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.

Funny and informative! I definitely got caught laughing out loud in public with this one!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Medieval Cats is a charming look at paintings of cats in medieval manuscripts. When you think of the fact that monks were often copying manuscripts alone, with perhaps a cat for company, it’s no wonder that these little beasties find their way into nooks and crannies throughout. They are cats being cats - mousing, prowling, and of course licking their privates (I laughed out loud at a painting of Jesus, obviously appearing to his disciples after rising from the dead, and in the corner is a cat - leg in the air, bright red tongue licking and giving that “what are you looking at?” Stare that we all have seen).

Since it is clear that medieval illuminists did not take their task fully seriously, neither does the author. The plates are accompanied by witty captions and fun cat facts to know and tell. This book would make a wonderful coffee table book - beautiful pictures, yes, but also something for people to laugh about and have fun with. I loved it!

Many thanks to Ten Rivers Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Utterly delightful. Includes some narrative about cats in the medieval world, but is mostly images of the many cats of medieval manuscripts, often with captions or image descriptions that had me laughing out loud.

What a cute book! I think this would be a great thing to have around the house, the pictures are so silly!

This is a fun book with lots of illustrations of cats from medieval manuscripts, with quotes, some facts and myths. It’s an enjoyable light read that made me smile (so many cats licking themselves!)

Weird cat pictures, illuminated manuscripts, and Shakespeare -- an unexpected and fun combination. There were a lot of interesting facts and quotes as I learned about the history of cats in different civilizations, and there was a lot of snark, which is appropriate when talking about cats. This would be a great gift for a cat lover.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Fun and well illustrated book about, you guessed it… cats in medieval literature. There are plenty of examples from throughout history and the illuminated manuscripts. The author also uses quotes from famous people and authors with some historical facts. The captions under the examples from the manuscripts got to be a bit much.

Adorable! So many cats. I love the art and all the fun facts. It has so much interesting information I can't wait to figure out how to incorporate this into class.

5 stars

Felids, or cats, are an animal that people tend to love or hate. Regardless, the relationship between humans and cats goes back thousands of years. As such, they are an animal that commonly turn up in portraits and literature, as well as on pottery, and in medieval manuscripts. Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws and Kitties of Yore by Catherine Nappington is a short, yet fun, book that focuses on the depictions of cats in medieval manuscripts. A huge thank you to Ten Speed Press and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.

Medieval manuscripts are beautifully illustrated books, predominantly written on parchment, but in the later medieval period they were written on paper. The production of these manuscripts would have been labour intensive and time consuming. If one stops and takes a moment to look at the images included within manuscripts, it is likely that some interesting images will jump out of the pages.

In Medieval Cats, author Catherine Nappington, has selected a vast array of feline depictions from medieval manuscripts and combined them with a range of cat facts, poetry and literature to create this intriguing book. As someone who loves medieval manuscripts, medieval history, and animals, Medieval Cats was a light and enjoyable read.

Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws and Kitties of Yore is due for publication on the 4th of March 2025.