As a reminder, I am reviewing one book each day until Christmas, in no particular order.
Each choice is special in its own way. All would make great gifts for your cat addicted book lovers. Or your book addicted cat lovers.
Why cat books? Several reasons, really. I adore cats. Cats appear in most of my fiction. And I enjoy promoting cat books for the holidays, because I frequently give or get them as gifts myself. And finally, so many people have a cat, that cat themed gifts are an industry. You can’t go wrong.
Today I am reviewing “Cats on Catnip,” by Andrew Martilla.
Andrew Martilla is the professional photographer behind Hannah Shaw, “The Kitten Lady.” She has her own books that I will talk about on a different day. But first we’ll take a look at Andrew’s book. (Note, Andrew has other books as well, but that’s for another time. It will keep me in blog posts.)
“Cats on Catnip” is a true photography book with no stories accompanying the photos. These are not famous cats (for the most part). Someone who gets this book or receives it as a gift is a a hard core cat lover. Someone who likes pictures of cats because they are cats and enjoys the idea of an entire book of photos of cats on catnip.
That’s the essence, but it’s perfect. The photos are crisp and clear, which is saying a lot given the playful, frenzied reactions the cats have to the mountains of catnip that Martilla uses to entice them into silly behavior in front of his camera lens.
Ginger tabby Benben has a perplexed reaction. Shrampton, also a ginger tabby with a round face wears an offended expression, brows drawn down and lips drawn up into a pure grimace. In the final photo, he sits like a human on his rear with legs and tail sticking forward at the camera. Harry, a long-haired ginger tabby just looks thoughtful as he meditates on his pile of catnip. Static, another ginger tabby stretches out on his back with a paw extended over his head, zoned out.
Lest you think this book is all ginger tabbies, I can assure you you’ll see tuxedo cats, brown tabbies, black cats, Persians, and Sphynx cats as well. The book even features Oskar the Blind Cat and The Klaus, of “The Mission to Cataria” fame from Day 5.
Three month old Minerva is likely having her first exposure to catnip that has an effect. Martilla’s introduction tells us that kittens don’t react until the age of 4-6 months typically. Her wide-eyed state with tongue in a perfect blep shows she’s succumbed. Gnocci is a gray and white tuxedo, and at two months, she has her tongue extended as far as it will go to taste the catnip.
I highly recommend this book for the cat lovers on your gift list. I found it relaxing and delightful to page through this well made book and see each cat’s personality come out with the addition of mind altering and dignity erasing substances. Martilla reminds us that catnip is benign, and that we shouldn’t be stingy with it for our own cats. Point taken. I think I’ll go get some catnip. And a camera. After all, I have a ginger tabby.
