Caroline Paul (1) (1963–)

Note to self: do not read books about cats during your lunch hour at work, or you may get teary-eyed at a non-optimal time. That said, I loved this. The illustrations are so lovely, and the story is told with a surprisingly deft and light-hearted hand for something that is really quite dark at times. This is, after all, not just about a cat that leaves and then comes back. It's about love and loss and the inevitable ways things change over time. It's ultimately hopeful and warm and charming show more and I wanted to read it again as soon as I put it down. I also wanted to hug my cat. Many times. All the way through. show less

Lost Cat is a funny and heartwarming tale of the extent to which people will go where their pets are concerned. After author Caroline Paul is injured in a plane crash, she is depressed and on pain killers. She feels that things couldn't get worse until her shy and easily frightened cat, Tibby, goes missing. She is devastated but five weeks later, he saunters home none the worse for wear - if anything, he seems healthier than when he left. At first, Caroline is thrilled to have him back but show more then some other emotion sets in - jealousy maybe, a touch of bitterness. After all, she has loved and taken care of Tibby since he was a kitten - how could he abandon her like that? Worse, he now won't eat at home and heads off daily for parts unknown without so much as a wink or a wag of a tail to her. She conjures up all kinds of explanations for this new cavalier attitude he has developed - he went walkabout, he went on an important and secret expedition to Antarctica, he's a pirate.

With the help of her partner, Wendy McNaughton who also illustrated the book, Paul tries to discover where Tibby goes when he leaves each day. They attach GPS and a cat cam to his collar; they contact a pet psychic and a pet detective (yes, they do exist outside of Jim Carrey movies); and they tack leaflets to every tree and post. Nothing works until McNaughton convinces Paul that perhaps actually getting out and talking to their neighbours might be the best solution. At first Paul resists, after all, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of the people living in this quiet upscale neighbourhood in San Fransisco. Finally, though, in desperation she agrees and soon she learns, like Tibby did before her, that there's a great big wonderful world to discover if she is willing to take that first cautious step outside her door.

Thanks to Paul's great self-deprecating sense of humour and McNaughton's wonderfully silly illustrations, Lost cat makes for a fun and funny read. Pet lovers everywhere will recognize themselves in some of the insanity and cat-haters will enjoy seeing their own 'crazy kitty lady' aunt so well and lovingly depicted in Paul. show less

It always seems slightly condescending to call a book "charming," but this one really was. I was looking for an undemanding, shortish bedtime read over the weekend and this off the bookshelf pretty much at random as I drifted by—I gave it to Jeff a couple of years ago, but had never read it myself. The book, by Caroline Paul, tells of her mission to discover where her beloved cat Tibby disappeared to for five weeks—and then came home well-fed, smug and sleek, with newfound kitty show more confidence. It’s illustrated by Paul’s partner, Wendy Macnaughton, who’s a favorite artist of mine—she did a wonderful graphic essay on the San Francisco Public Library—and the book is, yes, utterly charming, not to mention full of cat surveillance tips. show less

I really enjoyed this quick-read of a book. I loved the self-deprecating humor. The focus of the story is narrow: cat lost, cat returned, obsession to find out where cat had been. Frantic owner and aloof and indifferent cat makes for a fun read.