For Wise Cats
There are many enjoyable and enlightening books about adventurous and near saintly cats, who find their way home over hundreds of miles, who help their owners with tasks, who foretell events, who come to the aid of sick people — all inspiring tales. But here is a book for the furry felines in your life themselves.
Cat Massage by Nicola Routledge outlines how to cater to your creature through massage. Cats are sensual by nature so I have no doubt they will respond well to being worshiped this way. As with us, massage can release tension and ease muscles besides being pleasurable. It can also be an opportune bonding moment with your critter.
Cat Yoga by Rick Tillotson is mostly great photos. (That's “Warrior Pose“ on the cover at left.) Cats are natural yoga practitioners. Yoga taps into the physical and mental acuity we are meant to possess and harness and cats know and do this instinctively. Many times I've observed felines in what look like yoga poses. My cat, Cassandra, regularly stretches out in what looks like “Down Dog” pose.
Besides good content, the graphics in these books are beautiful and funny. As mentioned in a recent entry, great design makes you want to hang out with a book and delivers its message that much more powerfully. Form (outward appearance or graphics) should always follow function (content, subject and needs), in my opinion (see another recent entry). But when the two are intertwined inseparably, that's a truly great relationship that creates products with long and happy lives.