Today I am reviewing “The Silent Miaow,” by Paul Gallico.
Today is the final day of my twenty-four best cat books for the holidays. I said earlier that I was reviewing in no particular order, but I did save this one for last for a couple of reasons. This is really old, and from the Amazon description it might take several weeks to arrive if you order a new copy, although used copies are also available. Also, I save this one for last because it has sentimental value for me. My mom, who passed away earlier this year, got me this book when I was a kid. It was my first cat book, and I have been collecting ever since.
As noted, this book is old. It was originally published in 1964. I received it from my mom in 1975. I have the hardback from the 16th printing.
“The Silent Miaow” is a charming book – the subtitle is “a manual for kittens, strays, and homeless cats.” The blurb on my copy says that the author “found” the manuscript and “translated it from Feline.” It was “originally written” by a cat who is describing for other cats how to find a family and learn to control them.
The editor’s foreward starts the fun, giving the story of how the manuscript appeared in a curious code and our translator had to crack the code – fortunately having experience with this in the war. He then proceeded to try and find the author – clearly a cat, though the results for which exact cat were inconclusive.
The author cat gives kittens advice in the original take-over. Crying piteously and looking miserable – the six week old kitten can easily gain entry into the home of a soft-hearted human. Lying on the human’s lap with feet in the air will have them “absolutely besotted.”
From there, our feline advisor tells kittens how to deal with property rights issues. The bed is theirs for the taking if they want it. The chair too. The best advice on that if people are sitting in the chair of choice is to pass gas and the human will most likely depart. Then the chair is for the taking.
Tidbits at the table are also a subject of discussion. This is where the silent miaow comes in, if gentle shoves don’t work to get the human to drop tasty treats. The silent miaow corresponds to human expressions of “love, despair, anguish, or entreaty,” and it is used to break down resistance to get almost anything, but especially food.
The book has chapters on the vet, Christmas, traveling, doors, attitudes, and other cat important topics. It is charming, and the premise is completely adorable. At 159 pages, it is substantial. There are lots of photos of the cat illustrating all the aspects of the “manual.”
The photos are in black and white given the age of the book. The text is also quite dated and you can tell it was written in 1964 based on the discussion of human social dynamics. That said, it is still a sweet book and I definitely recommend it if you can get hold of a copy. Die hard cat lovers will enjoy the cat point of view.
