Ten Speed Press has gathered further evidence to support the theory that cat people and dog people are separate breeds. It all started with the 1994 publication of Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics by Heather Busch and Burton Silver, a tongue-in-cheek look at paintings by felines that display the "potential for meaning." Blending the language of art criticism with deadpan parody, the heavily illustrated 9 ½"×11" paperback original documented cat paintings through the ages, introduced 12 contemporary feline artists and devoted a chapter to clawed-up couch sculptures and the arrangement of feces in the litter box. That book sold 330,000 copies, and spun off a 1997 calendar, an address book and a set of postcards. A 1999 sequel by the same authors, Dancing with Cats, followed from Chronicle Books, which outbid Ten Speed for the publication rights.

In October 2000, Ten Speed attempted to replicate its original success with a book on canine high culture, Dog Works: The Meaning and Magic of Canine Constructions by Vicki Mathison. That paperback original, examined the sculptural efforts of dogs, such as Shylo, a beagle who hangs socks on a fence, and Abbie, a Shetland sheepdog who makes creative arrays of pine cones and stones. Sales of 15,000 copies were relatively disappointing, however.

Why the discrepancy? Special markets director Dennis Hayes claims it comes down to the difference between cat people and dog people. "Cat people love cats in general, while dog people are breed-specific," he posited. Admitting that his theory is unscientific, though based on strong anecdotal evidence gathered at pet, gift and book shows, Hayes added, "Cat people have a sense of humor that dog people don't always have. Plus, cat people outspend dog people by a considerable margin."

Now Ten Speed is back on the feline side of the divide, and has reunited with Silver and Busch for the publication of Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics (Sept., $16.95). This time, it is the cats themselves that are rendered into works of art, by human artists who are part of a new "movement" that claims to promote a better understanding of the role of cats in our lives. Transformed by vegetable dye and other nontoxic substances, common housecats were made to resemble skeletons, giraffes, schools of fish and more.

"There was a very healthy reaction to Why Paint Cats at BEA and at gift shows in Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco," reported Hayes. "Over and over, I heard people asking, 'How'd they do that?' and then saying, 'I couldn't get my cat to stay still.' It was the most ordered, most requested and most picked up title, and orders were coming in sixes and 12s rather than ones or threes." The first printing for Why Paint Cats was 47,000, and 30,000 of those copies have already shipped.