This is a silly book with an excellent collection of art, so it seems quite giftable and like an easy grab at the bookstore. I didn't love the funny captions provided for the images (an old-school newspaper comic caption style, which seems to date the audience as much older or much younger.) I personally wanted more in terms of history and context about the original books, but it's fine if the visuals are the star here. I'll admit I was a bit surprised that there were proportionately so many dark and disturbing details about abusing cats, since there was so little text. It's hard to imagine that being successful for such a coffee-table style of book. But the collection of weird medieval cat illustrations is enough to appeal to plenty of people.

Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws and Kitties of Yore by Catherine Nappington is a beautifully designed, fascinating book that provides plenty of information about our favourite pets.
While the word 'hilarious' never once occurred to me as I read this book, I did find it amusing in parts, and informative throughout. The illustrations and quotations are both educational and entertaining, making for a book that every cat lover should have on their bookshelf.
I appreciate the opportunity to read an ARC of #MedievalCats, courtesy of #NetGalley.

*Medieval Cats* is a hilarious and quirky journey through the Middle Ages, showcasing cats in all their mischievous glory! From bum-licking to mouse-chasing, these cats were as playful and unpredictable back then as they are today. This fun compendium brings medieval artwork to life with humorous insights into how cats were viewed throughout history. Packed with cat facts, poems, and even medieval proverbs, it’s a must-read for anyone who loves (or just tolerates) cats, and a perfect mix of humor and history!

Both the concept and execution are fine.
The information and the images from the manuscripts were great.
The humour was hit-and-miss for me at times, but the quality of the other aspects made up for it.

If you’ve ever wondered what cats were up to in the Middle Ages, the answer is apparently everything—and none of it good. Medieval Cats is exactly the hilarious, weird little gem you’d expect from a book that highlights kitties as they lick their butts, glare at mice, and generally embody the same chaotic energy they do today. Spoiler alert: Cats have been ridiculous since forever.

This book was a delightful palate cleanser. The art itself is a masterpiece of “What were they thinking?” From strangely anthropomorphic cats that look like they’ve seen too much to illustrations of feline shenanigans that prove medieval artists either really loved or really hated their subject matter. Either way, we’re the winners.

Not only do you get the joy of seeing these cats in all their awkward, devious glory, but the book also sprinkles in some fascinating tidbits about cat proverbs, medieval literature, and random historical facts. Did I retain most of it? Not really. But it definitely made me laugh, and I feel 10% smarter about feline history now.

Ultimately, Medieval Cats is the perfect book for anyone who needs a break from heavy reads or just wants to cackle at the fact that humans have been roasting cats with bad art and weird poetry for over a thousand years. A must-read for cat lovers and an even better one for cat haters who need validation that these animals are, indeed, up to no good.

Final thoughts: I loved this book. Cats are eternal chaos, and now I can confidently say that’s always been true. Would medieval artists approve of this review? Probably not. Would the cats? Definitely.

Fun and cute adult comic about cats in the medieval times. I'm not an expert on these historical times but even I found a few factual errors. But it's about cats and it's very fun to read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore by Professor Catherine Nappington

This is a cute adult picture book that showcases images of cats from medieval and later manuscripts. It’s organized into 10 chapters plus an introduction. There are a lot of great colour images of rather bizarre looking cats and mice (medieval artists weren’t always skilled at depicting their subject matter). Between pictures there are humorous modern comments on the photos, quotes from various ages (mostly medieval), and cat facts.

Some of the comments use terms that are out of style in medieval circles, like ‘dark ages’ or are inaccurate, like calling the middle ages ‘prudish’ (fabliaux anyone?).

I learned some new things and discovered some sources and manuscripts I’d like to learn more about.

If you know a cat lover, it’s an entertaining book and fairly quick to flip through.

For years now, obscure images of cats, particularly from the Medieval period have found their way Into assorted social media feeds. This book cleverly takes these images, fact based in history and humorous reactions (almost as if the wittiest comments on social media for each image were found and added to each image). There is not a large amount of text throughout the book, with the focus being, the cats (which is exactly how they would want it)

This book is an engaging, giggle-out-loud volume perfect for fans of history, cat enthusiasts (or cat parents) and anyone who wants to have a genuine laugh.

This is a happy, easy and amusing read. The pictures of the cats throughout are absolutely hilarious and the captions are absolutely spot on!

There are fantastic nuggets of information scattered throughout, which I will definitely be using randomly in my day to day goings on!

If you’re after a fun palette cleanser read and a cat lover, then definitely pick this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

What beauty! And very funny! I really liked this book, full of beautiful illuminations and humor. A very nice way to understand the place of cats in a time in history where we think they were hunted. Ultimately, we know very little about the Middle Ages ^^'

This is a fine book collecting many illustrations of cats...or what appear to be cats. There are descriptions and within that are the dates connected with the images from pre-500 to 700 A.D.
There are also notes of the very well known cat phrases and the medieval origins.
There are other neat details.
This would make a fine coffee table book.

There is a drawback. The images have a lot of inappropriate captions. Many inferring drunken or drugged felines. I suppose, in today's day and age, this is accepted. Otherwise, the captions are corny and unfunny. Also many include phrasing often heard in this time period. What this really does is date the book. Ten and on years from now the book will be looked at and there will be the mumbling, "Ahhhh. This is from the early-20s." An editor shoulda canned the labels.

Still a good book. Just don't read too closely.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 5 out of ten points.
This book was made available for review by NetGalley, which I always recommend here and beyond.

This short nonfiction book is such a fun read for anyone fond of cats. It's full of delightful and at times perplexing artwork and facts. It's well-organized so it feels really scholarly, but it's absolutely silly. Lots of historical context for common phrases like "cat's got your tongue" and "let the cat out of the bag." Would be a great addition to any cat lover's collection.

What a fun read! The title is exactly what you get, a 200 page something book about cats in the medieval times with just enough bite sized information to help you win at cat trivia with friends. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. I certainly did enjoy myself.

Medieval Cats is such an exemple of a book. Loved every single second of this book. So so good. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.

I’m so sorry but who doesn’t like medieval cats? Or cats in general? This book gave me exactly what I expected and more. The humor is unbeatable, the derpy illustrations just so unique and while not anatomically accurate somehow still very good representations of cats (well mine at least). On top of that the book also taught me interesting facts, anecdotes and historical developments that I didn’t know I wanted to know until I read Nappington’s book. All in all just a very successful and entertaining collection of cats and their stories.

I was expecting this book to just contain funny medieval pictures of cats which give the impression that the artist had never seen a cat before. It also has quotes from medieval literature, fun facts and medieval riddles. It was a fairly quick but enjoyable read. It would make a great present for cat lovers and fans of medieval art.

We've all seen the hilarious medieval depictions of animals — the ones that make you ask, "Did this person ever actually see a cat in real life?" I assumed this book would just be a somewhat funny collection of them.

Instead, this was one of the more entertaining 'coffee table' type books I've read! Witty, hilarious, and way more informative than I expected, Nappington does an amazing job of compiling medieval art and text to present an engaging look at the lives of cats in the middle ages, from the good to the bad and downright ugly.

(As another reviewer noted, there is some discussion of animal death so read with care if you're a fellow cat lover!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absolute delight! Thank you so much to Ten Speed Press for this because this was hilarious, but also very informative. I didn't go into this book planning on learning anything new, just to laugh at the fact that medieval artists couldn't draw cats. I did do that with wonderful foots notes from the author as another bonus. I also learned a lot as well about cats during the Medieval ages. This will be added to my physical TBR because I do want to see some of the pages in real-time, and I will be talking about this one more as the release date gets closer. This was just so much fun!

This is such a fun textbook! I adore art so I knew I had to pick this up, especially the more human parts, like being terrible at painting cats!

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws and Kitties of Yore by Catherine Nappington from Ten Speed Press via NetGalley. This book will be published around March 4, 2025.

Attention Cat Fans! Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws and Kitties of Yore by Catherine Nappington is a delightful (and disturbing) collection of art, quotes, and history of cats in the Middle Ages. It is the kind of book you can pick up and flip through or read through when you just want a little distraction or need some cat time. The caption for the art are quite funny. Some of it is difficult to read because not everyone has loved cats throughout history. Some cultures revered them. Some cultures feared them. If you don't want to read the sad facts, you can just skip them. It also makes me wonder why so many people thought cats could cure blindness. I guess because of their reputedly good night vision? This would make a nice coffee table book or gift for the cat lover.