{"product_id":"cat-9798765114629","title":"Cat","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRebecca van Laer and her partner purchase a home and move in with their senior cats, Toby and Gus. Their loved ones see this as a step toward an inevitable future-first comes the house, then a dog, then a child. But what if they are just \u003ci\u003ecat people\u003c\/i\u003e? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMoving between memoir, philosophy, and pop culture, \u003ci\u003eCat \u003c\/i\u003eis a playful and tender meditation on cats and their people. Van Laer considers cats' role in her personal narrative, where they are mascots of laziness and lawlessness, and in cultural narratives, where they appear as feminine, anarchic, and maladapted, especially in comparison to dogs. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the stereotype of the 'crazy cat lady' to the joy of cat memes to the grief of pet loss, van Laer demonstrates that the cat-person relationship is free of the discipline and dependence required by parenting (and dog-parenting), creating a less hierarchical intimacy that offers a different model for love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Academic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/02\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798765114629\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 6.50h x 4.75w x 1.00d","brand":"Rebecca Van Laer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51474281365685,"sku":"9798765114629","price":12.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_a6ccf501-9984-4d20-93c5-1f8ca741ea3c.jpg?v=1754405553","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/cat-9798765114629","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}