Cat Care … reviewed by Vanessa

If you are a cat owner, like I am, you no doubt have dealt with a number of health and behavioural issues related to your feline housemate. Some of those issues may be beyond us. Once again, it is books to the rescue!

Psychologist and Certified Animal Behaviourist John C. Wright, with assistance from Judi Wright Lashnits, wrote Is Your Cat Crazy? Solutions from The Casebook of a Cat Therapist some years ago; it is still a unique book of cat behaviour case studies. Wright provides many cases involving a cat’s behaviour becoming withdrawn, aggressive or destructive to its home. The situation is usually resolved through a combination of intervention and the cat owner’s participation. Likewise can be said about Vicky Halls’ Cat Counsellor: How Your Cat Really Relates To You. Topics covered by Halls include how to manage nervous, aggressive and dependant cats, multi-cat households and multi-pet households.

Veternarian and author Dr. Bruce Fogle, meanwhile, provides quick tips for cat care in What’s Up With My Cat? The Only Visual Guide to Symptoms and First Aid. Subjects such as injuries and vaccinations are covered as are common ailments like ear and eye problems urinary tract symptoms.

Barron’s, makers of great reference books, offers Cat Biz: A Compendium of Amazing Facts and Anecdotes from the Cat World. Interesting cat trivia and tips are contained within it, among them, cooking for cats, designing a cat-friendly garden, and teaching cats tricks.

We’re on the prowl for your comments.

Going Home … reviewed by Alice

I have read a number of Jon Katz’s books which focus on his Bedford Farm and his beloved creatures.  I have enjoyed his books immensely.

When I began reading Going Home: Finding Peace When Pets Die, my pet was not dying nor had she passed away.  I just knew I needed to read this.

Death is not easy to accept, but we all need to go through the process to receive and believe in peace for our beloved pets.  He addresses this difficult topic of saying goodbye to a companion and a beloved member of the family by sharing his wisdom and a way forward from sadness to acceptance.  When a friend or family member dies, it is quite different from a pet dying.  No matter how tiny or large a pet is, they are missed and grieved for.  Like all books, you may or may not agree with all that is written.  We all hold an unbelievable bond to our pets.

There is simply no doubt that animals change our lives.  They teach us to be compassionate and loving and mostly they can teach us about uncoditional love.

Make sure you have a hankie on hand for this book.

Your comments on this and similar titles are welcome.

Watership Down (audiobook) – reviewed by Arline (patron)

This is the second time I read Watership Down by Richard Adams, written in 1972.  It is about an imaginary conversation among rabbits; more specifically, it is about the life story of rabbits. The author treats the rabbits as if they are live people and converses with them about how they live.  The rabbits overgrow and overpopulate Watership Down, a fictional place in England.  This is a beautiful story, full of humour and there is a human element to it – like rabbits are people. A lot of English people will have heard about this book.  It is a very favourable book.

Last year, I wanted to get a copy of this book for a eight year-old boy, but he was too young.  Maybe later, when he is older.  My son in Toronto found it and called my friend in Calgary who knew about the library’s shut-in service and called Teresa.  This service has added a boon to my life.  I just wish I had started earlier to appreciate it more because my reading and my capacity to write are diminishing now.  This is a good service and I love it.  I am very grateful.

Arlene is ninety-six years old and one of the library’s shut-in patrons. This review was transcribed by Teresa.

Feel free to comment on this review.

Winter’s Tail – reviewed by patron A.J.

Winter’s Tail (by Isabella, Juliana and Craig Hatkoff) is an excellent book for children, from birth to 10 years old and even adults. It retells the true story of a female baby bottlenose dolphin that was caught in a crab trap on the East Coast of Florida.

Through photos from the actual rescue and rehabilitation, it follows Winter (they named her that because it was a very cold night when they found her) as she is cut free from the trap, taken from the water, transported across Florida to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on the West Coast and fed and cared for until she is strong enough to swim and eat again on her own.

One of the most interesting things about the story is the fact that the loss of blood flow to her fluke (the marine biology term for tail – hence the play on words in the title) from being in the trap caused it to fall off. Due to this, she started swimming like a fish, by flapping her peduncle (back end) side to side. This is bad for a dolphin’s spine, so a prosthetic developer stepped in and made a silicone tail for her and the trainers taught her to use it. Now she can swim several hours (the way a regular dolphin does) a day with it.

The technology that went into the making of the tail is now being used for human prostethetics. Many children from around the US who lost limbs (and many others who have not) have visited Winter, seeing her as a symbol of heroism.

My 5-year-old son has fallen in love with Winter, so much so that we had to buy the book!

Highly recommended!

Purr-fect Titles … reviewed by Jason

 

The Quintessential Cat: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the Cat in History, Art, Literature, and Legend by Roberta Altman is one of many fascinating encyclopedias of cat ephemera. Dedicated to the author’s six cats, The Quintessential Cat has everything from Abyssinian to Emile Zola (19^th Century French writer and cat fancier). Articles include those on cat breeds, cat celebrities such as Morris (from the 9 Lives cat food commercials) and Toonces the Driving Cat (from Saturday Night Live) and even cartoon characters such as Sylvester, Tom, and the Pink Panther. Famous historical cat owners are included as well, as are famous artistic and literary works focused on felines. Lastly, The Quintessential Cat includes illustrations, famous quotes about cats, and a comprehensive list of cat-related organizations.

Roger Caras, one time president of the ASPCA, is the other of several cat books, including The Cats of Thistle Hill: A Mostly Peaceable Kingdom. This book is the bitter-sweet story of Thistle Hill Farm, in northern Maryland, where Caras and his family raise a number of animals, including at least a dozen cats whose individual lives have contained an incredible amount of tragedy and triumph.

Have you read these titles? Feel free to comment.