If you’re looking for a quick, festive read for Christmas and — like the rest of the world — can’t stand the idea of having to sit through Cats*, look no further than A Christmas Mittaines by Cynthia Sonier.

Written in both English and French, this series of strips explores the titular cat’s grumpy approach to Christmas, until — in a hilarious and modern adaptation of Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol — he has some dreams that convince him he’s being a Scrooge.

Consisting of eight strips published on Tapas, A Christmas Mittaines is anthropomorphic animals meets social pop culture commentary in a delightful fusion that will make you laugh out loud. Each strip is connected, but they can also stand on their own. This time of year is hard on so many of us; it’s easy to get bogged down. So, I hope this brings a little joy — I know it did for me, especially since Sonier’s cartooning style is so absolutely delightful.

Interspecies families are tough, as any pet haver can attest, and this brief story captures the headaches — and sweetness — of such a thing quite beautifully. Trying to get our cats to stop taking ornaments off the tree is a losing battle, and pups just want to play, play, play.

Check out part of one strip below, then head over to Tapas to read the rest. If you’re celebrating today, Merry Christmas! I hope it’s a better experience for you than for poor, grumpy Mittaines.

A Christmas Mittaines

*If you enjoyed the movie adaptation of Cats, your feelings are valid, even if the CGI in the trailers is terrifying enough to make me never want to see the film, ever.