I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano

Published by Chronicle Books
Distributed by Raincoast Books

Cats live by their own set of rules and just when you think you may have slightly grasped what makes your kitty tick, everything will change. That ought to be one of the universal laws. Anyone who has shared a home with a feline for even the briefest of times will agree. 

We share our home with multiple cats and I never tire of witnessing their little personality quirks.  Here are a couple of examples from our own household:

Sugar is a 3 year old kitty who is challenged somewhat. She is deaf and always has been. She also has a very aloof personality and will rarely allow herself to be petted. That changes once we leave the house.  She instantly dashes to the window and parades up and down the window sill inside. She brushes herself against the glass and even stands on two legs, stretching against the window, teasing and begging to be petted. 

Sabrina is a 5 year old kitty who does a great impression of the dog from 'Spanglish' (Check it out - Great movie!) Sabrina started to bring us one of her favourite toys and I'm not quite sure what inspired us to throw it, but we did, only to watch as she brought it back for us to do that again, and again, and again…..

In I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats we are treated to a number of cute, sometimes funny, almost always entertaining little poems. Each of these poems give us a glimpse into the mind of a cat and what they are really thinking when they bring you dead mice, curl up on the clean and folded laundry, or even reach up and pat you in the face repeatedly. More than a few of these poems resonated with me and I often found myself giggling maniacally but still found it difficult to raise it any higher than a 3/5 star rating (meaning I like it).

One of my favourites is:  

The World Outside My House 

In the world outside my house
The mice jump in your mouth
And birds serve themselves in butter
Rather than fly south 

In the world outside my house
The sun is a laser light
Each cloud a snuggly blanket
And the doors are not shut tight 

In the world outside my house
All the trees they dangle string
The flowers brush from head to tail
And the neutered cat is king 

In the world outside my house
I can never go
But as an indoor cat I know these things
Because the dog does tell me so.

It’s a cute book and I’d recommend it as a gift for any cat-lover.

Author's website: http://mediumlarge.wordpress.com/