The Silent Miaow: A Manual for Kittens, Strays, and Homeless Cats by Paul Gallico, Suzanne Szasz

In the spirit of revisiting golden oldies, I tracked down a copy of The Silent Miaow by Paul Gallico and Suzanne Szasz from a library, and oh, what a treat it was. I appreciated the book a lot more now as an adult than when I was a kid, and I think this book says more about us humans than it does about the cats. 

First published in 1964, The Silent Miaow features a whole bunch of photographic studies of one cat, in particular, and her shenanigans with her humans. It's told in a 'mockumentary' style, as the subtitle suggests: A Manual for Kittens, Strays, and Homeless Cats, and it details all the ways a cat can wriggle her way into humans' homes and hearts, and how careful management of their, ahem, human resources, can lead to a long, fulfilling life.

A Silent Miaow is most certainly a book for ailurophiles, and if you don't read it with a knowing smile tugging at the corners of your lips, then you're not the kind of person I'm going to allow to step inside my house ;-)

A word on the author: Paul Gallico is also known for such classics as Thomasina, Jennie, and The Snow Goose, and his writing often features heroic animals. His books numbered among the first I read when I was little, and my mum encouraged me to get into literature. It's with equal parts nostalgia and love that I look back on his writing, and I'm hoping to revisit my old favourites.