not read but should keep in mind for the cat lovers in their lives.

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A book blog written by a reader who enjoys The Beatles and who is not wholly averse to hardbacks.

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