Another Cat at the Door
Thank goodness the title of this entry is just a book review, and not something which has actually happened to us (at least, not recently). Author C. W. Gusewelle is familiar with the phenomenon of people who seem to attract stray and needy cats to their household, having married a woman and raised daughters who are like cat magnets. His collection of short, anecdotal stories, Another Cat at the Door, relates tales of many of the cats he’s shared his life with, some for many years, and others just for a short period of time. At first the rhythm of the book felt uncomfortable to me, as it had been so long since I’d read anything like a “short story”, or in this case, what I assume is a collection of newspaper columns. Once I adjusted to the fact that each tale was only two or three pages long, I began to really enjoy hearing about all of Gusewelle’s cat encounters, and his observations about cat behaviour. He does an excellent job of describing how cats work out social orders, even when the adjustments take years (it gives me hope that one day Frank and Jackson will tolerate each other). He also hits the nail on the head many times when he relates how each cat has a particular place in his heart, despite all their varying personalities. There are births, deaths, and illness of course, just as in life, but but every ending is a precursor to a new beginning. In short, a perfect book for the person who opens their home and heart and life’s little feline strays, like us. Who knew we’d end up like this?


















