Unpopular opinion: I think over-designed cat books miss the whole point of cats

I was at a friend's house last weekend flipping through some glossy $60 cat coffee table book they bought from a fancy store. Every photo looked like it was staged in a studio with perfect lighting and the cats were all cleaned up and posed like models. It felt fake to me, like looking at a catalog instead of actual cats. I told them I preferred the beat-up copy of 'Cats in Sinks' I found at a thrift store for $3, where half the cats are blurry and there's a coffee ring on page 42. They got a little defensive but I stood my ground. Am I the only one who thinks these expensive books take the messy, real life out of cats?

2 comments

2 Comments

amymiller12d ago

Totally get what you mean. Feels like everything these days has to be polished and aesthetic to be worth anything even when the whole charm is supposed to be the chaos and imperfection lol.

angela19112d ago

Saw an article somewhere that talked about how the whole 'cat as aesthetic' trend started with those fancy Japanese cat cafes and Instagram influencers. Made me think - real cats are kind of the opposite of that. My own cat looks like a total mess half the time, shedding everywhere with food stuck to her chin. That's kinda the point though, isn't it? The messy stuff is where the personality lives.