| Title | : | Under the Paw: Confessions of a Cat Man |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1847371418 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781847371416 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2008 |
Under the Paw: Confessions of a Cat Man Reviews
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You think you're cat mad?
Read this book,then volunteer in our cat shelter 😄 -
Join Tom Cox and his partner Dee as they navigate first the hyperative and overdemanding roads of London, followed by numerous moves to different areas of Norfolk where they believe they have found their dream home - oh, and there are numerous cats to be entertained, saved, fed, cleaned and loved along the way. My favourite is always going to be 'The Bear' who looks constantly bemused and melancholic due to his shocking start at life (abandoned on the motorway in a plastic bag, had his ear torn, had a hole ripped in his throat and lost countless patches of his fur as well as suffering from rather bad asthma). He is the cat who would kick off the popular meme 'why my cat is sad' and there is no other cat that you can match in intellect or superhuman mystique. He's very hard to work out, sometimes playing the part of an adorable and loveable rogue that allows you to tickle his tummy, and the other times he fixes you with his unblinking gimlet eye and judges you for everything you may or may not have done. Tom has a lovely way of writing, and it's clear he adores not just his own cats, but any cats he happens to see outside his house. He is indeed a 'cat man.'
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I tried. I really did. I wanted to love it because it was supposed to be all about cats and living first hand with their quirkiness and I love cats and have lived with their quirkiness for half of my life. Unfortunately, I found the book somewhat boring and a little forced. I'm about 70% of the way through but I can't bring myself to finish it. Bought it on a whim when I was browsing through Amazon, but it's really one to get from the library if you want to check it out. Not that I recommend it.
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Friends who know my fondness for the tales of Dewey the library cat and Christian the lion will not be at all surprised to learn that I loved Tom Cox' "Under The Paw."
Cox, a former music critic, writes a moving and entertaining story about the various cats who have entered his life. He is an unrepentant feline lover, and is unafraid to tell potentially embarrassing tales on himself in this memoir.
Among my favorite parts of the book are the various definitions for cat behavior, and the hilarious instructions for the catsitter.
Not to be missed by animal lovers. -
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I am sure the author did love his six cats and I enjoyed reading about them, my own indoor only attitude contradicts the author's free roaming cat approach. I was upset by the injuries and ailments the cats incurred due to this free roaming lifestyle.
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I'm sorry, much as a) I am a cat man to ( long story, but when I moved to France, I went to get a maximum of 2 cats from a French farmer and came back wit 4 and was known in my village as the mad Englishman with 4 cats ) and b) I did laugh out loud on a few occasions whilst reading the book, I'm only giving it 4 (3.5 really) stars. I just got lost from about half way to 3/4 of the way through. Yes of course I finished it, and laughed aloud at least once more, but I was aware I'd drifted off for 40 or 50 pages, and so it's only 4 stars.
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Tom Cox is a self-confessed "mad cat man", and this book is a memoir of (secondarily) his life and (primarily) the cats in it.
He skips fairly briefly over his childhood, and childhood cat. He skims likewise over the couple of years he spent being a rock journalist in London, years apparently most notable for freaking his friends out by making up to every cat he encountered on the street. He then meets a nice young lady who shares his feline fixation, and they settle down in the bulk of the book to keep cats, and move house rather frequently.
Mr. Cox is not as funny a writer as Doreen Tovey (but then, nobody is), but he's a massive improvement on the author of the mawkish book about the library cat. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud funny bits and a pleasing lack of sentimentality. Really, I think the only thing the book is missing is decent pictures of the cats. -
This book was what I thought
Talk to the Tail: Adventures in Cat Ownership and Beyond would be: all-cat, an intro to the author's cats and life, all that jazz. Yes, it was fully my fault that I didn't look up which one came first (I hadn't realized they were sort of a "series"), and that I didn't stop reading Talk to the Tail when I did find out. That fact didn't play any role in my rating.
The rating is the same as Talk to the Tail, because, while Under the Paw was the all-cat memoir I was looking for, Talk to the Tail was a lot funnier, and both books don't have much re-readability merit (which is very important for me; a high rating means a book I want to revisit multiple times). They were fun while they lasted but I don't think I'll be revisiting them anytime soon. -
Tom Cox really knows cats and this charming memoir gave me a great deal of pleasure. I could recognise many of my own feline tribe. Even though I now only have three there was a time when my late husband and I had nine cars so could well appreciate the joys and challenges of having a houseful of feline companions.
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Under the Paw: Confessions of a Cat Manby Tom Cox is part memoir and part Ode to a Cat. A biography of sorts told through the author's history of befriending moggies, we get to know Tom as he introduces us to the felines in his life. The Audiobook version that I listened to was provided by the RNIB and is narrated by Mark Meadows, who also gives voice to another cat-themed book by Tom Cox;
The Good, the Bad, and the Furry, which is available on Audible.
As Tom's feline timeline progresses, he supplies vivid descriptions of each of his cats' characters, the way one might reminisce about a dearly-departed relative. (Though hopefully nobody reading this shipped their incontinent grandmother off to The Farm at the End of the Universe upon the arrival of their first child.) This familial fondness will come as no surprise to anyone who has found themselves owned by a cat or two in their lifetime, but we seldom get to hear about anyone else's in such detail.
Whether discussing a childhood pet or the shared-ownership of a then-girlfriend's cat, each animal has as much personality as any of history's most eulogised characters, and it does not seem at all strange that there is almost more in these books about the cats themselves than there is about their impact upon the lives of the humans they adopt. Tom Cox anthropomorphises his cats to such an extent that, when I had to stop the book halfway-through and couldn't return to it until 24hrs later, it took me several minutes to remember that Rory - the angry, white-van-man character who seemed ready to Hulk-out at any moment - was actually Tom's builder and not one of the cats.
Mark Meadows narrates the book superbly. I was initially a little disappointed to see that Tom did not narrate this one himself, given
how much I enjoyed his reading of
21st Century Yokel, but that passed swiftly once I realised that it was Meadows instead. His soothing, friendly voice helps make this audiobook equally amusing, comforting, and charming in turn, and he does just as well reading this book as he did with
The Humans by Matt Haig, which I also loved.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to be befriended by a cat, and anyone who enjoys Cox's other musings. Whilst the landscape does not feature to quite the same extent in this book as his more recent offerings, and I didn't have to keep adjusting the volume to accommodate his father's shouting, it does have the same sincerity and appreciation for the natural world and all the marvellous creatures in it. By the end, I felt like I knew Tom far better, and it was nice to reflect upon the animals which have shared - and helped to shape - my own life, too.
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This was disappointing. I absolutely love cats, they take up the majority of my time on the internet and my own fur child is snoozing beside me as I type. With that in mind, I should have been the perfect audience for this book but it felt like it was trying way too hard. The writing felt choppy and loose. I lost interest very quickly and found myself skim reading large parts. I couldn't muster up any enthusiasm at all.
So from me and Sybil (aforementioned fur child) it's a firm no. -
A fun, well written book about Tom and the way cats have shaped his life. I love the funny, upbeat tone to most of the stories. The imagery in the writing is incredibly good, and I laughed a lot. Most cat owners will relate, especially to the dictionary parts about cat terms. I can say with all honesty that most of my kitchen is covered in 'gribbly bits', mainly from Whiskas meat varieties (no poultry, for some reason Ivan throws up all poultry based wet foods).
I like the 'My Cat is Sad' posts on Facebook a lot, but this has been on my too read shelf even longer. Glad to finally have a copy, and I'll have to hunt down the rest of his books after Christmas. Until then, I am banned from buying books in case someone buys me the same book for Christmas.
If you enjoy cat tales, and just love cats in general, then this is the book for you. I know a lot of animal lovers won't pick up a book where an animal dies, and yes, one cat passes away during the course of the book, so there's your warning. I still think it's a five star book, and I enjoyed it very much! -
Loved this book - a lack of over-sentimentality that seems to plague some memoirs about cats, and so many funny and heartbreaking moments too. I recommend it, especially if you're a cat lover and have cats of your own.
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And I thought I was cat-mad!
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Just not my kettle of fish - just couldn't get on with his style and gave up after about p.45.
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Easy reading and if you like cats it is interesting . The author knows cats very well indeed.
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Rambling and awful. I love animal books with interesting stories, this was boring and waffly
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A funny and affectionate look at a few of the cats that have entered Cox's life.
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Having owned four cats (three still currently with us) how can I not be tempted to pick up a book by a sell confessed cat lover. There was a lot to like about this book, he doesn't try to imply that his cats are special (as I've read in other books) they are just ordinary cats with different personalities, and I loved his descriptions of all of them. He reminded me of mu hubby at times, all bravado and denial in front of friends but a big softy with the cats when at home. He talked a lot about taking pictures of his various cats and yet the book was missing them, I would have loved to put a face to the descriptions.
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While I did enjoy the cat anecdotes, the writer seemed to think he was the only cat interested person on the planet and yet seemed insecure enough in this identity to constantly feel the need to bring up all the"crazy" things he didn't do (such as refer to himself as his cats' dad - oh noo!!!)
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Cox has always loved cats and was lucky enough to find a wife who was the same. In this book he recounts their life together with their felines. It's full of humour and very identifiable for those who share their homes with tiny furry overlords.
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Lively, engaging, well written...
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Well, 3 and 1/2 stars. I enjoyed The Good, The Bad, and the Furry better, and having read that first, I think it spoiled this book a bit. But it is quite funny and touching.
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I really wanted to like this book, especially as I found Tom Cox very funny on Twitter as @mysadcat. Sadly, despite the promises on the cover that I’d laugh and cry, I barely even smiled. I’m still confused as to what the point of the book even is? Is it an autobiography with some feline anecdotes thrown in, or is it meant to be about the cats?
I’ve got the next two to read and I’m really hoping they’re much better. -
Review Taken From
The Pewter Wolf
On the surface, Tom Cox looks like a normal guy. Expect for one thing. He's a cat person. In a big way. So when he meets his soon-to-be wife, he gives up his life as a journalist for NME, moves to Norfolk and, within a matter of years, finds himself owning several cats. Well, at one point, seven. Including The Bear, a cat that is "painfully sensitive" but could very easily be an evil genius...
If you know me, I am a bit of a cat person myself so seeing this, it was a no brainer that I was going to read it. A no-brainer. And I thought I was going to enjoy it SO MUCH! I mean, what's not to love about cats?
However (yes, there's a however), for a short book (it's around 250-odd pages), it felt like a drag to read. Sometimes, I whizzed through it but, most times, it DRAGGED! Maybe it's because I have owned cats in the past so when Tom chatted about something, I would have gone "Oh, my old cat use to do that".
I think my problem with this is that I expected it to be much funnier than it was. I had a high expectations.
But I did like it. But I don't think I will rush quickly to read the next read. -
This is the first book Tom Cox wrote about his cats and it introduces The Bear, a cat I'm completely in love with. I didn't realise what a rough beginning he had, but his eyes truly say it all. If you love cats, this book is very entertaining. He clearly adores his cats and their everyday doings are described in a highly amusing manner. However I also love the frustrations he describes, which only a cat owner can relate to. You love your cats to pieces, but they are also equally annoying at times. I love when he mentions the other names his cats have been called over the years (I do this too) and the way he talks to them (same again). You also don't really realise just how much time you spend each day cleaning up after them, thinking about them, feeding them, talking to them, scolding them, chasing them around the house, talking about them, photographing them, playing with them, worrying about them, adapting your home and life to them and generally just loving them. This book made me realise that while I love all animals and always previously preferred dogs, I have become a proud cat person over the years. My two cats can be frustrating at times, sure, but they are also the best anti-depressants and my life would be emptier without them.
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You don't have to love cats to read this but it helps, also if you've ever been owned by a cat or cats then a lot of the situations in this book will be very familiar to you. By turns funny, sad, a little bit bonkers, but always entertaining, this is the first in a series of books about Tom and his cats and proves that there is such a thing as the "crazy cat man". Numerous cats appear in the book each with their own unique personalities all of which are brilliantly described by Tom who even goes so far as to give some of them their own theme tune. For me though one cat stood out from the rest, The Bear, he had a hard start in life and seems to have been plotting his revenge ever since. His painfully sensitive disposition, mournful expression and slightly moth eaten appearance will tug at your heart strings even while you are laughing at the sometimes evil deeds he gets up to. I'll leave you to discover the other cats in the book for yourself and I guarantee by the time you've finished reading it you'll be itching to start the next installment.
