When I first found this book, I couldn’t wait to read it. Being a cat lover, the title immediately appealed to me. Now that I have finished it, I have mixed feelings.

Diaries of a Cultured Cat is a nice, light-hearted read about Fluffy, also known as Lucia. She finds herself whisked away from her home in Kerry, Ireland where she spent her days as a kitten with her beloved Deirdre. The little girl, Deirdre and her cousin April, sneakily pack the young cat into April’s luggage to take home to Wimbledon, London, where Deirdre hopes she will lead a more cultural life than in the wilds of Kerry.

When the miserable stowaway emerges into her pristine new Wimbledon home with her new owners, the Macs, she is disappointed to find that there are no cats her own age, and even worse, no cat flap!

As Lucia battles the loneliness of her new circumstances, she encounters new feline friends and witnesses many odd comings and goings of the human kind. The book has an array of characters and a large collection of storylines to go with them. So many, in fact that the author sometimes confuses them and mixes the characters names up. This sort of continuity error can really put me off a book, especially when made more than once. But Downey almost makes up for it with the comical characters and their farce-like lives.

Bruiser the alcoholic cat and Fleur the pampered Parisian puss from down the road are only the start. Although a little too old for Lucia, these two cats teach her about many things. Opera and French, hanging from door handles and getting food out of the fridge are just some of the valuable things she learns.

The other characters are mainly human and are constantly in Mr and Mrs Mac’s house trying to sort out problems and get advice. To mention a few, there are; Olga, the moody Czech interior designer with a dark secret, Amy, who works for the BBC and loves everything artistic and cultural, and my personal favourite, Auntie Maudie, the wine loving, outrageous aunt who always manages to get into trouble.

There are so many plots intertwined and overlapping, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the twists and side stories. But the main storylines are funny, if a bit tame. The book could have done with being shorter, but what kept me reading was the quirkiness of having the narrator being a cat.

It is a shame about some of the continuity errors and spelling mistakes in Diaries of a Cultured Cat, because it is an enjoyable read, perfect for a lazy Sunday morning, with a cup of tea and a cat curled up on your lap!

If you are a cat lover, it might be worth a try, click the picture below!