Features over 50 species from around the world, displaying their sheer variety, beauty and playfulness.
Gorgeous felines are brought to life with an innovative paper design, allowing you to press each illustration out of the page, transforming your book into a work of art.
Beautiful photography is accompanied by a lyrical and expertly written text by cat expert Jennifer Pulling, describing the key characteristics and quirks of these much-loved pets.
From the chatty Siamese to the gentle giant Maine Coon, the lovable Korat to the weird and wonderful Lykoi-werewolf cat: every breed in this book has something special to offer.
EXCERPT: moggy
Weight: Variable
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Colours: Many colours
According to RSCPA statistics, there is a cat population of eight million in the UK, and many of them are moggies. These non-pedigree cats come in just about every shape, colour and size. “Moggy” is old British slang originating from “Maggie”, once used to describe a dishevelled, old woman.
They can be long or short haired, tabby, ginger, white or midnight black, like my much-loved moggy. They may have blue, yellow, gold green or even odd eyes of different colours.
Sharing your home with a moggy can be serendipitous, as they haven’t the personality traits of specific breeds – some moggies are friendly, others shy; there are those that are quiet, others chatty. Give one of these felines a home and you’ll find it has several advantages over the purebred. If we stopped selectively breeding cats they would revert back to their wild, robust type. Thus, without human interference, nature selects the strongest genes so that a moggy is likely to be healthier, smarter: a low-maintenance, loving companion.
While every cat is beautiful in our hearts, some moggies may have purebred genes from their ancestors and can be stunning. Sugar and Spice, a three-year-old tortoiseshell won the class for household pets at the Supreme Cat Show in 2011. “She’s a lovely cat with a superb, natural temperament,” said her owner. “She even licked the judges.”
Nevertheless, there are far too many moggies living it cat shelters and their luck in finding a new home often depends on their colour. New research shows ginger moggies are cat owners’ favourites, because they are perceived as friendly and loveable. In contrast, white cats are seen as aloof and distant, tabby cats as intolerant, and as for “unlucky” black cats… well, mine has proved superstition untrue!