Book Description
Half the households in America include an animal companion. Yet, each year, community shelters take in six to eight million unwanted dogs and cats who face an uncertain fate. With compelling photos and moving vignettes, this book chronicles the true stories of 75 animals who entered a typical U.S. animal shelter during one week witnessed and documented by the authors.
Customer Reviews:
buy it.......2007-08-31
It's such a good book. Many stories are sad, but it also offers real hope as to what we as individuals can do. Highly recommended. You'll go back to it when you find you need inspiration.
Review of One at a Time.......2007-05-13
As someone who has adopted 3 animals from a shelter, I appreciated this book thoroughly. This book puts names and faces together while also educating the reader about the importance of adopting from your local animal shelter. The theme of this book is you can actually save a life. There are heartwarming stories alongside tragic ones. If you want to learn more about the animals at the shelter and their stories this book is for you.
Tough Topic Handled Well.......2007-04-16
This is a very difficult book to read as it covers all kinds of situations that occur in an animal shelter, including details of the euthanasia of animals that simply don't deserve to die. There are many hopeful and heartwarming stories along with those of heartless and selfish owners. Make sure you are in the correct frame of mind when you read this to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Some of the pictures are explicit. However, the subject is covered very well with some very good information and statistics.
INCREDBLE book!.......2006-12-09
I read it in one night . . tears pouring down my face! How could a book do this to me? Because it's real . . . it's true! Some of the truths in this book are shameful. This book is unforgiving. This needed to be written . . . and it needed to do done with this much dignity and heart. Compassion . . kindness, why is it so hard? This book yanks at your emotions to teach us compassion . . it allows the animals to teach compassion to us through their lives and yes, deaths. Hopefully their lives will not be in vain, and we can learn compassion in their honor to not only other animals, but maybe they can show us that all lives are important. From shelters where animals are victims to injustices to Rwanda / Darfur and the like. This book is absoltely incredible. Thanks to the writers who had the balls to write it and then fight hard to get it on the streets. Thanks to the beautiful souls of the animals.
Companion animal euthanasia; a worldwide epidemic........2006-11-04
I volunteer in an animal shelter in Australia. A vet at the shelter loaned me a copy of One at a Time: A Week in an Americal Shelter as she thought I would appreciate the content. Appreciate is an understatement...what I thought was exclusive to our shelter proved to me that the reality of these animals circumstances is a worldwide epidemic NOT exclusive to Australia. The stories are written with honesty and in an uncomplicated fashion accompanied by touching photographs. These animals and their circumstances could be at my shelter. In many ways I found this read comforting, however, if you're not already working or volunteering within a shelter environment, it could be quite confronting. I bought several copies to share amongst colleagues at our shelter.
Book Description
"Finally, a book that deals with stray cats; a how-to guide to trapping and dealing with a stray cat. As a pet owner, animal lover and director of a humane organization that deals with stray cats every day, this book gives us one more tool to offer to people who want to help the thousands of strays that wander our streets. Bravo!" Joseph J. Sprague, Jr., Executive Director, Tree House Animal Foundation
"Tamara Kreuz cares about the plight of stray and feral cats and gives practical ways to help them. Individuals and shelters can benefit from this book. If those who find stray animals can themselves set about to help by finding homes for domestic strays, or by creating safe havens for feral cats, this will make life a lot easier for shelter personnel, who are all too often overburdened by the number of animals they receive. We highly recommend The Stray Cat Handbook." Louise Holton and Becky Robinson, Co-founders, Alley Cat Allies: The National Feral Cat Network
"This is a must read for those considering animal rescue work. The information and suggestions provided are first rate and are based on actual experiences." Linda A. Heller, Division Manager, Orange County Animal Services (Florida)
A Howell Cat Book of Distinction
Customer Reviews:
A must-have resource for cat rescue..........2004-05-19
Ms. Kreuz's book is truly the textbook for all things feral cat-related. The book even contains some extremely useful information for anyone considering starting their own cat rescue organization or for the average person just wondering what they can do to help that scrawny stray without getting an arm clawed off in the process. Well-written, clear, and concise- I can't recommend this book enough to anyone interested in feline welfare.
Patience is the key.......2002-06-18
This is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in helping stray cats. Using advice I garnered primarily from this book and my vet, I turned a wounded stray cat into a contented house cat.
The Stray Cat Handbook.......2001-02-06
I heard this author was on TV after winning a special award because of its concise and well written content.
Stray Cats.......2000-07-17
This book gives a clear cut, no nonsense, help for those of us with many stray and feral cats in our neighborhoods. As the preface states: "it is a definite how to guide for helping the millions of stray and feral cats currently living outdoors."
Book Description
Animal shelters in the U.S. take in millions of cats every year. If you're thinking of adopting a feline companion, Shelter Cats will provide you with everything you need to know to select and care for your perfect pet. You'll learn about the variety of shelter philosophies and services so as to find a shelter that meets your needs.
You'll learn how to evaluate the cats awaiting adoption so as to choose a cat whose personality will complement your own. Most importantly, you'll learn how to care for your new petfrom how to prepare for your cat's arrival to how to turn a skittish kitty into a loving lap cat. With heart-warming stories of successful adoptions and charming photographs, you'll be delighted that you have Shelter Cats when you bring home your adopted cat.
A Howell Cat Book of Distinction
Customer Reviews:
Shelter Cats.......2007-01-04
With luck, this helpful volume will encourage people to adopt wonderful cats from shelters and rescue groups!
Castaway Cats in Triumph!.......2002-07-30
No greater pleasure than to read the stories of cats who find new lives through quality shelters with caring workers! The photos are nice and the tales of furry feline tails will entrance and delight the soul!
One of the best books on cats so far................2002-04-29
After reading Ms. Commings' book, Shelter Cats, I would recommend it not only to everyone who is interesting in adopting one of society's "throw away" pets, but to anyone who works or volunteers at their local shelter. Not only does she cover lots of ground, she obviously knows what she's talking about. She also mentions the most forgotten animals of our society, the "special needs" cats. The cats that have been abused or suffer from medical problems that will require them to have a special guardian the rest of their lives with lots of love in their hearts. Since I work at a non-profit, privately funded, "no-kill" shelter in Austin, Tx., I know how hard it is to place some of these cats in loving, PERMANENT homes, but they make the most REWARDING pets. At this moment "Bob" comes to mind, a kitty that was brought to us who is blind & deaf, but is pure joy to be with. In her book Ms. Comming's also mentions several animal establishments, like Denver Dumb Friends, the Tree House Foundation & the S.F. SPCA. All of these organizations are a WEALTH of valuable information, and they share a lot of it with the public through this book. This book is definitely FIVE STARS!!!!
Shelter Cats.......2000-07-18
Pssst! Here's a book that tells you the very best place to find a cat. Perhaps you've heard negative or scary things about animal shelters. If you, like many people, are a little nervous about entering a shelter to adopt a cat, grab a copy of Shelter Cats by Karen Commings. This books gives you the courage (and the knowledge) to choose the right cat for you. It also banishes many animal shelter myths and describes the great things that shelters nationwide are accomplishing for cats. An informative book full of tips and tales, Shelter Cats should be required reading for anyone who steps through shelter doors to adopt a cat!
Book Description
Almost every community has feral cats, animals too poorly socialized to be handled who cannot be placed into typical pet homes. In many of these communities, feral cats are seen to pose public-health, animal-welfare, nuisance-animal, or other problems.
Veterinarian Margaret R. Slater offers a comprehensive, compassionate review of the issues surrounding feral cats and of solutions to feral cat problems in communities large and small. She also provides a blueprint to veterinarians, feral cat caretakers, animal shelters, and public agencies for finding common ground in their approach to feral cats.
Community Approaches to Feral Cats is a handbook for action, a great resource, and a "must have" for anyone interested in stray, feral, and unowned cats.
Customer Reviews:
Too many cats...a continuous challenge.......2005-04-21
An important documented title with an extensive bibliography, directory of organizations, and index. Obviously, the supply of incompetent pet owners will never cease. The specific question is: How can the wandering cat (owned, stray, and feral) be humanely managed? This book discusses how organizations have made a difference by working with various components of their own community. The feral cat problem will not be solved, but this book will help animal kindness organizations put in place policies and action plans which involve education, implementation, and cooperation. Recommended for animal kindness organizations and public libraries. Also of interest: Living in Shadows by Ann K. Fisher.
Book Description
Spiky freelancer Theda Krakow has fallen on a bare patch. Changes at the newspaper have cut her regular assignments and magazine work is slim. When a call comes in asking her to profile Cool, a gifted musician who's being oddly reclusive, it's welcome relief from both Theda's man and money troubles.
But even with work at hand, there are problems: Someone is stealing show cats. And both the feline-friendly Theda and her friend Violet, who runs the local shelter, are outraged. When a kindly cat breeder is implicated in the thefts, Theda resolves to uncover the culprits. But when a murder hits close to home, the circle of suspects widens to include family, an extortionist, and more....
Theda is a great guide to the city, whether hanging out in her Cambridge neighborhood or enjoying the latest bands in the clubs, particularly Violet's brand of riot grrrl punk. She's less adept at sorting out her own heart, which largely belongs to her kitten, Musetta, but as a sleuth, she's razor-sharp.
Customer Reviews:
Music, Mystery, and cats..........2007-10-05
Cattery Row is, I believe, the second of the Theda Krakow mysteries. The mystery is convoluted and engaging, the cats run the gamut of feline personality types, the characters are fully developed individuals, the relationships realistically confused, the Boston music scene real enough to feel the bass beat and smell the beer, and the action non-stop.
Theda Krakow is a freelance journalist. She quit her job at the Boston Morning Mail, features department, in a righteous snit when the boss wanted to take one of her ideas for a column, give to someone else, and have Theda teach the person how to do the job. Now she's between jobs and worried about getting another one. Luckily, she gets a call from City Magazine about doing a follow up to their "Women of the Millennium" article to see what they're doing now. Theda would do a profile on four of the original ten women and luckily she knew two of them pretty well already. Things were beginning to look up for Theda.
As we know, that's when everything falls apart. Someone is stealing pure breed cats from area catteries while the owners are away at shows. Violet, a friend of Theda's, manages the Lillian Helmhold Home for Wayward Felines, and she's worried even though her cats are strays and of truly mixed and unknown parentage. But Rose of Rose Blossom Cattery and a past 'Millennium Woman', has Turkish Angoras and someone has called to threaten her cats if she doesn't pay. Theda later learns that Jan Coolidge (also a 'Millennium Woman') is also being blackmailed but by someone who wants to ruin Jan's music career.
Things look bleak what with blackmail, threatened cats, a missing sales receipt, Halloween coming up, Theda's boyfriend not particularly liking the same music as Theda, the ex-boyfriend showing up on the scene, missing kittens, and now a body -- a very dead body.
The writing is wonderfully tight even though the narration and dialogue give you ample opportunity to get to know these women and their problems. There's just something about a book where women interact and support each other in their choices that makes me think the world is alright after all and there is hope. I would have like to learn a bit more about the grrrl punk -- maybe have some names of groups or individuals so I could look for the CDs.
Recommended for those who like action, relationships, cats, and a diversity of characters some of whom you wouldn't mind meeting someday. And, you don't need to read the first book (Mew is for Murder) to understand this one but why not get it anyway.
Reviewed by Barb Radmore.......2007-01-25
Cattery Row is Clea Simon's second entry into the Theda Krakow Mystery series, the first being Mew is for Murder. Both are published by Poisoned Pen Press.
Theda Krakow was a reporter covering the music scene until a disagreement with her boss ended that job. So, with a dwindling bank account, a tangled relationship and aging by the day, she is pleased to get a free lance assignment to follow up on the women profiled in a previous article. She is especially happy to get an excuse to be back in touch with her old friend Cool, a best selling musician who is back in town after a long absence. She is distracted when a series of catnappings start to occur. But the catnappings become her focus when another one of the article's subjects, a cat breeder, is murdered. Theda and her cat loving friends must solve the crimes as more cats disappear and the suspects hit close to home.
This book is seems, at first glance, to be a common addition to the "cozy mystery with cats" that litters the current literature landscape. But Clea Simon has much more to offer. She has created main characters and settings that are evolved beyond the feline fanciers facade. The music setting adds a new, welcomed environment which she is able to bring to a colorful, rich focus. The world of girl bands, music clubs and the alternative Boston music , long known for producing great acts, is a different, interesting venue.
It is tempting to call this a feminist mystery due to its strong female characters; women who find love important but not all consuming, with careers they embrace and expand. They work together as friends and allies, supporting, aiding and abetting each other thorough life and future dreams. Competent female characters are a refreshing addition, cats and all. Theda and her friends, male, female and feline, are all well defined as individuals, each is given a role but not stifled into cardboard portraits.
Clea Simon has been able to combine her knowledge of journalism, music and cats into a strongly written mystery. It leaves hope that Ms Simon is hard at work writing the next entry into this series, two is not nearly enough.
Can Theda survive the tough times and help her friends?.......2007-01-04
Tough times have hit Theda Krakow, a freelance journalist. She had a blowup with Tim, an editor of The Boston Morning Mail, which means she isn't writing for them any more. Plus she's not sure about her relationship with Bill, a Boston homicide detective.
Her friends are having their own problems. Rose has received a blackmail phone call. She doesn't have the money they asked for. If she doesn't pay, they will kill her cats. Violet has had some sick kittens stolen from her shelter.
Theda gets hired to write a follow up about 4 women. Her friend Rose is one of those women. When Theda goes to interview her, she finds Rose murdered. She figures the blackmailer killed her. The police figure she was involved in the string of robberies of purebred cats.
To muddy the waters even more, her ex-boyfriend returns. Should Theda get back with him or work on her relationship with Bill?
Can Theda figure out who the killer is and what is really going on without using up her one life?
I really enjoy Theda. She's such a fun character. I love the Boston setting as well. I like this series with cats. The author really knows cats. That comes through in the way she has them interact with the humans. Yet, she doesn't feel a need to make them "talk."
I felt this was even better than her debut novel in this series. I can't wait for the next one to be published. I highly recommend this book.
Boston's Music scene with a little murder.......2006-10-10
Misplaced loyalties, misbegotten relationships, and murder all groove to a heavy underground beat in this fascinating look at the Boston music scene. Simon writes lovingly and well about cats, but the greatest character in her books is Boston and its famous rock-n-roll clubs. I loved the interesting and authentic backdrop which was worth the price of the book alone. Layered on top, though, is a tightly plotted murder mystery that cleverly dispatches a couple of old-wives cat tales.
The Cat's Meow.......2006-09-12
Cat lovers will appreciate Simon's second Theda Krakow mystery, with its information about pedigreed cats, kitten mills, and cat shows. But, this book has so much going for it even if you're not a cat lover.
Theda Krakow is confused about her career and her relationship. But, she does understand the importance of her friends and her love of music. These get her through the rough times when her freelance journalism career is slow, and her boyfriend, Bill, doesn't seem to understand her life. It's her loyalty to her friends that drags her into another mystery. When her friend Rose, a breeder of pedigreed cats, is killed, Theda refuses to believe that Rose was involved in a ring of cat thieves who stole pedigreed cats from catteries. She knows that Rose and her cats had been threatened. She also discovers that another friend, a singer, is being blackmailed. As Theda tries to clear Rose's name, and help her other friend, she's dragged further into investigations that truly belong to the cops.
Theda Krakow may be an amateur detective, but it's her friendships that drag her into the cases she works on. She's a fascinating character because of her loyalty and her own insecurities. Readers might pick up these mysteries because of the cats. They'll return to them because Theda is a wonderful, changing character.
Book Description
A step-by-step guide to the care of stray and feral cats. Here is everything you need to know to give your feral or stray cat a quality life, including how to care for, feed, and control the population by humanely trapping to spay or neuter. Also detailed information about taming feral cats and kittens, managing more than one stray, and caring for orphan kittens. Contains photographs and a 20 page Resource Guide to organizations, products, and additional information.
Customer Reviews:
Errors and omissions make this a chancy book.......2005-08-19
We do and teach a lot of rescue/TNR, and found this book to have many errors/omissions. Some examples:
p. 19 there is *not* controversy over whether domestic cats are really domesticated. They are. Again, p. 39 -- "would you bring the same animal in the house if it was a raccoon or squirrel?" Feral cats are not wild animals as raccoons and squirrels are; this is a very significant difference, and this is a very misleading comparison.
p. 23 In discussion of "is cat a feral or stray", no mention is made of the ethical necessity to **list as found** any cat you can even remotely touch. Many lost pet cats can present as quite scared. If your cat were missing, you would want finders to err on the side of listing every found cat as found!
p. 45 Very misleading info on FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). The typical first test for FIV tests for *antibodies*, not antigen -- thus, kittens can test FIV+ from maternal antibodies. With time, they clear the maternal antibodies. We have encountered many litters of kittens who initially tested FIV+, *all* of whom subsequently retested FIV-. There's no mention here of the need to have a test/retest protocol. (For great flowcharts, see http://www.felineleukemia.org/fiv1.html).
p. 22 "Feral cats are happier in the wild and are never really happy being confined". This is a mythical overgeneralization. We have done a lot of TNR in dense inner-city settings, and have brought a number of feral cats inside in various places, because their colony habitat was being destroyed (construction, redevelopment, etc.). Most former ferals, if they are kept inside with decent care, some windows, scratching and climbing posts, cat company, do quite well. A very small percent really want to be back in their colony. We've had quite fierce tomcats sit looking out a window at a thunderstorm, and purr up a storm. One "nth generation feral" loves to be picked up and cuddled (and he was definitely a feral cat). TNR (trap-neuter-return) is the default, but bringing a cat in to your home to sanctuary as a "permanent rescue cat" is a viable choice.
There is a lot of good information in this book, but unfortunately also a lot of errors; someone new to rescue would not be able to tell which is which.
You can find good info on TNR at
Alley Cat Allies, [...]
Best Friends http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehomelesspets/resourcelibrary/feralindex.cfm
Gesine Lohr
Feline Finesse.......2002-09-12
This volume of data, anecdotes, and knowledge is unsurpassed in helping the growing volume of stray and/or feral cats! Beautifully written and lovely photos, it is a treasure of information and a pleasure to read! It should be in the library of every "cat person" as well as schools, vet waiting room, pet supply shops, book stores!
A practical, useful guide for cat lovers of all ages.......2002-07-08
Arising from her lifelong commitment and efforts to helping all types of animals, Ann K. Fisher has written Living In Shadows: How To Help The Stray Cat In Your Life (Without Adding To The Problem) is a straightforward, informed and informative introductory guide to feeding and caring for stray cats without attracting other animals, how to humanely trap feral cats for spaying or neutering, orphan kitten care, and gradually taming feral cats for domestic relationships. A practical, useful guide for cat lovers of all ages and circumstances, Living in Shadows is very highly recommended reading and an invaluable addition to community libraries and animal shelter reference collections.
A MUST for the cat lover.......2002-06-28
That skinny cat keeps coming to your back door. When you show any interest, he dashes away. What is the kindest thing to do? Keep leaving out food? Call the local Humane Society? Trap him?
Ann Fisher offers no-nonsense guidance in what has to be one of the most unusual how-to books ever written. She doesn't mince words. Some feral cats will never be tamed. Think about your investment of time and money. Set limits.
Still, your feral cats may become part of your household, even if they live in the back yard. By spaying even one cat, you are doing a lot of good. And if you are not in a position to help a cat first-hand, Fisher provides a list of cat-saving organizations that will be very grateful for your donations.
Here's the perfect gift for your cat-fanatic friends who, like me, hope to evolve into little old ladies who live for their cats.
A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO HAS A STRAY CAT IN THEIR LIFE.......2002-05-27
I recently adopted a stray cat from my neighborhood, and this guide was extremely useful when it came to trapping my new cat.
Not only were the instructions for trapping the cat easy to follow, I was even able to locate a trap by using the resource guide in the back of the book!
This book is much needed and beautifully written. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever had or is thinking about adopting any stray cat!
Amazon.com
For some people, animal shelters seem dark, desperate places. All terrified barks and frightened hisses, the shelter is the last stop for many an animal on what has too often been a painful journey. For others, the shelter is a place of hope, where the perfect dog or cat waits to be adopted. In her time spent volunteering at the Columbia-Greene Humane Society, author Elizabeth Hess discovered that shelter life couldn't be defined in such simple terms. In this "subterranean animal culture," life is a "complex mix of people and animals, emotion and ideology ... where life and death decisions are made as regularly as coffee."
Hess, an arts journalist who has written for the Village Voice and the Washington Post among other publications, first visited the shelter to adopt a dog for her daughter. A "series of ramshackle buildings and a shabby trailer, surrounded by a few chickens and a couple of contented cats," the Columbia-Greene Humane Society grounds were humble at best. But what Hess found inside the shelter inspired her to write Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter. From the dog kennels and the cat rooms to a puppy mill raid and rides in the shelter ambulance, Hess introduces innumerable animals and humans who will inspire, educate, and break your heart. With more than 20 million animals ending up in shelters each year in the United States alone, Hess's demand to rethink our relationships with domestic animals couldn't have come at a better time. Perceptive, well-written, and utterly moving, Lost and Found is a rare find indeed. --Stefanie Hargreaves
Book Description
From the dog kennels and the cat rooms to a puppy mill raid and rides in the shelter ambulance, Elizabeth Hess introduces innumerable animals and humans who will inspire, educate, and break readers? hearts. ?Intelligent, warmhearted and deserving of attention? (New York Times Book Review).
Customer Reviews:
Insightful and thought provoking.......2007-05-11
I highly recommend this book to anyone considering a pet. It makes you think about what repercussions are possible if you obtain a pet on a whim and do not dedicate yourself to training and caring for it. It shows the results of our society's "throwaway" mentality, the lack of education on the effects of pet overpopulation and the way our declining economy has added to the problem by not allowing many citizens the money to afford proper pet care and sterilization.
This books shows a cross section of a typical animal shelter and the fact that there are many not so happy endings, mostly because of humans and their failure to do right by their pets.
A very realistic view of an animal shelter.......2002-11-20
I've volunteered at the animal shelter in my town for a few years now, but have never had quite as much insight as this book provided. I get the feeling the shelter in the book has a smaller volunteer base than the shelter I have dealt with based on the details they were willing to share with her. This was a very uplifting book that explained a lot about why shelters work the way they do (ie rules about who can adopt, what happens when they get lost pets, etc.). Unfortunately, it is most likely to be read by the people that already understand these rules and why they exist.
Required reading for all current and wannabe pet owners.......2002-10-29
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I'm among those who do know what kind of responsibility it takes to own a dog. I'm the happy 'Mom' of 2 terriers, one of which is a rescue dog. It is true about rescued animals - they know they've been given another chance and will give you their love many times over.
Elizabeth Hess was down to earth in showing the trials and successes an animal shelter goes through. If you know someone who's not sure about getting a pet, I highly suggest they read this book. It'll make them think twice. If you know someone with misconceptions that all shelter animals get homes, give them this book as a wakeup call! A pet can take up as much or more of your time than a human baby, but the human race has made dogs, cats and other animals disposeable. There are happy endings as well as sad in the book, but it's worth buying. As the kids would say, we give it a 2 paws up!
The most wonderful compassionate reality book!.......2002-10-29
This book was so good I could not put it down. A realistic yet compassionate look at shelters today. A must read!
You'll want copies for your friends........2002-09-17
This behind the scenes look at an animal shelter and the everyday lives of the animals, and the people that work there is a beautifully told, heart warming, sometimes devistating story. It certainly drives the point home to adopt your pet rather than buy from a breeder or pet store. It's a book you'll not want to put down, and will remember long after you have. My friends all got copies.
Book Description
Even people who live with cats and have good reason to know better insist that cats are aloof and uninterested in relating to humans. Janet and Steven Alger contend that the anti-social cat is a myth; cats form close bonds with humans and with each other. In the potentially chaotic environment of a shelter that houses dozens of uncaged cats, they reveal a sense of self and build a culture—a shared set of rules, roles, and expectations that organizes their world and assimilates newcomers.
As volunteers in a local cat shelter for eleven years, the Algers came to realize that despite the frequency of new arrivals and adoptions, the social world of the shelter remained quite stable and pacific. They saw even feral cats adapt to interaction with humans and develop friendships with other cats. They saw established residents take roles as welcomers and rules enforcers. That is, they saw cats taking an active interest in maintaining a community in which they could live together and satisfy their individual needs. Cat Culture's intimate portrait of life in the shelter, its engaging stories, and its interpretations of behavior, will appeal to general readers as well as academics interested in human and animal interaction.
Customer Reviews:
Great book for college.......2007-06-09
I am reading this book in college for a book review. Wonderful book i think so anyways. i a cat lover read this book all my friends with a cat child.
your friend peter
Cat culture.......2007-01-04
As noted in the title, this book deals with a single shelter; it is not clear whether the findings can be generalized to other sites. The author was sometimes intrusive.
This book is a MUST read.......2003-08-03
This book is a wonderful combination of intelligent information and a loving tribute toward our warm, furry companions and intimate friends. The entire book is the sign of personal, cognitive, and emotional experience that leads to the raising questions about cats' existence as sentient beings. The book clearly establishes the fact that our furry friends are capable of emotional expression and their sensitivity is not a matter of mere affect but an aspect of growing awareness. The wonderful point this book makes is that to be appropriately sensitive to other beings' way is to experience them as real, breathing, and living entities. This book ultimately gives a direction by showing that the wonderful bridge of connectedness of human and other beings is possible through direct and deep experience. It is wonderful to realize that compassion is the way to learn and love.
Book Description
Theda Krakow is in a funk. Her sometime boyfriend's gone for good. The death of her beloved cat opened a bigger void. And the career leap she's made from copy editor to freelance writer has left her financesand her spiritflat. She desperately needs a headline to get her life back on track.
One day, out for a stroll in her Cambridge neighborhood, Theda spies an adorable stray kitten. This charmer leads Theda to an old woman holed up in a decrepit house full of cats. Is this one of those "crazy cat ladies," a classic hoarder, or is the old woman a neighborhood do-gooder
More important, is this the story to catapult Theda out of the dumps
But when she returns to interview Lillian Helmhold, Theda finds her fascinating subject dead of an apparent accident. The neighbors are celebrating, the police aren't interested, and the cats are removed to a shelter. End of story
Not for Theda--one or two things don't compute. So Theda marshals her investigative journalism skills to turn gumshoe.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable first mystery.......2007-10-01
Simon's series debut, "Mew is for Murder" features a likable heroine, some interesting local color (of the Cambridge, MS area), good pacing, and a story that will appeal to cat lovers. For those who find too many contemporary mysteries either overcome with their own cutesiness, or drowned in gore, this is a pleasant alternative. Give Simon a try.
Mew is for more, please!.......2006-09-06
A mystery involving cats that isn't cutesy or anthropomorphic--Clea Simon gets major points just for that. But on top of it, she created a terrific heroine in Theda Krakow, freelance journalist--smart, funny, strong yet vulnerable: thoroughly human.
Can't wait to read more!
Who killed the cat lady?.......2006-04-03
Theda Krakow is a freelance writer. She goes to interview cat lady Lillian and finds her dead. Everything points to her death being an accident except for the fact that someone keeps breaking into Lillian's house. It is rumored there is hidden treasure in the house. Theda is determined to get to the bottom of things and prove Lillian was murdered and why.
There are quite a few suspects including the real estate neighbor, the schizophrenic son, and a waitress who helped Theda with the cats. Can Theda find out who the killer is without putting herself in jeopardy?
I really enjoyed this first novel. I can't wait to read another one in this series. I am not fond of the many cat mysteries, but even though this was is billed with a cat, the cat is not prominent and does not solve the crime.
The characters and setting were well written. The plot was well crafted and there are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing.
I highly recommend this book.
Check out www.mysteryloverscorner.com
Definitely a keeper........2006-02-04
A fast, fun read. A delightful debut mystery that I hope will be a long running series.
Theda Krakow has recently quit her steady job at a local newspaper to try her hand at freelance writing. Her boy friend has left town and worst of all her cherished kitty has died. Can things get any worse? Of course they can. And do!
Theda arrives to interview a woman who she suspects may be a cat collector or hoarder. Instead Theda finds the woman dead and her house overrun with cats. When animal control arrives to collect the cats Theda rescues a kitten. The cats and their fate now interests Theda. She decides to try and find out why the dead woman had so many cats and with the help of friends starts looking into the life of the "cat lady". The more Theda learns the more it looks like the cat lady's death was no accident.
Clea Simon Has A Winner.......2005-12-16
Clea Simon has a winner! This is a mystery that cats are really cats; and that is so refreshing. Theda Krakow a freelance writer decides to write about a cat hoarder in her neighborhood. Only to discover that the woman in question is lying dead in her kitchen on the day she goes to interview her. Is the cat lady's death an accident as the police have reported it?
Theda not quite ready to adopt a cat yet so soon after the death of her own cat, but she rescues a limping kitten. The other cats in and about the house are rounded up and taken to the shelter. Somehow, she cannot see the kitten going into such an uncertain future. Something keeps drawing Theda back to the house and she begins to suspect murder.
Is it the young girl who has a punk band and sneaks in to take car of some of the cats left behind? Is it the woman next door who is a real estate dealer and wants to see the large house sold to someone who can take care of the property and raise the property values around the neighborhood? Some Theda is not sure she is comfortable with as she lives in the same neighborhood and gentrification will put her and many of her neighbors out.
What about the prejudice behavior towards the cat lady's mentally ill son? Would someone have killed her to keep him away from the neighborhood? To hunt for a supposed hidden treasure that he would not be able to handle. Why are people so nasty about her son?
Who are the other characters that show up at the house off and on and what are they looking for? Why is everyone interested in the cat lady's house and was she a true cat hoarder or was she someone who really took care of the cats and rescued them?
Read this book for a great mystery with real cats that do not talk or read books. You may find yourself rethinking your views on gentrification, mental illness and thankful that Clea Simon has provided the information in a great story with interesting characters. I can't wait to read about Theda, Musetta, and hopefully Violet again.
Liz Straw
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Wet Pets and Other Watery Tales
Hazel Weidman and Jacqueline Teare
Manufacturer: Trafford
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Cats, Dogs & Animals
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cats
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Dogs
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1412015162
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Book Description
In Wet Pets and Other Watery Tales human guardians relate how their family pets enjoy and meet challenges presented by the water, whether it\'s scrabbling aboard a boat in an ocean port or hitting the shower in a suburban home. From Cato "with hair slicked back, ears laid flat against his little skull, cat-paddling like crazy" for a nearby island, to Buster, his backside firmly planted in a child\'s car seat and Chester, obeying a very special command from the skipper, the cats, dogs-and even ducks- depicted in this book should warm the heart of any animal lover.
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