Scan barcode
A review by genderqueer_hiker
The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World by Abigail Tucker
1.0
Wow, I hated this book so much. The author is a distinctively unpleasant mix of condescending and overconfident, unfounded opinion. I thought it would be a cute, informative read. Instead, it was mostly toxic patriarchal capitalistic bullsh** trying to explain why we might enjoy having a pet that doesn't serve us, framing cats as a societal evil. The author spends more than a chapter on trichomonas, framed as something cats intentionally do to bend us to their will, rather than an opportunistic parasite. She keeps emphasizing that cats don't "serve a purpose" because they don't do things for us like dogs. Clearly, she hasn't seen all of the pet dogs chilling in people's houses, just eating food and begging for cuddles...
In one chapter, we're told that keeping cats indoors prevents trichomonas infection. The next chapter, we're shamed for keeping cats indoors, since they're wild things that should be allowed free reign, all the while making snide sexist comments about how only (silly, overly emotional) women are involved with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
She also gives a ton of space to a few very fringe psychiatrists who believe schizophrenia is caused by cats/trichomonas, using very selective correlations while ignoring those that contradict their beliefs. She falls prey to the classic research blunder of repeatedly mistaking correlation for causation over and over again. Her language around mental health is incredibly ableist and pathologizing, while she is incredibly fatphobic while talking about weight and exercise. She manages to handily avoid mentioning the actual research and evidence about the systemic influences of racism, classism, and sexism on mental health, psychiatry, medical care, body movement, weight, dis/ability, and mortality.
And to top it off, the logic of what was included in the focus of this book reminded me of college freshman composition classes, where it's a stream of consciousness/Google search spiral - the topics are only tangentially about cats but they're not directly related to each other.
In one chapter, we're told that keeping cats indoors prevents trichomonas infection. The next chapter, we're shamed for keeping cats indoors, since they're wild things that should be allowed free reign, all the while making snide sexist comments about how only (silly, overly emotional) women are involved with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
She also gives a ton of space to a few very fringe psychiatrists who believe schizophrenia is caused by cats/trichomonas, using very selective correlations while ignoring those that contradict their beliefs. She falls prey to the classic research blunder of repeatedly mistaking correlation for causation over and over again. Her language around mental health is incredibly ableist and pathologizing, while she is incredibly fatphobic while talking about weight and exercise. She manages to handily avoid mentioning the actual research and evidence about the systemic influences of racism, classism, and sexism on mental health, psychiatry, medical care, body movement, weight, dis/ability, and mortality.
And to top it off, the logic of what was included in the focus of this book reminded me of college freshman composition classes, where it's a stream of consciousness/Google search spiral - the topics are only tangentially about cats but they're not directly related to each other.