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Cat

Object Lessons

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Cat

By: Rebecca van Laer
Narrated by: Skipper Mari
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Bloomsbury presents Cat by Rebecca van Laer read by Skipper Mari

Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Rebecca van Laer and her partner purchase a home and move in with their senior cats, Toby and Gus. Their loved ones see this as a step toward an inevitable future—first comes the house, then a dog, then a child. But what if they are just cat people?

Moving between memoir, philosophy, and pop culture, Cat is a playful and tender meditation on cats and their people. Van Laer considers cats’ role in her personal narrative, where they are mascots of laziness and lawlessness, and in cultural narratives, where they appear as feminine, anarchic, and maladapted, especially in comparison to dogs.

From the stereotype of the ‘crazy cat lady’ to the joy of cat memes to the grief of pet loss, van Laer demonstrates that the cat-person relationship is free of the discipline and dependence required by parenting (and dog-parenting), creating a less hierarchical intimacy that offers a different model for love.©2025 Rebecca van Laer (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Aesthetics Cats Literary History & Criticism Pets & Animal Care Philosophy
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Critic reviews

Cat is a poignant and playful meditation on cats ... What sets Cat apart is its delightful blend of memoir, philosophy, pop culture, and even fiction, with charming made-up feline histories. Few cat books are as artful, honest, and intimate as this one. Anyone who has experienced the cat-human bond will find something to love in this literary gem.
A little book chock-full of all things feline.
For anyone who's ever watched a cat nap in sunlight and felt something stir—a reading experience both gentle and sharp.
Cat is a quick but deeply satisfying read. It’s not just charming, or informative, or funny, or well-researched — it’s also beautifully written, with lines and paragraphs that sing with their own music.
Van Laer’s keen eye captures the ineffable charm of our feline friends and investigates humankind’s relationship to cats with great insight and tenderness. A stirring and deeply profound look at what it means to love and lose, and a must-read for cat people and the cat-curious alike.
Rebecca van Laer’s feline marvel is at once cozy and mind-expanding. If you’ve never felt a connection with cats before, you will after reading this brilliant book.
In tender, incisive prose, van Laer examines the ways that she has negotiated her relationship to herself, the world around her, and the ever-mysterious wildness she invites in, revealing the deep and abiding love that is the foundation of what it takes to be in true communion with other life. Let Cat curl up and rest in your heart."
Rebecca van Laer's Cat is encyclopedia entry and memoir in one, dabbling in the general history and domestication of cats, and the specific history of her cats and the lives they have lived ... Van Laer's stance is always personal, an act of curiosity driven by her deep love for her pets. When tragedy strikes, she shares the raw edges of her sadness and anxiety with a vulnerability any animal lover will appreciate.
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