Angela Sayer

I love cats. I'm pretty sure I'm a crazy cat lady, so this book is absolutely perfect for me to read! I've had many cats and absolutely love learning more about them (especially since sometimes I wonder if mine are little alien babies hiding in cat bodies).

Things I appreciated:
1. Actual, real pictures of cats. The focus is not on cartoon cats like most cat encyclopedias I remember from my youth.

2. The book is very informative and professional in nature. Evolution, history and breeding are just some of the topics discussed within just the first few pages. There is a LOT of information available at the beginning of the book for everything you'd want to know about the cat as a species.

3. The body types of cats really interested me since the cats I've had all varied in size, so it was cool to see the variations.

Things to be worked on:
1. This is a basic introduction to the breeds. It's not exhaustive nor is it full of all of the information you could want on every breed. If you go in looking for just some fun, useful information, then this is the book for you! There is a lot of initial background information on cats as a whole, but you won't learn every piece of information about every cat breed.

2. "Cats are considered less intelligent than dogs." This is totally not a hit against the book, but who are you talking to? All of the cats I've known (minus one) have been way smarter than all of the dogs I've known. Except when my dog knew how to hunt a mouse but my cats didn't, but that's the exception.

Overall, this book is super informative and very helpful! I think this is a great way to start out learning about cats. I'd highly recommend it!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Chartwell Books for an opportunity to pick up and review this book!… (mehr)

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cats by Angela Rixon is a lovely compilation of cat facts paired with gorgeous pictures. There are sections that look at the history and the biology of cats, followed by the cat breeds divided into short, medium, and long hair, Oriental, and unusual breeds. Each cat breed has basic breed standards, and care considerations. Little boxes provide extra 'at-a-glance' tips and tidbits. Great gift for the cat enthusiast in your life!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.… (mehr)