A fascinating exploration of the incredible and improbable history of our relationship with cats from fearsome foe to purring pet, written by leading anthropologist, Jerry Moore.
Feared, revered, respected, and beloved, cats have left an indelible paw print on the histories and civilizations of humankind. Over the last two million years, cats and people have interacted in diverse and unexpected ways, but the predecessors of today’s furry friends were predators, not pets.
Leading anthropologist Jerry Moore charts the cat’s path from deadly enemy to improbable roommate, making use of the latest archaeological evidence to produce an original and revealing narrative. Starting with the terrifying prehistorical scimitar-tooth cat of the Pliocene age and the lion drawings of the Paleolithic Chauvet caverns, Moore journeys through our complicated history with these charismatic creatures. He travels along the Nile and across the Mediterranean, sailing on to South America, exploring pet cemeteries, cat mummies, and exquisite statuary across continents and centuries.
Illustrated throughout with photographs, artifacts, and artworks, this book surveys our relationships with cats from the Paleolithic period to the present day, unlocking the mysteries of these remarkable creatures. While cats are now beloved members of families around the world, our attempts to bring cats in from the cold have not always had happy endings, as Moore explores through such famous feline fanciers as Joe Exotic, Siegfried Fischbacher, and Roy Horn. From incredible archaeological finds to cave paintings, and from classical statues to contemporary social media, Cat Tales surveys ancient and modern interactions between humans and cats, wild and domestic, to ask a simple question: who domesticated who?
76 illustrations, 73 in color
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Cat Tales is an eloquent, yet learned, technically accurate excursion into the feline world that is destined to become a classic. I look at my cats with different eyes after reading Jerry’s entertaining excursion into cattery.” ― Brian Fagan, distinguished emeritus professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of “The Intimate Bond: How Animals Shaped Human History”
“Cats, large or small, wild or domesticated, have played multiple roles in human history as: fearsome deities, emissaries between worlds, protectors against vermin, and beloved companions. Moore’s eminently readable book explores the wonderful world of felines, tracing their relationship with humans worldwide, from when we were their prey to the present.” ―
Salima Ikram, distinguished university professor of Egyptology, The American University in Cairo
“An exhaustive account of the entwined evolution of felines and humans… This will enlighten cat lovers.” ―
Publishers Weekly
“Teeming with interesting, well-sourced knowledge that never feels trite or, ahem, fluffy… It’s also a lot of fun…
Cat Tales is a smart primer that’s full of interesting stories and facts that will appeal to cat lovers as well as fans of cultural history.” ― BookPage
“Filled with images dating back millennia, illustrating cat adoration, fear, and domestic compatibility.” ―
KCRW Design and Architecture
From the Back Cover
For as long as cats have coexisted with humans, they have been feared, revered, and respected. They appear as dynamic hunters in Paleolithic carvings and cave paintings; were venerated as gods in ancient Egypt; and still have the power to fascinate and frighten us, as the popularity of Joe Exotic, the self- styled Tiger King, shows. How did we go from hunting, and being hunted by, cats to keeping them as pets in our homes?
In this wide-ranging and captivating history, archaeologist Jerry Moore charts their journey from the African plains of the Pleistocene through the first human settlements in the Near East and on to ships setting sail for the Americas. What emerges is a complex picture of mutual domestication: cats chose to live with us as much as we chose to live with them, and as our growing cities bring the world’s wild cats into closer contact with humans, we must learn new ways to live together.
About the Author
Jerry D. Moore is an archaeologist, writer, editor, and professor emeritus of anthropology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. His books include The Prehistory of Home (winner of the Society for American Archaeology Popular Book Award) among many others. He has also written for Archaeology Magazine, and he was the editor of Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology. Moore lives in Long Beach, California, where he provides food service to two cats.
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