The Ideal Companion: A Guide to Choosing the Perfect Cat

Remember the two brat cats in Disney's 101 Dalmations: "We are Siamese if you please/we are Siamese if you don't please"? Or how about T.S. Eliot's finicky Rum Tum Tugger (immortalized by Andrew Lloyd Webber in the recently ended long running musical Cats)? As a dog person, I would hardly consider a cat "the ideal companion" (except maybe in the ninth circle of hell), but there are some sadomasochistic souls out there who, obviously mistreated in earlier relationships, desire more of the same. Well, step right up and feast your eyes and ears on the 20 breeds featured in this top-notch production, from the Abyssinian ("if you're into home renovation, it will help you" unless you keep it well occupied) to the Sphynx (an "accident of nature" that looks like an overgrown hairless rat). Of course, the program also features a few of the more traditional breeds, such as the Manx, Persian, Siamese (if you please, or don't) and Somali, but the real focus here is on some of the more exotic specimens (including the Exotic, a shorthair cat that you might think of as a low maintenance Persian). Well spoken North American breeders and owners offer information and advice for each of the breeds regarding history, temperament, care, and longevity, while generous clips show cats in various moods (at play, indifferent, annoyed, indifferent, sleepy, indifferent, and so on). An excellent complementary volume to Videoframe's The Right Companion: A Guide to Choosing the Perfect Dog (VL-5/99), this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)