Cat Tales: Feline Philosophy Library

These books share a common refusal: they won't reduce cats to memes. Norton, Cleo, and Dewey are full characters — stubborn, particular, emotionally attuned in ways that demand respect. The humans writing about them understand that a cat's presence is a philosophical statement about solitude, attention, and the limits of control.

A Cat Called Norton — Peter Gethers

A Scottish Fold who accidentally taught a cynic how to surrender. Peter Gethers didn't want a cat. Norton arrived anyway — a kitten Gethers's girlfriend foisted on him in 1982 — and promptly rewired his life. What makes this 1990 memoir singular is Gethers's willingness to admit how thoroughly Norton outmanoeuvred him: the cat flew first class, stayed in five-star hotels, and showed up to business meetings without apology. Gethers writes with the exasperated affection of someone who's lost an argument he didn't know he was having. Norton's the kind of cat who knows the difference between a Marriott and a Four Seasons, and Gethers had the decency to document it. Explore our current copy of A Cat Called Norton. Browse more Philosophy books at Patina.

Cleo: How a Small Black Cat Helped Heal a Family — Helen Brown

A grief memoir that refuses to sentimentalise the kitten at its centre. Helen Brown's 2009 account of adopting Cleo — a scrappy black kitten — two weeks after her nine-year-old son's death is devastating precisely because it doesn't over-explain the cat's role. Cleo didn't "fix" the Brown family; she gave them a creature to feed, a body that demanded routine when routine felt impossible. Brown writes about the kitten's chaos — shredded curtains, 3am howling — with the clarity of someone who understands that healing isn't tidy. This is a book about what it means to keep living when you don't want to, and how a small, loud animal can anchor you to the present tense. Explore our current copy of Cleo. Browse more Philosophy books at Patina.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World — Vicki Myron

The ginger tabby who turned a Midwestern library into a pilgrimage site. Dewey Readmore Books was found in the Spencer Public Library's book drop in January 1988 — a frostbitten kitten who became the library's most famous resident. Vicki Myron's 2008 memoir documents Dewey's 19-year tenure with the clear-eyed affection of a librarian who watched a cat transform her town's sense of itself. Dewey sat on patrons' laps during story time, greeted visitors at the door, and appeared in newspapers from Tokyo to London. Myron writes about small-town Iowa with the same attention she gives Dewey: both deserve more than the clichés assigned to them. This is a book about what happens when a public space decides to prioritise warmth over policy. Explore our current copy of Dewey. Browse more Philosophy books at Patina.

Cat Tales: The Meaning of Cats in Women's Lives — Jan Fook

An anthology that treats the human-cat bond as a legitimate subject for feminist inquiry. Jan Fook's 2014 collection gathers essays from women across Australia and New Zealand exploring what cats offer that other relationships don't: autonomy, non-judgment, companionship without coercion. Published by Spinifex Press, a Melbourne feminist publisher, Cat Tales refuses to pathologise women who live with cats or treat feline companionship as a consolation prize. These essays are clear-eyed about power dynamics, emotional labour, and the relief of loving a creature who won't punish you for setting boundaries. Fook has assembled a book that understands cats as collaborators in building liveable lives, not substitutes for "real" connection. Explore our current copy of Cat Tales. Browse more Philosophy books at Patina.

Great Cat Tales — Lesley O'Mara (Editor)

A short-story collection that captures the full range of feline inscrutability. Lesley O'Mara's anthology pulls from centuries of cat-focused fiction — Saki, P.G. Wodehouse, Doris Lessing — to assemble a portrait of cats as they actually are: aloof, particular, occasionally maddening. These aren't cute cat stories; they're character studies of animals who operate on their own logic and refuse to apologise for it. O'Mara's curation leans toward the British tradition of treating cats as equals rather than pets, which means the humans in these stories are frequently outmanoeuvred. If you've ever watched a cat decide your lap is acceptable and felt vaguely honoured, this collection will make sense. Explore our current copy of Great Cat Tales. Browse more Philosophy books at Patina.

Cats [DVD] — Andrew Lloyd Webber

The 1998 filmed production of the musical that ran for 18 years on Broadway. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, adapted from T.S. Eliot's 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, is less a narrative than a two-hour meditation on feline behaviour set to synth-heavy orchestration. The 1998 direct-to-video production starring Elaine Paige captures the original London staging — all leg warmers, whiskers, and "Memory," the breakout ballad that turned Grizabella into a cultural shorthand for aging and exclusion. This is not a film about cats; it's a film about what happens when you ask dancers to embody feline aloofness while wearing unitards. Collectors of theatrical curios and T.S. Eliot completists will want this. Explore our current copy of Cats [DVD]. Browse more Philosophy books at Patina. As of August 2026, Patina's philosophy collection includes these titles alongside broader inquiries into solitude, companionship, and the ethics of care — subjects cats have been forcing humans to reckon with for millennia. These books understand that living with a cat is a crash course in negotiating autonomy, attention, and the limits of control. They're philosophy disguised as memoir, which is the only kind worth keeping.

Where can I buy vintage cat memoirs like A Cat Called Norton in Sydney?

Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved copies of 1980s–2000s cat memoirs, including Peter Gethers's A Cat Called Norton and Vicki Myron's Dewey. We're a Sydney-based online secondhand bookshop with 13,000+ titles and ship Australia-wide. Browse our current philosophy collection for cat-themed books that treat felines as more than Instagram content.

What's the difference between vintage cat books and modern cat content?

Vintage cat books — memoirs from the 1980s through early 2000s — treated cats as philosophical subjects worthy of sustained inquiry. Authors like Helen Brown (Cleo, 2009) and Jan Fook (Cat Tales, 2014) explored grief, companionship, and autonomy through the lens of feline relationships. Modern cat content tends toward memes and engagement metrics rather than the slower, more attentive observation these earlier books demanded.

Are cat memoirs actually philosophy books?

Honestly, yes. Books like A Cat Called Norton and Dewey ask foundational questions about control, attention, solitude, and what it means to share space with a creature who operates on entirely different logic. They're philosophy disguised as memoir — which is why Patina shelves them in our philosophy collection rather than pets or humour.

Why does Patina stock the Cats musical DVD in a philosophy collection?

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, adapted from T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939), is a two-hour meditation on feline behaviour, aging, and exclusion set to synth-heavy orchestration. The 1998 filmed production captures the original London staging in all its unitard-and-whiskers glory. It's theatrical philosophy — or at least theatrical inquiry into what happens when you ask dancers to embody inscrutability. Either way, it belongs here.

Does Patina ship cat books Australia-wide?

We do. Patina ships all our preloved titles across Australia, with free shipping on orders over $29. We're based in Sydney, but our 13,000+ secondhand books — including cat memoirs, philosophy, and the occasional musical theatre DVD — travel wherever you are.

These books treat cats as collaborators in building liveable lives, not substitutes for connection. They're the antidote to algorithm-optimised content, and they belong on shelves that smell like old paper rather than servers that smell like nothing. Shop all Philosophy books at Patina Paperbacks →