Something About Cats

"Something About Cats" is a non-fiction essay by H. P. Lovecraft, defending his ailurophilia (love of cats) as part of an ongoing debate about the virtues of cats versus the virtues of dogs. It was written on November 23, 1926 and published under the title "Cats and Dogs" in the Summer 1937 issue of the magazine Leaves.
According to August Derleth's introduction to the 1949 Arkham House collection Something About Cats and Other Pieces, the titular essay "grew out of a discussion at a meeting of the Kalem Klub and was carried into a Blue Pencil gathering".
==Contents==
In this essay, Lovecraft explains that, although he doesn't dislike dogs, he favours cats for their self-sufficiency, aesthetic appeal, and "silent mystery", among other qualities. He accuses dog-lovers of judging the intellectual merits of a pet "by its degree of conformity to their own wishes", an attitude that Lovecraft perceives as absurd and self-centered. Conversely, it should be noted that Lovecraft exhibits his own bigoted elitism by likening the traits of cats that he admires to the aristocracy, at one point summarising his thesis with the classist statement: "The dog is a peasant and the cat is a gentleman".
Category:H. P. Lovecraft works
Category:Non-Fiction Works