cat books

Review: The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Art of Purring by David Michie

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The Dalai Lama’s cat is back! David Michie first introduced the fictional feline,  HHC (His Holiness’ Cat), dubbed “Little Snow Lion” by the Dalai Lama himself, in his 2012 novel The Dalai Lama’s Cat. HHC was rescued by the Dalai Lama when he saw the small kitten being thrown in the gutter. In the first book, the reader gets an insider’s look at the day to day life of the Dalai Lama’s world as seen by his cat.

In The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Art of Purring, the Dalai Lama gives his feline companion the task of discovering the true case of happiness.Continue Reading

Review and Giveaway: Too Cute Kittens: Animal Planet’s Most Impossibly Adorable Kittens

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If you watch Animal Planet, you’ve undoubtedly come across their Too Cute series, which raises cute to a whole new level. Since I’m more of a reader than a TV watcher, I was delighted to find out about the new book Too Cute Kittens: Animal Planet’s Most Impossibly Adorable Kittens.

The press release for this book came with an appropriate warning: “Some material in these books may be too cute for human consumption. Reader discretion is advised.” And the press release didn’t lie: this little book redefines cute.Continue Reading

Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper Now Available in Paperback

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Gwen Cooper’s Love Saves the Day is one of the most touching cat books I’ve ever come across. This hauntingly beautiful story about how one small cat can change multiple lives is narrated primarily by Prudence, a brown tabby rescued from a deserted construction site on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Prudence is a keen observer of humans and knows them better than they know themselves at times.

This sweeping novel, with Prudence at the center, covers the music scene of the 1970s in Lower Manhattan, the issue of what happens to pets whose guardians die, the real life event of a building on the Lower East Side that was demolished in 1998 and plays a pivotal role in the story, and a complicated mother daughter relationship that crosses several decades. Cooper weaves all  of these threads into a beautiful, cohesive whole. Click here to read my full review of Love Saves the Day.Continue Reading

Review: The Cat, the Mill and the Murder by Leann Sweeney

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Leann Sweeney’s Cats in Trouble series just keeps getting better and better. The series features cat quilter Jillian Hart and her three cats Merlot, Chablis and Chiraz, along with her human friends, who all live in the small town of Mercy, South Carolina.

In The Cat, the Mill and the Murder, the latest installment in the series, Jillian volunteers to help a local animal shelter relocate a colony of feral cats living in an abandoned textile mill. When she visits the mill, she finds a woman who is living there with her “ghost cat” Boots. Jeannie went missing from Mercy, South Carolina, a decade ago, after her daughter’s disappearance. After Jeannie is hurt in an accident and taken to the hospital, a body is found in the mill’s old fireplace. This is only the beginning of a series of long-kept, dark secrets, and Jillian finds herself drawn into yet another investigation.Continue Reading

Review and Giveaway: Whiskerslist: The Kitty Classifieds by Angie Bailey

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If you’ve ever wondered what your cats are doing on the computer while you’re not looking, this book will tell you – although after reading it, you may wish you could go back to those innocent days before you knew about Whiskerslist: The Kitty Classifieds.

You may have thought you only had to worry about your cats developing an online shopping habit? Not according to what Angie Bailey uncovered in her investigation of feline internet habits. Oh no. According to Angie, you have a lot more to be concerned about, such as your cats looking for love (or a quick hook up), locating seminars to refine the art of looking away while being photographed, finding support groups for compulsive behavior like cord chewing, and even trying to sell off a slightly-used human.Continue Reading

Conscious Cat Sunday: Cats and Writers

Conscious Cat Sunday| 18 Comments

Amber reading Buckley's Story

“Authors like cats because they are such quiet, loveable, wise creatures,
and cats like authors for the same reasons.” Robertson Davies

Cats and writers just seem to go together. According to Barbara Holland, author of Secrets of the Cat: Its Lore, Legend and Lives, “a catless writer is almost inconceivable. It’s a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat.” I think she’s right.

I certainly get inspired by my two feline mewses, Allegra and Ruby. I couldn’t write The Conscious Cat without their inspurr-ation. But the best piece of writing I ever saw about how cats inspire writers comes from Muriel Spark’s A Far Cry From Kensington:Continue Reading

Review and Giveaway: Cat in an Alien X-Ray by Carole Nelson Douglas

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Carole Nelson Douglas’ Midnight Louie series, set in the glamour and glitz of Las Vegas and featuring feline detective Louie and his human, public relations specialist Temple Barr, is one of the longest running and best known feline mystery series. This four-footed sleuth has been solving mysteries since 1990!

In Cat in an Alien X-Ray, the 25th book in the series, Carole Nelson Douglas takes the reader on a wild ride as Louie and company encounter science fiction fans, UFO enthusiasts, and bizarre conspiracy theorists. Temple’s newest PR client is opening an “Area 51” attraction (the  code name for a military base in Nevada which has been the subject of conspiracy theories and rumors about UFO research) and wants Temple’s help to promote his new venture. When two bodies are discovered on the site, it is up to Midnight Louie and crew to unravel the multiple mysteries.Continue Reading

Review: Urban Tigers Two: More Tales of a Cat Vet by Kathy Chisholm

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When we first met Dr. Emily McBride In Urban Tigers: Tales of a Cat Vet, she charmed readers with stories from her first year at the Ocean View Cat Hospital in Nova Scotia, Canada, owned by the flamboyant Dr. Hughie. In Urban Tigers Two: More Tales of a Cat Vet, Emily’s adventures continue.

Like the first book, Urban Tigers Two offers an in depth look at what really goes on at a cat hospital. From eccentric clients to challenging medical cases, Emily sees it all. Drawn from the author’s own experience in a feline practice, much of the book brought back fond memories of my years working in veterinary clinics. (Trust me, even though some of the clients in the book may seem a bit  “over the top,” these demanding and sometimes oddball and quirky clients do exist in real life!)

There’s plenty of heartbreak in this book – that’s the nature of a life spent working with animals. But the book is also filled with lots of smiles and sometimes laugh-out-loud humor.

What I loved best about the bookContinue Reading

A Street Cat Named Bob Makes US Debut – Enter to Win

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James Bowen and his cat Bob have been capturing hearts since A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life was first published in the UK last spring. The book finally debuts in the United States today. Even though the US publisher changed the original subtitle to How One Man And His Cat Found Hope on the Streets, the story remains the same, and is no less compelling with a new subtitle and cover.

I reviewed the UK edition last year, and have been following the unfolding story of James and Bob since then – I just can’t get enough of this modern day fairy tale. From book signings with lines snaking around the block to a movie deal, James’ life changed in ways he never could have imagined when he first found Bob on the doorstep of his apartment building. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, and had just moved into subsidized housing as part of a drug recovery program after being homeless. The last thing he needed was a pet. But he just couldn’t turn his back on the injured cat, so he took him in and nursed him back to health. He never intended to keep him. Once Bob had recovered, James sent him on his way.

But Bob had other plans. Continue Reading

Coming Soon: Adventures in Veterinary Medicine

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I’m excited to announce my new book, Adventures in Veterinary Medicine:What Working in Veterinary Hospitals Taught Me About Life, Love, and Myself. The book offers a unique look at what really goes on in a veterinary hospital through the eyes of a former veterinary hospital manager, aka, yours truly. The book provides insight into what makes veterinary medicine such a rewarding profession through a series of stories about some of the pets I connected with during my twelve years working in the field.

Early Praise for Adventures in Veterinary Medicine

From Dr. Marty Becker, “America’s Veterinarian” and resident veterinarian for “Good Morning America:

“As a ‘veteran veterinarian’ with more than 30 years in practice, I found myself nodding in recognition throughout Ingrid King’s heartwarming book. Take a look behind the scenes at my beloved profession, and the people and pets who make veterinary medicine a rewarding adventure. You won’t regret it, I promise.”Continue Reading

Cat Detective E-Book Sale

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If you’re a fan of Lillian Jackson, Rita Mae Brown or Carole Nelson Douglas, and mysteries featuring feline detectives, you’ve probably already discovered Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s series starring feline P.I. Joe Grey. Joe Grey investigates murders, solves crimes, and protects his humans at all costs. The series also features Kit, a longhaired tortoiseshell cat.

In Cat Bearing Gifts,  the most recent in the series, Joe Grey and his four-legged cohorts are plunged into a nightmarish mystery involving a series of strange events that endangers them and the humans they love.

If you’re not familiar with the series, right now is a great time to check it out! Continue Reading