Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Fur Person


In one of my previous book posts, I mentioned a book that deserved its own post. The book? The Fur Person by May Sarton. My plan was to share a few passages with you, so I reread the book, looking for the quotes I wanted to use. It didn't take me long to realize I was marking almost every page. Oops. I decided to share a passage from the end of the book. Isabella agreed to do a little interpretation of her own.
It is all in the name "Fur Person," he decided then--not really a name at all, but a way of describing the relationship between a Gentle Cat and his true friends among the human people. For a Fur Person, he saw in his state of extreme concentration, is not just an ordinary cat. He is a cat who is also a person.

For a Fur Person is a cat whom human beings love in the right way, allowing him to keep his dignity, his reserve, and his freedom.
And a Fur Person is a cat who has come to love one or, in very exceptional cases, two human beings, and who has decided to stay with them as long as he lives.
This can only happen if the human being has imagined part of himself into a cat . . . just as the cat has imagined part of himself into a human being. It is a mutual exchange.
I love my Fur Person.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

so do I...

gerry...

Amanda Winter said...

I love this... and my fur person.

It must be a cat thing, but my Lucy enjoys the "fluffy belly" lounging like your Isabella.

I may have to read this book...

Anonymous said...

Thank you! I love my fur person too.

KID, MD said...

So sweet! I love my Fur Person, too. We call that lying belly up Godiva's penguin pose. How funny that so many of our kitties do it!

meredithp said...

Belly up! A sign of a truly happy feline. I love my fur people, and Isabella too. I think we read that book in the 60s (yes, I was a child), but I remember Mom discussing it. Another wonderful book from that period is The Silent Miaow "translated" by Paul Galico. I got several copies on Alibris a while back. A true feline classic. I give it to new cat parents.

KLS said...

I love that post!
Isabella's interpretation is SO moving!
I love her and my three Fur Persons.

Anonymous said...

I love my fur person, Rusty, too.

Bridget said...

This is a great post!

We have three fur persons in our house, and I can't imagine it any other way.

Becca said...

I have that book! I think it might even be the same edition. And that is totally a pose Toaster would do.

Elizabeth said...

Your fur person is really sweet.