Miaow!: Cats Really Are Nicer Than People!

Having watched Patrick Moore's "Sky At Night" programme for many years, and having been to a talk he gave at Hertford in the 90s, Sir Patrick always struck me as a very intelligent, though frosty, man, with a dry, wry sense of humour. In this delightful little book, however, he displays something of the depth of his human side by way of the ease with which he describes his friendship with, and love for, the cats he has cared for and shared his life with over the years."Miaow!" is only 62 pages long and can be read easily in an hour, even by a slow reader like myself, but I found it to be a much more valuable read than its modest price and size would imply. It really conveys the magical, spiritual bond that can exist between human and animal.This is a beautiful work, not for the photographic quality of the many pictures, nor for just the fine quality of its production, but for the wealth of optimistic and substantial, heart-felt emotion that Sir Patrick has managed to convey within its pages."Some people may not understand how it is possible to have such a deep love for a little cat, but my love for Jeannie went very deep indeed." (Page 60.) Anyone who has empathy with that statement would undoubtedly enjoy (and benefit from) this book. I therefore recommend it without reservation.

Being a cat lover almost any book on cats will command my attention initially. That Patrick Moore also loved cats cannot be in any doubt, the book is colourful and anecdotal but it lacks any great substance. You can read it through in about twenty minuets unless you have severe reading difficulties and going back to it is unsatisfying. I suppose it's just about worth the money and I do have to say that liking Patrick Moore may make you disposed to enjoy it more enthusiastically, but I lacked this advantage and I felt like the child who wanted a second helping, or to be more exact like the child who felt his first helping was rather small.

I bought this as a birthday present for a friend, but just had to read it (carefully) first. Patrick M has been there all my life, seemingly, and he is an inspirational character, the first person I ever listened to who said you could be an amateur and still be able to contribute to real science. The fact that he loves cats is the icing on the cake. The book has lovely photos and anecdotes, written in his own particularly distinctive 'voice'. Truly - what's not to like?

I bought this book because of my curiosity. What I have known from the past that Sir Patrick Moore was an expert in astronomy. For my impression, he may be a serious person. It is surprised me that he had displayed his sense of humour and his passion and love to his cats over the years in this book. I absolutely agree with him that 'Miaow! Cats really are nicer than people!" I would like to recommend this book to everyone without hesitation.

A really nice, easy, read with a great insight into Patrick as a man and as a cat lover, though I don't necessarily agree with all his observations/conclusions on the cat personality, but then we know they are all different and coming from the perspective of a pedigree cat there is not doubt they are quite different to the average 'moggy'! I do recommend this book to cat lovers everywhere who had an affection for the author and his idiosyncrasies!