Book Review: My Life in a Cat House: True Tales of Love, Laughter, and Living with Five Felines by Gwen Cooper

Celebrate the human-feline bond with all its joys, mysteries, and life-changing moments.

Gwen Cooper—author of the blockbuster bestseller Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life With a Blind Wonder Cat—returns with the ongoing adventures of her much-beloved, world-famous fur family. Ideal for new readers and longtime fans alike, this memoir told in eight purr-fect cat stories is filled with all the humor and heart Gwen’s devoted readership has come to know and love.

Raised in a dog-loving family, Gwen never pictured herself as a “cat person.” But from the very first feline she adopted—an adorable five-week-old rescue kitten, slow to learn how to trust after life on the streets—Gwen was smitten. Eventually one rescue kitten became five, and all the ups and downs of a life with cats are lovingly depicted here: From the obsessive cat who teaches himself to play fetch and demands it morning, noon, and night from his hapless human mom; to the crafty white beauty who raises outside-the-litter-box thinking to the level of an art form; to the routine vet trip that turns into a hijinks-filled misadventure on the streets of Manhattan with three (VERY cranky!) felines in tow. And Homer, the Blind Wonder Cat himself, returns triumphant in new tales of life and love after worldwide fame.

Sure to be treasured by cat lovers everywhere, My Life in a Cat House will leave you laughing out loud, shedding an occasional tear, and hugging your own cat a little bit closer. Read and rejoice!

There's something about Gwen Cooper's cat books that touch my heart like few others, and My Life in a Cat House is no exception. I savored this compilation of her Curl Up with a Cat Tale essays, reading one per night. Each night while reading I would think to myself, "this one is my favorite"...until the next night when *that* story became my favorite. Each one is just that special, and with each story I felt Gwen's love for her cats, and cats in general, bursting off the page. 

There were moments that left me in hysterics, such as the conversation between Gwen and her husband where they debate who is going to clean up the cat vomit in the kitchen. (Hubby figures she should do since she's so much better at it - well, practice makes purrfect - and what if someone is sick? Well, short of calling in a CSI team, how is she supposed to know who the culprit was if no one saw it happen?) Other moments left me in awe, like when one of her cats who loved playing with crumpled up paper would start bringing her whole sheets of paper to crumple up and toss! Balls of paper are one of Mudpie's favorite toys too, and while I think I have the most brilliant cat in the world, even she hasn't figured out that paper balls start out as flat sheets!

Of course being as emotional as I am about cats, many moments left me in tears, both happy and sad. One passage rang so true for me, and is such an important reminder for all pet parents, that it needs special mention here. Gwen's cat Clayton loves nothing more than playing fetch with his toys, to the point of obsession. While at first Gwen finds this behavior quite irritating, she has come to the following conclusion:

These days, I'm more apt to appreciate the fleeting nature of a cat's obsessions-of a cat's life. Clayton is still young, but time moves much faster than it used to. Just yesterday, Clayton was a kitten. Today he's five. Tomorrow he'll be a little old man struggling to lug himself around on his three legs. His days of flying up and down the stairs like greased lightning in pursuit of a toy mouse will be a distant, cherished memory. Much sooner than I'm ready for it, I know, a time will come when I'll think, What wouldn't I give to play fetch with Clayton just once more! 

I can't tell you the profound impact that passage had on me as I stopped to think about all the times Mudpie wants to play and I'm too absorbed in what I'm doing to participate or simply stop and watch the joy it brings her. I know all too well that a beloved cat can be gone in the blink of an eye and that every moment we have with these precious little gifts should be cherished. 

Whether you've enjoyed every one of Gwen's cat books or this is your first, snuggle up with a cat or two while you're reading. I guarantee with each turn of the page you'll pull them just a little bit closer as you realize just how empty your life would be without their unconditional love. 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. As members of the Amazon Associates affiliate program, if you click on our links and buy something Mudpie gets a little money for her piggy bank!