I am enjoying a marvelous little book:

    Of Cats and Men by Sam Kalda.

Kalda is both the author and illustrator
    (he is an illustrator by trade).
In the book, he highlights 30 male historical figures
    who were inspired, companioned,
taught and/or owned by cats,
    and offers one-page bios for each man,
along with loads of wonderful images.

I have drawn quotes from the book,
    all from the profiled men,
and offer them below.

Those of us who have been inspired,
    companioned, taught and/or owned by cats
will immediately relate.

Those of us who haven't…
    well, that's just sad.

Here we go:

When a man loves cats,
    I am his friend and comrade,
without further introduction.

                                    – Mark Twain, writer, humorist

In ancient times
    cats were worshipped as gods;
they have not forgotten this.

                                    — Terry Pratchett, writer

When I am playing with my cat,
    how do I know
she is not playing with me?

                                    — Michel de Montaigne, philosopher, essayist

I have my favorite cat,
    who is also my paperweight,
on my desk while I am writing.

                                    — Ray Bradbury, writer

What greater gift
    than the love of a cat?

                                    — Charles Dickens, writer

I said something that made you to think
    I hated cats.
But, gad, sir,
    I am one of the most fanatical cat lovers
in the business.
    If you hate them,
I may learn to hate you.
    If your allergies hate them,
I will tolerate the situation
    to the best of my ability.

                                    — Raymond Chandler, writer

I love cats because I enjoy my home;
    and little by little they become its visible soul.

                                    — Jean Cocteau, artist, writer, film-maker

A cat has absolute emotional honesty:
    human beings,
for one reason or another,
    may hide their feelings,
but a cat does not.

                                    — Ernest Hemmingway, writer

My relationship with cats
    has saved me from a deadly, pervasive ignorance.

                                    — William S. Burroughs, writer

In my next life I want to be a cat.
    To sleep twenty hours a day and wait to be fed.
To sit around licking my ass.

                                    — Charles Bukowski, poet

I never thought I would fall in love like this
    with a cat.

                                    — Karl Lagerfeld, designer

Meow!

Text and image © 2020 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
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