How cats look at human beings

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33448, 1 February 1974, Page 20

How cats look at human beings

Cat Manners and Mysteries. By Nina Epton. Michael Joseph. 208 pp. •’Cat Manners and Mysteries” is a compendium of information about the way in which cats behave towards other animals and, particularly, human beings. The mass of lore assembled here by Nina Epton has come not only from her own knowledge and experience, but also from a long list of contributors given at the back of the book. The stories make it very clear that cats possess considerable intelligence, strong personalities and (not infrequently) telepathic powers. They also seem, on occasions, to have something approximating to a sense of humour. Not surprisingly, the tales are sometimes related with a strongly anthroprmorphic bias, and while this may put off some cat lovers who pride themselves on loving cats, pure and simple, it is unlikely to deter the

enthusiast, who will, in any case, be delighted to find his prejudices justified. One section that this reviewer would like to see in any subsequent edition of this pleasant little book, however, is one devoted to cat stupidity. Having owned cats which habitually performed as though their brains had been removed, while also owning cats which displaced a high feline I.Q. he feels that more could have been made, entertainingly too, of the wide range of intelligence to be found amongst them. It is good to read about cats that can tell the time, or ring the door bell, but what of those, like one of the reviewer’s, which was often to be seen sitting in the top branches of a tree, trying to swat passing birds? Miss Epton promises a sequel if enough material is received through her publishers. It is to be hoped their mailbags will be filled.