Such a fun, informative book! Definitely learned so many new things about cats! I really liked how even if this was a nonfiction book, there weren't any sections that slogged through or bored me. The way it was written was very entertaining and didn't read as clinical or cold as some nonfiction tend to be. I very much enjoyed learning a lot more new things about cats.

Really gives an insight into Cats, and the part they play in our lives. Definitely a must for all cat lovers.

The Age of Cats is an absolutely fascinating book. As someone who has always been a bit of a cat lady, this book was right up my alley.

Each chapter of this book discusses a different aspect of how cats came to be as they are today. One of my favourite sections was the chapter about where cats disappear to when they leave our homes.

I will say that this book is quite dense. It’s not long, but it’s a lot more information heavy than most of the other books I read are. Regardless, it’s still highly enjoyable and engaging. It just took me some time to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Collins for a digital copy of this book.

The Age of Cats is a delightful non-fiction novel that every cat lover should have, giving us an informative read but with so much care and compassion that clearly shines through in the way the author talks about our furry family members.

It explores the history of cats, how they’ve evolved from wild predators to the many types of cat we know today with plenty of research and sources, how cats were domesticated (kinda), and the similarities our household pets have with their cousins like lions and servals.

Overall it’s very easily laid out, sectioned into relevant topics that make it easy to pick up where you left off or read them at random if you fancy it — there’s a few parts that were a little drawn out and for me needed something to break up the string of narration but generally it was an engaging read.

On top of the interesting knowledge, there’s also a lot of fun in this book too — the authors own experiences living with multiple cats as well as brilliant experiments and research that let us see what a house cats life is really like. I loved the discussions into cats in modern culture as well as looking at the historical and scientific aspects too.

This was absolutely delightful, now I’m off to hug my cat.

I have been reading this book for some time, as it is information-rich. I think most cat lovers would find the book fascinating. There is so much about our domestic companions that is shrouded in mystery. In my Kindle edition, I highlighted various points that interested me. The five varieties of wild cats are the domestic cat’s ancestors. Tracking cats how it began and how successful it is. Not entirely! Genetics, what breeders are doing, and if they should mess with a cat’s DNA to the point that we have Persian cats who can hardly breathe. The decision is whether to keep a cat as an indoor cat only. Statistics show that indoor cats live longer, but some cats are demanding to be let out and because we love them sometimes we do let them out. Feline instinct is a powerful thing. Any cat lover is sure to find something of interest in this book. i received a digital copy through Net Galley.

I've got three cats and learnead a lot about them reading this book. Well researched, informative, and easy to read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Anything about Cats and am there….this was really fun interesting read that made me question my own little cats behaviours and quirks I always say he is a wee snow leopard at heart and this book proves it. Can tell the author is very a cat person in his writing. Think this would make a great stocking filler gift at Christmas. Sorry for the rushed the review but I hear the meowing from downstairs telling me to get my nose off a book and feed the boss….
It’s a paws up read here

The author of this book is a lizard expert who happens to love and live with cats. He got interested in cat behavior, evolution, domestication, genetics, interactions with humans (from both sides), and roaming patterns (including cultural differences in whether or not domestic cats should be allowed to roam). He has also been involved in cats shows as a participant and a judge. Since he studies these things with regard to lizards, he decided to use his scientific background to look into the research on cats.

The book is fascinating as the reader learns about wild cats, various cat species, what is known about cats from the archaeological record, and how various wild cats behave. Losos does what the subtitle says--takes us from the Savannah to the sofa--as he describes the ways in which cats might have become domesticated and how domestic counts differ biologically and behaviorally from wild cats.

There are a few chapters around the middle of the book that are about cat breeders and the traits that become popular and that breeders try to select for. I must confess that I was getting annoyed when reading these. One breeder, who is also an artist, gushed about how breeding cats for certain traits is using genetics to create art. In my opinion, it's nothing of the sort--these cats are living, sentient beings not pieces of clay to sculpt at will. There will be many cats born as people like this try to get cats that look a particular way because they think it would be 'cool.' Near the end of this section of the book, the author acknowledges the arguments on both sides. He mentions that his sister is someone who only adopts rescue cats and black ones at that, because they're hard to place. As someone who is not a fan of breeding, I was pleased to see him acknowledge the issues. It was clear that he is on the side of the 'breeding is cool' side of the equation, but he fairly represented both sides, so I thought that was fair enough.

Another such situation arose in the chapters on research into outdoor cat behaviour. As I was reading, it seemed to me that some of the methods would cause great stress to the cats. Again, Losos is aware of this, discusses it, and gives his own opinion while fairly illustrating the arguments of those who disagree.

All in all, this is a well-written, thorough, and enjoyable book. One does not have to be a scientist to understand what he is writing about. My one quibble was the footnotes. I do not like them. They interrupt the flow for me. Again, he is aware of this and says early on that no one has to read the footnotes to understand the book, but there is some cool stuff in them.

If you're a cat person, I can certainly recommend this book. I learned a lot from reading it.