origin of the Solar Cat
The Solar Cat was conceived in the early 1970s by professional engineer Jim Augustyn who often admired his sweet cat Parsley on a sunny windowsill. One day he realized exactly what his clever kitty was doing—and had been doing for years. Parsley was using solar energy! Jim's cats Mouse and Parsley continued to impress him with their absolute mastery of all aspects of use and application of solar energy.
Jim scientifically recorded his observations of cats using solar energy along with his delightfully funny comments. The first Solar Cat Book was published in 1979 by the Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California. The Solar Cat Book was a huge hit with the fledgling solar community selling more than 10,000 copies in advance of publication. Nearly 25 years later, when human interest in solar energy was again on the rise, Jim published The Return of the Solar Cat Book, a revised edition of the original book.