Review Detail

Cats Are Great BUT (It's Great to Have a Pet, 2)

Kids Indie 222

Complete overview of upsides and downsides of cat ownership

January 05, 2024 (Updated: January 05, 2024)

Overall rating

3.8

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

3.0

A little girl is trying to convince her parents to let her have a cat. She decides that caring for a plant successfully would help to convince them that this is a good idea. When this is successful, she learns a lot about how cats act, and addresses different types of behaviors that she sees. Her cat meows a lot, and wakes up at night, and the book explains that these are common behaviors that can be managed by knowing why they occur and how they can be addressed. The sharp claws on furniture can be avoided by giving the cat a scratching post and clipping its nails, and brushing helps somewhat with cat hair. Litter boxes are unavoidable and hard to make pleasant! There 's a very nice two page spread about the foods that cats can and can't eat which should be made into a poster. In the end, the girl thinks about adding more cats to her home!

Good Points

This is a bit longer than a regular picture book, and is packed with information. Each section starts with "It's great to have a cat, but..." and a question. There's a brief explanation of why this question is important, and then discussions of different aspects of it. There are occasional informational blocks in yellow that highlight important concepts.

The art is in a very different style than I have seen, with the characters' eyes all black with white dots. I desperately wanted to tuck the girl's hair behind her ears, but the cats are all very cute.

My gold standard for cat care guides is Ellen Miles' 2013 Guide to Kittens. This isn't as complete, given the format, but is an excellent overview for young readers contemplating getting a cat. There is a companion volume, Dogs Are Great... But that I would like to read, since I am much more of a dog person than a cat person.