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Gag gifts for feline freaks: 5 hilarious books for quirky cat lovers

For the cat person who has everything…

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Amazon

Can't go wrong with these funny cat-themed books.

As an Amazon Associate, Upworthy may earn proceeds from items purchased that are linked to this article, at no additional cost to you.

Hey there, fellow cat people and people who know cat people!

If you're here, there's a good chance you know a quirky cat lover or are one yourself, and what a delight. Cats are simply the best creatures, a perfect blend of grace, strength, agility and delightful derpiness. They're beautiful, soft little weirdos, affectionate when they want to be, aloof when they don't and notoriously independent.

Cats are superior and they know it, which is hilarious. We may talk about guard dogs, but only a fool would mess with a cat.

Cat people are cat people because they revel in cats' unique personalities and appreciate their idiosyncrasies. But that doesn't mean they love all cat-related things.


Let's say you want to buy a cat person a gift but don't want it to be a kiddie stuffed animal or kitschy ceramic cat figurine that will just collect dust. Let's also say your cat person also has a fabulous sense of humor. What do you get them?

How about an unexpectedly hilarious cat-themed book? Like, how could you go wrong with this:

"Crafting With Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make With Your Cat"

by Kaori Tsutaya

"Crafting With Cat Hair"

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Amazon description: "Got fur balls? Are your favorite sweaters covered with cat hair? Do you love to make quirky and one-of-a-kind crafting projects? If so, then it’s time to throw away your lint roller and curl up with your kitty! Crafting With Cat Hair shows readers how to transform stray clumps of fur into soft and adorable handicrafts. From kitty tote bags and finger puppets to fluffy cat toys, picture frames, and more, these projects are cat-friendly, eco-friendly, and require no special equipment or training. You can make most of these projects in under an hour—with a little help, of course, from your feline friends!"

That description is so adorably earnest. Do people really do cat hair crafts? I would buy this book for someone just to see the look on their face.

If that's a little too gaggy for you, how about this one?

"How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety: And Abstinence, Drugs, Satanism, and Other Dangers That Threaten Their Nine Lives"

by Zachary Auburn

"How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety"

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Amazon description: "For over four decades, the American Association of Patriots have stood at the vanguard of our country's defense by helping to prepare our nation's cat owners for the difficult conversations they dread having with their pets. Written in a simple Q&A format, How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety answers crucial questions such as, “What is the right age to talk to my cat about the proper use of firearms?” and “What are the benefits of my cat living a lifestyle of abstinence?” and especially “Why does my cat need to use the internet? Can’t he just play with yarn like cats used to do?”

Our country—and our cats—stand at a precipice. It will take courage, and it will take hard work, but armed with the knowledge within these pages, we can make our cats—and America—great again!"

(Yes, it's satire. Nobody actually give your cat a gun, please.)

Are you familiar with The Oatmeal? This book from the famous website was a #1 NYT Bestseller.

"How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You"

by The Oatmeal/Matthew Inman

cat book

"How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You"

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Amazon description: "If your cat is kneading you, that's not a sign of affection. Your cat is actually checking your internal organs for weakness. If your cat brings you a dead animal, this isn't a gift. It's a warning. How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You is a hilarious, brilliant offering of comics, facts, and instructional guides about crazy cat behaviors from the creative wonderland at The Oatmeal."

Seriously, The Oatmeal is so funny. If that title alone didn't make you chortle, surely this one will:

"I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats"

by Francesco Marciuliano

cat poetry

"I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats"

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Amazon description: "Animal lovers will laugh out loud at the quirkiness of their feline friends with these insightful and curious poems from the singular minds of funny cats. In this hilarious, bestselling book of tongue-in-cheek poetry."

And finally, the cat butts. I came *this* close to dropping "Cat Butthole Coloring Book: Cat Butts for Cat Lovers" in here, but I couldn't quite stomach the imagery. This one is still hilarious, but a bit more palatable:

"Butts, Bleps and Beans Cat Coloring Book"

by Lizzie Preston

cat coloring book

"Butts, Bleps and Beans Cat Coloring Book"

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Amazon description: "The fact that cats used to be worshipped as gods in ancient Egypt might have you think they always act regal and sophisticated. Well, you’d be wrong. Sometimes they just can’t help baring their bums, sticking out their tongues, or acting ridiculous. And we love them for it! Have fun coloring in all the amusingly quirky cats inside this artfully designed cat coloring book for adults."

(We have a cat who insists on sticking her butt in my face every time she climbs onto my lap. I try not to take it personally.)

Cat gifts for cat lovers should be as quirky and funny and unpredictable as cats themselves, and every one of these books fits that bill.

Upworthy may earn a proceed from sales of the items included in this article

Planet

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True

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@yourejustliz/TikTok

“Nice is different than kind."

It might have been pretty universally accepted during our childhood for daughters to be expected to reciprocate affection from adults, whether they liked it or not. A non consensual kiss to grandparents here, a forced “thank you” there. But times have changed.

However, this change in parenting style can sometimes make for some, well, awkward or even downright uncomfortable situations as moms and dads try to advocate for this kid’s autonomy.

Recently, a mom named Liz Kindred detailed just such an incident with her six year old daughter, which has a whole lotta other parents discussing how to navigate these unideal interactions.

As she recalls in a video posted to TikTok, Kindred was waiting in line with her daughter when a grown man turned around and said “My goodness, you sure are pretty” to the child.

“My six-year-old is gorgeous, yes, but she is also very in tune and perceptive, and she's an introvert so she grabbed my leg really tight,” Kindred said.

Doubling down, the man repeated himself, saying “You sure are pretty. Look at those blue eyes,” which only made her shy daughter grab her leg harder.

Noting that being in a 12 step program has taught her to be less “knee jerk reactionary,” the mom bit her tongue and offered a polite smile to the man, hoping that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.



“He's a boomer and, God love him, he said, ‘I guess your mom didn't teach you manners.’ And I let out an uncomfortable little [chuckle], and the pause was long. It was long. And under his breath he said, ‘Guess not,’” she said.

In what she called the most ”Jesus loving way” she could muster, while still bluntly making her point, Kindred told the man "If you assume that I didn't teach my six-year-old daughter to say ‘thank you’ to a grown, consenting man when he compliments her appearance, then you would be correct."

What followed was the “longest silence” of Kindred’s life.

The video, which has been viewed over 6 million times now, prompted a ton of parents to share how their own kids have established boundaries in similar situations—with their support, of course.

“An old man called my 4 yr old daughter a sweetheart at the store…she boldly responded ‘I am NOT YOUR sweetheart!’ I was so proud,” on person recalled.

Another added, “My 3 year old says ‘NO THANK YOU MY BODY DOESN’T LIKE TAHT.’”

Still another said “My 2 yo knows the boundaries song and just starts singing that anytime someone talks to her.”

While the response to Kindred’s video was overwhelmingly positive, there were a few comments defending the man as simply being “kind.” This prompted Kindred to do a follow-up video doubling down on her decision.

In the clip, she shared how she herself has dealt with seemingly innocent compliments in her life from men, which later turned into something else. Feeling like she “didn’t have a voice” to say something, “because I’m a nice Christian, Southern girl,” Kindred ended up being in unsavory situations (she didn't explicitly say what those situations were, but it's easy enough to piece together). She doesn’t want her daughter to have the same issues.


“Nice is different than kind. The kind thing to do is to teach our daughters and our children in this next generation that when you are uncomfortable with something you listen to your body and you set a firm boundary with that and you provide language around that. And you start that really really young.”

Yep. Well said.


This article originally appeared last year.

Pappas Pärlor's fantastic street art.

Anyone who grew up in the late '80s and early '90s—Gen X, I’m looking at you—grew up in a world that was dominated by 8-bit graphics. Back in the day, computers and video game systems had a limited amount of processing power so the graphics had to be simple.

That meant the heroes that we played with such as Mario from Super Mario Brothers or Link from The Legend of Zelda, had to be super simple looking and we had to fill in the rest with our imaginations.

Video graphics have come a long way over the past 30-plus years, but people still love the old designs because it takes them back to a simpler time. This has led to an 8-bit movement where people use their creativity to make art within the confines of the limited medium.

Some people also use the limited 8-bit soundscape to create music that’s reminiscent of the old games. Sure, computer game music may be much more sophisticated these days, but is there anything better than the original Tetris soundtrack? Would Super Mario Brothers be the same with a sophisticated soundtrack? I think not.

Swedish artist Johan Karlgren, who goes by the name Pappas Pärlor, creates pixelated 8-bit-looking art and then inserts it into everyday scenes. The interesting thing is that his 8-bit art isn’t done with computer graphics, but Perler beads.

Perler beads are small, plastic beads that one places on a grid, and when the picture is done, they are melted with a household clothing iron. The beads are a fun hobby for kids who love to see the melting beads ooze their way into a fully-formed picture.

Although they weren’t originally intended to make 8-bit art, because the beads are placed on a grid when they melt together the designs look like they came straight out of a Nintendo Entertainment System.

Karlgren recreates iconic images from comics, cartoons, video games, and movies with the beads and then adds them to the scenarios, turning the mundane into the whimsical.

What’s Karlgren’s big inspiration? “Anything that makes me feel something,” he told Bored Panda. “It could be anything from childhood memories to politics or people doing awesome stuff that I wanna interpret.”

For Karlgren, his work is the byproduct of having a good time. “I don’t really choose what to create. My work is sprung from playing, and I’ll try to go with the ideas that come up in my head,” he said.

One of the hallmarks of Karlgen’s work is taking drab places such as a parking lot or other types of urban infrastructure and livening them up with the addition of one of his Perler bead creations. "It's something that makes me happy, and hopefully other people [when] seeing it as well," he told Newsweek.

Karlgren is a father of four and started posting his creations on Instagram back in April 2014. Since then, his fun, old-school designs have earned him more than 144,000 followers. Here are some of his coolest, and funniest 8-bit designs.


8-Bit Joker
Raiders of the Lost Fence Knob
Mario Kart: Snow Speeders
"Here's 8-Bit Johnny!"
The Man of Steel
That Creep Can Roll
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands Meme
"I Said God Damn!"
"Take My Money!"
Darth's Day Off


"Go Ahead, Make My Day."


Mini Bernie


Tony Montana


The Homer Meme


This article originally appeared three years ago.

Images of Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger via Wikicommons

Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger



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  1. Hugh Grant does not hold back when it comes to his opinions on anything. But in one unfortunate interview he did for Elle Magazine back in 2009, he dished on most of his female co-stars, and it wasn't pretty. He described Emma Thompson as "clever, funny, mad as a chair." Of Sandra Bullock, he said, "a genius, a German, too many dogs." He later commented that Julia Roberts' mouth was so big, he "was aware of a faint echo" when they kissed onscreen. And while Julianne Moore, Rachel Weisz, and Drew Barrymore were all described as clever, stunning, or beautiful, the consensus was that they all "loathed him."

But it was his Bridget Jones's Diary co-star Renée Zellweger with whom he seemed to have the softest spot. Even when revisiting the matter on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Hugh agreed with his original assessment that she's "delightful. Also far from sane. Very good kisser."

When pressed, Hugh jokingly said, "She is genuinely lovely, but her emails are 48 pages long. Can't understand a word of them."

Now, nine years later, Renée is returning to her Bridget Jones character, and the two reunite for a piece called "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" for British VogueBritish Vogue. After Hugh writes an intro to the piece, where he reveals he used to have tons of questions between on-set shots for Renée—questions like "If you had to marry one of today's extras, who would it be?" and "Who is a better kisser, me or Colin Firth?" He now has a whole new slew of questions. Here are a few key things we find out:


Sad Renee Zellweger GIF by Working TitleGiphy

What did Hugh always think of Renée?

He says candidly (of course), "With a lot of other actors, you think they're really great, and then suddenly you see a little glint of steely, scary ambition, and you realize this person would trample their grandmother to get what they want in this business. But I've never seen that glint coming off you. So either it's very well disguised, or you are quite nice."

What does Renée really think of Hugh?

You're hilariously brilliant at everything you hate. And, though you hate humans, you're a very good and loyal friend. I like you very much. And I love working with you."

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What did Hugh really think of her English accent?

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After discussing Renée's dialect coach, Hugh tells her that her attempt at an English accent is…"perfect."

Why does the Bridget Jones franchise remain so appealing?


Renee Zellweger Romance GIF by Bridget JonesGiphy

Hugh says, "In a nutshell, I say it's an antidote to Instagram. Instagram is telling people, especially women, 'Your life's not good enough.' It's not as good as this woman's or that woman's, making you insecure. Whereas what Helen (the writer) did with Bridget is celebrate failures, while making it funny and joyful."

Renée makes some jokes and then says, "I think maybe folks recognize themselves in her and relate to her feelings of self-doubt. Bridget is authentically herself and doesn't always get it right, but whatever her imperfections, she remains joyful and optimistic, carries on, and triumphs in her own way."

What does Hugh think of Renée's fashion?


Drunk Bridget Jones GIF by Working TitleGiphy

After asking if people in general should be a "bit more stylish," Hugh tells Renée she's "very chic." Renée pushes back with, "I'm wearing a tracksuit." To which Hugh retorts, "Yeah, but a sort of PRICEY one."

And finally, those emails:

"You have sent me the longest emails I've ever received. I can't understand a single word of them. They're written in some curious language that I can't really understand."

"No!" Renée exclaims. "If you reference something in your emails that makes me laugh…I will circle back to that. And if you've forgotten that you wrote it, I don't think I should be held accountable for that!"

British woman's stroke leaves her with an Italian accent

There's something universal about getting a kick out of speaking in foreign accents that differ from your own. Whether it's American friends putting on a fake British accent to talk about tea or an Australian speaking in a southern U.S. accent to order barbecue, it's all in good fun. But what is you woke up one day speaking in an accent that wasn't your own outside of your control?

This very thing happened to a British woman after suffering a stroke. It was just another day for Althia Bryden, she and her husband, Winston had settled in for the evening, propped up in bed to catch some television before going off to sleep. But things took a dramatic turn when her husband left the room for a few minutes only to return to Althia slumped over looking strangely.

Winston immediately knew that something wasn't right so he rushed her to the hospital where he found out that she had a stroke. The condition required her to have surgery to clear the blockage to her brain but when she awakened, she no longer recognized the voice coming from her mouth. This wasn't because her speech was slurred due to the stroke, it's because she was speaking in a completely different accent.

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Of course, Althia was thrilled to be speaking at all since she was unable to do so for a period of time after her stroke but it wasn't her accent. The woman who normally spoke with a familiar British accent was suddenly speaking with an Italian accent, except she's never spoken Italian. In fact, she's never even been to the boot shaped country on vacation, yet somehow she picked up the perfect Italian accent while under anesthesia.

Althia and her husband recently appeared on "This Morning," a morning news show in England, to tell the story of Althia's bizarre stroke side effect.

"i just remember to wake up into a ward but I didn't know why I was there, you know? Winston's telling me, my family's telling me I have a stroke. I wasn't sure where I was at the time and I didn't realize I had been taken from my house, from my bed, none of this. You know, a big surprise," Althia says in a thick Italian accent.

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The woman admits to the talk show hosts that it was a scary experience not being able to talk at first. The only thing she can do upon waking from her stroke was to point at things as a means of communication. She explains that she could hear and understand everything going on around her but she was unable to speak until after the surgery where they removed a carotid web. This is a rare thin membrane that can extend within the carotid artery blocking blood flow.

"The next day, you know, they moved me to a ward. The nurse comes to wake me to do blood pressure again, you know cause they're worried about it. So I hear this voice, I've not hear my voice for a long time, you know. I'm like this," Althia reenacts looking around the room. "I didn't realize it was me. I looked behind me in my hospital bed, who is speaking to me, you know. Who is this?"

Althia is one of only 200 or so people around the world who have Foreign Accent Syndrome. This rare condition can develop after damage to the area of your brain that controls speech, can develop without cause or occurring after a seizure or migraine according to the Cleveland Clinic. While the people who have the condition may sound as if they have a different accent, they don't actually have a "foreign" accent. That part of their brain has them forming words

"FAS involves sound changes that aren’t consistent with an accent. For example, accents that replace the “r” in “car” with an “ah” sound still say the “r” in words like “carriage.” Someone with FAS (especially the structural type) will likely still not make that “r” sound. That means their speech won’t exactly match with the accent it’s similar to," Cleveland Clinic explains.

There doesn't seem to be a cure for the condition, though speech therapy may help but there's no guarantee that it will take away the accent completely. It is mainly used to help people with FAS communicate more clearly. Thankfully for Althia, it seems that while her accent may still feel like a bit of a shock, she can communicate clearly with those around her. But for a woman born in London, her Italian accent sure will make for an interesting conversation at parties.