Cat Books Worth Getting



Great Books:  Cat Behavior
For detailed information about cat behavior - or to help you solve specific behavior problems you may be having with your cat - I strongly recommend reading any or all of these books - they are all very well written, very informative and interesting.
Excellent Health References
For feline health care, feeding, emergency procedures, etc., these are very good.

Other informative books
Heartwarming Reads:  Books about Cats
I couldn't possibly list all the heartwarming books I've read about cats, but I will add a few below.  These are non-fictional cats.  You can also read lots of short articles in CatStuff's Library about cats who have performed heroic deeds.
Cozy Reads:  Cat Mysteries (Series)
I love mysteries, and I love mysteries with cats in them.  Below I've provided information about several mysteries series that have one or more cats involved in some way.  I've tried, whenever possible, to provide the complete list of books in a series so you can check them off your list. ;-)
  • The Cat Who series - The series is about Jim Qwilleran, a journalist whose career had been derailed by alcoholism and divorce. As a long-time newspaper man, he is mortified when he is given an insignificant column in the features section. He accepts, and in his research he ends up solving a murder. He adopts the victim’s now-homeless cat, Koko, who proves to be the most intelligent and entertaining in literature. Each novel is a vacation for the reader to a quirky, arts-loving, small town “400 miles north of everywhere” where the most important building is the library. Each novel in the series is a who-done-it, with an interesting cast of characters.  There are 30 books in the series, which ended in 2007, a few years before the author died at the age of 97. 
    • The books in order are:  The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, The Cat Who Turned On and Off, The Cat Who Saw Red, The Cat Who Played Brahms, The Cat Who Played Post Office, The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare, The Cat Who Sniffed Glue, The Cat Who Went Underground, The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts, The Cat Who Lived High, The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal, The Cat Who Moved a Mountain, The Cat Who Wasn't There, The Cat Who Went into the Closet, The Cat Who Came to Breakfast, The Cat Who Blew the Whistle, The Cat Who Said Cheese, The Cat Who Tailed a Thief, The Cat Who Sang for the Birds, The Cat Who Saw Stars, The Cat Who Robbed a Bank, The Cat Who Smelled a Rat, The Cat Who Went up the Creek, The Cat Who Brought Down the House, The Cat Who Talked Turkey, The Cat Who Went Bananas, The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell, and The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers.  Note: I don't really recommend the last 2 in the series; the quality had deteriorated badly.)  Also:  Short & Tall Tales: Moose County Legends Collected by James Mackintosh Qwilleran, The Private Life of the Cat Who: Tales of Koko and Yum Yum from the Journals of James MacKintosh Qwilleran
  • Garnet Quinn writes about the adventures of Hawkeye, an outsized Maine Coon cat with extra toes, who found life rather dull and ordinary at the MerryMaines Cattery until he fished a small, uppity and very royal Siamese Korat from a raging Penobscot River in Northern Maine. While her paws may never have touched anything but velvet, Bhu Fan teamed up with Hawkeye to foil a vicious pair of so-called animal brokers, evil men who tried to coerce Beth Merriman into selling them her cattery under threat of arson. And that is just the beginning of the adventures of this unlikely pairing of allies. Kidnapping, more perils, automobile thieves to be thwarted, life is never quite the same at The MerryMaines. 
    • As of 2012, the books in order are: The Merry Maines: A Shaggy Cat Story, The Moosery, The Merry Maines Sing a Song of Sixpence, The Merry Maines Go Country.
  • The Joe Grey Mysteries are a series of novels written by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Joe Grey is a talking cat. You'll also meet Dulcie and Kit. The Joe Grey novels have won seven Muse Medallion awards from the Cat Writers Association, and one has won the new World's Best Cat Litter-ary Award, too.
    • As of 2012, the books in order are: Cat on the Edge, Cat Under Fire, Cat Raise the Dead, Cat in the Dark, Cat to the Dogs, Cat Spitting Mad, Cat on the Money, Cat Laughing Last, Cat Seeing Double, Cat Fear No Evil, Cat Cross Their Graves, Cat Breaking Free, Cat Pay the Devil, Cat Deck the Halls, Cat Playing Cupid, Cat Striking Back, Cat Coming Home, Cat Telling Tales
  • Since 1990, Rita Mae Brown and her real-life cat Sneaky Pie Brown have co-authored a cat mystery series: the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries. The novels feature Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, Mrs. Murphy (a tabby cat), Tucker (a Corgi), and Pewter (a fat gray kitty) [the animals talk]
    • As of 2012, the books in order are:  Wish You Were Here, Rest in Pieces, Murder at Monticello, Pay Dirt, Murder She Meowed, Murder on the Prowl, Cat on the Scent, Sneaky Pie's Cookbook for Mystery Lovers, Pawing through the Past, Claws and Effect, Catch as Cat Can, The Tail of the Tip-Off, Whisker of Evil, Cat's Eyewitness, Sour Puss, Puss 'n Cahoots, Purrfect Murder, Santa Clawed, Cat of the Century, Hiss of Death, The Big Cat Nap: The 20th Anniversary Mrs. Murphy Mystery.
  • The Alice Nestleton Mysteries, by Lydia Adamson.  Alice is a sometimes-employed actress who cat sits for the well-to-do. Every murder she solves has a cat involved.  Lydia Adamson was a pseudonym of Franklin B. King. 
    • The last Nestleton book was published in 1994:  A Cat in the Manger, A Cat of a Different Color, A Cat in the Wings, A Cat in Fine Style, A Cat by Any Other Name, A Cat in a Chorus Line, A Cat in Wolf's Clothing, A Cat in a Glass House, A Cat on a Winning Streak, A Cat on the Cutting Edge
  • Midnight Louie mysteries, by Carole Nelson Douglas.  The novels feature public-relations wiz Temple Barr and her tomcat sleuth Louie [the animals talk].
    • As of 2012, the books in order are:  Catnap, Pussyfoot, Cat on a Blue Monday, Cat in a Crimson Haze, Cat in a Diamond Dazzle, Cat with an Emerald Eye, Cat in a Flamingo Fedora, Cat in a Golden Garland, Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, Cat in an Indigo Mood, Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit, Cat in a Kiwi Con, Cat in a Leopard Spot, Cat in a Midnight Choir, Cat in a Neon Nightmare, Cat in an Orange Twist, Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit, Cat in a Quicksilver Caper, Cat in a Red Hot Rage, Cat in a Sapphire Slipper, Cat in a Topaz Tango, Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme, Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta, Cat in a White Tie and Tails
  • Rebecca M. Hale writes the Cats and Curios mystery series. The series, starring Rebecca's cats Rupert and Isabella, takes place at an antique shop in San Francisco's historic Jackson Square. 
    • As of 2012, the books are:  How to Wash a Cat, Nine Lives Last Forever, How to Moon a Cat, How to Tail a Cat
  • Marion Babson is a pseudonym for author Ruth Stenstreem. Her books revolve around mysterious deaths, though some are more gentle thrillers than actual mysteries. While she reuses certain characters, such as the publicity firm Perkins & Tate and a couple of aging actresses, her books are all stand-alone and can be read in any order. Many of the books, in particular the Perkins & Tate books, involve cats.
  • The Garrison Allen (pseudonym for Gary Amo) mysteries feature Penelope Warren, the owner of Mystery Bookstore in Arizona and Big Mike (aka Mycroft), a huge lima-beans-eating Abyssinian cat. 
    • The books in order (last one published in 1999) are:  Desert Cat, Royal Cat, Stable Cat, Baseball Cat, Movie Cat, Dinosaur Cat.
  • Miranda James has written a "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series.  Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows widowed librarian Charlie Harris-and his huge Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash.
    • As of 2012, the books are, in order:  Murder Past Due, Classified as Murder, File "M" for Murder.
  • In 2007, Gilbert Morris published three books in the Jacque and Cleo, Cat Detectives series.  The books feature Jacques and Cleo and their human, Kate Forrest. 
    • The books in order (last published in 2008) are:  What the Cat Dragged In, The Cat's Pajamas, When the Cat's Away
  • Ali Brandon began the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series in 2011.  As the new owner of Pettistone's Fine Books, Darla Pettistone is determined to prove herself a worthy successor to her late great-aunt Dee.  She inherited Hamlet, the smarter-than-thou cat along with the shop.
    • As of 2012, the books are:  Double Booked for Death and Paws of Death
  • Allison Cesario Paton writes about senior sleuth Mrs. Bundle and her sidekick Cracker, her cat and their adventures in Vermont. 
    • As of 2012, the books in order are: Mrs. Bundle Takes A Hike: The Case Of The Singing Swans, Mrs. Bundle's Dog Days Of Summer: A Case Of Artful Arson, Mrs. Bundle's Maine Vacation: Subterfuge At The Seashore, Mrs. Bundle's Hair-Raising Adventures: Peril On Skitchewaug Mountain And Other Tales Of Mystery, Mrs. Bundle's Midnight Mystery: The Case Of The Springfield Shock Jock.
  • Clea Simon is author of the  about a music writer and her cat Musetta.  Her Dulcie Schwartz series is about a grad student and Mr. Grey, Dulcie's deceased cat who shows up now and again to help. Her Pru Marlow series about an animal behaviorist/animal psychic has a dog but also features a tabby named Wallis.  As of 2012:
    • Theda Krakow Mystery series: Mew is for Murder, Cattery Row, Cries and Whiskers, Probable Claws
    • Dulcie Schwartz series: Shades of Grey, Grey Matters, Grey Zone
    • Pru Marlow series:  Dogs Don't Lie, Cats Can't Shoot
  • Fran Stewart wrote 5 "traditional" mysteries , with plenty of humor, intriguing characters, and always a good puzzle.  They feature Biscuit McKee, a middle-aged librarian, and Marmalade, the orange and white library cat. 
    • The books in order of publication (most recent published in 2008) are:  Orange as Marmalade, Yellow as Legal Pads, Green as a Garden Hose, Blue as Blue Jeans, and Indigo as an Iris
  • Last but not least, Amazon.com has an entire mystery book section of Cat Sleuths
One of the things I've noticed about cat lovers is that they enjoy books by Dean Koontz (why that is, I don't know, since he appears to be more fond of dogs than cats).  If you like his books, you might want to visit the section of my website that is dedicated to Dean Koontz' novels.
Lessons in Stalking Download a FREE copy of Dena Harris' book "Lessons in Stalking."  It's free for CatStuff visitors.  You need to have the free Adobe Reader installed to read this .PDF format book.

Lessons In Stalking homes in on the wildly different responses the author and her long-suffering spouse have to a life shared with cats. In no other cat book will you find such riveting accounts as:

  • The Great Cat Butt Wiping Adventure
  • Jingle Ball Horrors
  • The Creature Under the Fridge
  • Yoga Cat
  • The Big Brown Mouse & Other Toys Our Cat Loathes



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