Bad Cat - Very Bad Book.

Some reviews need to be written - if for no other reason than to warn people when really bad items are out there. Sadly, this is one of those items. Bad Cat: 244 Not-So-Pretty Kitties And Cats Gone Bad by Jim Edgar is a waste of $9.95, and a waste of time if you spend any more than 3 seconds flipping through it.

What Is It, And What Makes It So Bad?

This is truly a pocket sized book. Only 6" tall by 4" wide, exactly 244 pages if you don't count the "about the author" page and the "introduction".

The introduction begins:

It is no secret that Cat owns you, and not the other way around. Why fool yourself with delusions of grandeur? Poor human, it's not your fault. Cat has been this way from the beginning, since the Garden of Eden...

It blathers on about how cats own us, look upon us with disdain, and in fact hate us humans. Then it continues:

I submit for your disapproval 244 cases in point... 244 portraits of felines... See with your own eyes what Cat is really thinking...

So now you know what the next 244 pages are. Each page contains one photograph of a cat. But they're not cute, sweet, beautiful pictures. If they were, I wouldn't mind this book. Instead, each photograph shows a cat in a silly or stupid position. In many cases, the cats are wearing silly outfits, or are placed in weird locations. While some of the photographs appear to be "natural" meaning that the photographer managed to catch the cat while he was doing something that made him look silly, most of the pictures appear to be posed. A few show cats clearly in danger. Now I suppose it's possible that the pictures are "fakes", that no cats were actually truly in harm's way, but it sure doesn't look that way to me.

As if this isn't bad enough, each picture comes with a one-line caption. In most cases, the captions just make things worse. They are there to provide the "humor" to the photograph, but while a few of them cause me to smile and say "oh - that's cute", the majority by far cause me to cringe. The "humor" is trashy, sometimes offensive, and in my opinion, just not funny.


A Few Examples In Case You're Not Yet Convinced

A picture of a cat climbing out of a car. Through a broken windshield, with broken glass all around. Yes, the cat is walking through the broken glass pieces. The caption (expletive removed)... "xxxx - no radio". The "humor" is that you're supposed to think the cat broke into the car, and is disappointed to find out there was no radio to steal.

A picture of a cat sitting on a table saw. Yes, that's right... the cat is sitting right next to the circular saw blade. The caption... "Come over here... I want to show you something really cool". I presume the "humor" is the cat luring someone into danger. I don't find this funny in the least, nor would I let my cat anywhere near a saw blade.

A lot of the pictures show cats looking "freaky" for whatever reason. Either they're sopping wet, or the pictures caught them with their tongues hanging out, or they're posed in ways to make them look like they've passed out. The captions revolve around drugs or alcohol... "And they said smoking crack was bad for me", "Okay, who made the hash brownies?", "How was I supposed to know what's in a Long Island iced tea?", and "I think the 'shrooms are kicking in" are a few examples.

I'll spare you the details, but there's plenty of "potty humor". With pictures and captions revolving around the use (or not) of litter boxes.

I don't mean to imply that all the pictures are offensive... a few of them are cute, showing cats in their natural positions, doing what cats do, with cute captions added. For instance, a picture of cat lying right on top of a wrapped Christmas present, with the caption "There's no card... how do you know it's for you?". As the owner of a cat that likes to be right smack in the middle of any project I'm working on - whether it's lying on the newspaper I'm trying to read, or lying on the keyboard as I attempt to type, or lying right on top of the present I'm in the middle of wrapping, I can appreciate this cute picture and caption. Sadly, the cute ones are the minority in this book.

Final Thoughts

Bear in mind, that I'm a cat owner. I love cats, and very much enjoy looking at pictures of them. Give me a calendar showing adorable kitties and I'll be happy. But these pictures just don't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. They make me feel embarrassed for having this book in my house. It's not something I proudly display on my coffee table. I don't even leave it in the bathroom for quick flip-throughs. In fact, I forgot I owned it until I came across it tucked way in the back of the bookcase. I really must get rid of it, but it's not something I can in good faith give away. To anyone. Not even to the most ardent cat lover. How did I come to own this book? Trust me, I didn't buy it. Especially at the outrageous $9.95 cover price! It was given to me by a friend, at a time when I was feeling quite down. She thought it would cheer me up. The gesture was lovely, but it didn't work. It's just not a "feel good" book.

Avoid this one.