Review: Enjoyable Whether You're a "Crazy Cat Lady" or Not
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 1, 2012
I'm not a cat lady, crazy or otherwise, though when I was eight years old I told my mom that if she wasn't going to get me a cat, not to get me anything at all. I preface my review with that to say that while I'm not among the cat owner population, I related to a lot of Anna David's essay "Animal Attraction," which is about cats, but also adulthood and responsibility and what her cats have taught her about herself. She lays out the connection between being a cat lady and sobriety, and humorously details the ways her cats have become such primary players in her life, when she's been single and not. She also teaches us about the pheromone/cat litter connection (who knew?) and reveals cats' place in society over time, as well as the stereotypes, good and bad, about women who love cats. She's not afraid to make fun of herself and the lengths she'll go to entertain and take care of her cats, and by the end one has the sense that her cats are very lucky to have her. This is not an anti-dog manifesto, nor does it only present David's viewpoint. She quotes a male friend who claims, "A woman with no pet at all seems like she has her life together more than a woman with a cat." Whether that's true or not is in the eye of the beholder, but this aspect of the essay--the meaning of the cat/woman connection--is just as fascinating as David's personal story.