A bold, cat-centric exploration from an animal perspective.

For Éric Baratay, there is no such thing as one Eternal ur-Cat, but rather, many cats who have existed throughout history. Based on accounts from the 18th century to our own era, this book – enriched by ethology and human and social sciences – demonstrates, through evocative portraits, how feline behaviors are constructed and transformed, and their fluctuations over time, in adapting to changing environments. Four typographical variations invite readers to shift their perspective, seeing things through the eyes of a cat (Roman font); a human (italics); in a historical context (smaller, right-justified characters) and in scientific ideas (smaller, centered characters).