The Lion in the Living Room

The Lion in the Living Room by Abigail Tucker

On Sale October 18, 2016 from Simon & Schuster
Rating: ★★★★

Don't be fooled. Your precious Fuzzykins is a barely-domesticated hypercarnivore who is probably hypnotizing you with its parasite tainted urine-- when not busy hunting endangered species into extinction.

Hmmm. I might need a bit more convincing.

"Many cat lovers, pondering their blind devotion to a savage little archcarnivore, privately wonder if they might be just a little touched in the head."

Well, as a life-long cat lover, I can honestly say I have never wondered this. But author Abigail Tucker did and set out to discover just why people-- including herself-- are so crazy for cats. What caused her to stay awake at night worrying that someone might kidnap her ginger tomcat Cheetoh and what she might be willing to pay as ransom? Why are we so fascinated with internet cat videos? Why do we desire to surround ourselves with this creature-- both in animal and consumer product form (cat pillows, cat mugs, ect.)?

Why am I about to fill this review with cat gifs?

Tucker's research takes her to places that might unnerve cat enthusiasts. In a sense, cat lovers talking about cats is supposed to be a "safe space." A place where being a cat lady is a badge of honor. A place free from that co-worker who stops by your desk each week to smugly remind you how much she hates cats-- while looking at a picture of your cat. So I think there's an expectation that a book about cats will take a feline friendly tone tell us all the things we want to hear about our fluffy friends. And this expectation only grows stronger as cats have become "cool," and cat people have come out from the shadows.

So, in contrast, this book just seems so negative. According to the wildlife preservationists Tucker interviews, cats are an "ecological axis of evil," who are single-handedly wiping species off the earth. Yet, at the same time they are horrible mousers, and thus don't provide any true benefit to humans like dogs do (I'll remember this next time I see my neighbor dragging his fat pug down the block). Cats spread toxoplasmosis, a parasite that causes birth defects and basically eats your brain. It also might hypnotize you into irrationally liking them. And cause schizophrenia. Cats are tricky devils who figured out what no other species did-- that hitching their wagons to humans would improve their outcome. Which means cats are in our homes and our lives on their terms. They could leave at any time and be just fine without us.

Pretty much all my reading is done with Hot Fudge Sundae, my dim-witted but infinitely snugly tuxedo cat, curled up beside me. And while I was reading this book, I looked down, meeting her deep amber colored eyes and thought: "why are you trying to kill me?"

It's best to take Tucker's writing with a grain of salt. After all, it seems illogical to blame cats for hunting endangered species, when said species became endangered in the first place due to human habitation, deforestation, ect. The claim that the rise of insanity corresponds with keeping cats as pets ignores that the same time period corresponds with emerging concepts about mental illness.

My favorite chapter had to be "Pandora's Litterbox," where I learned that I am "cat-shaming" my feline by not having a cat friendly living room layout. Poor Hot Fudge Sundae! I pretty much died reading about Doug, the cat owner who moved out of his 400 sqf master bedroom and onto the couch so his pet could have "personal space." No worries though-- he's allowed to sleep over in the cat's room a couple nights each week.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but over all I enjoyed it. Because, you know, cats. And with that, I'd like to close out with my favorite cat gif. Because that's what the internet is for.

Note: OMG, how cute is that first gif? That little scottish fold kitten is like "nom nom tail" and then "heyyyyyy, why no more tail?" I just can't. I'm about to explode from cuteness.