books about cats | Cat Pause

The Magic of Cats… Because We Could All Use a Little Magic Right Now

July 16, 2020 By Joi

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats

I’ve always loved the Chicken Soup for the Soul books and have always gotten excited when a new one hits the shelves (or in the modern era, Amazon). I’m EXTRA EXTRA excited about the newest book, The Magic of Cats, for three distinct reasons.

First Reason… 2020

2020 has been trying, to say the least. Every single day, we read about (and pray for) people who are sick or families who have had to say goodbye to loved ones they were in no way ready to say goodbye to. You simply can’t see these gut-wrenching real life events DAILY without them affecting you. The more empathetic you are (I’m a solid 10 out of 10 on the scale, myself), the more you feel each loss and sympathize with each tear.

This year, as much as any year I can remember, has caused me to focus on one of my favorite “focal” words: BALANCE. We have to make a point of balancing the negative with as much positive as we can and we have to respond to the ugliness with as much beauty as we can find or muster.

My favorite ways to bring balance into my world are prayer, family (which includes our cats, of course), inspirational reading, cooking, old movies, flower gardening, and classic television. Balancing acts such like these keep what’s out there from eating you alive from the inside out.

Chicken Soup for the Soul books are incredibly inspiring and uplifting. Each book is a collection of stories that remind you that, often… very, very often… good ultimately wins and love is the most powerful emotion of all. I honestly feel like these books could be prescribed as effectively for stress and anxiety as any medication on or off the market. They fill you with hope and happiness and, could we ever use a daily dose of those right now??!

“Eddie” Hard at Work on a Puzzle

Second Reason… Cats

Okay, I have a cat blog, so it’s no secret here that I am obsessed with and completely in love with cats – all cats… big, small, domesticated, feral, fat, slender, long hair, short hair, no hair, yours, mine…. All cats. I don’t only approve of the title of this book, The Magic of Cats… I applaud it with a hearty “AMEN!”

Earlier, I was having one of those busy human moments – wondering what I was going to make for supper, when I’d have a chance to finish this very post, how I could convince the dishes to do themselves… all while basically going around in circles as the neck tension began to gain momentum. I happened to glance at one of our cats, Guennie, looking especially beautiful and peaceful soaking up the afternoon sunshine. Instantly… literally instantly… the tension melted away.

Obviously that doesn’t happen in every instance and certainly not for everyone – but it happens regularly for me with my cats and I’m sure you can relate.

There is a certain magic to cats and you’ll never convince a cat lover there isn’t.

Eddie, Wondering if He’ll Be Required to Sign Autographs

Third Reason… and the Biggest Reason, if We’re Being Honest…. Emily!

Who’s Emily? She’s Emily Dill – my beautiful oldest daughter… and recently a first time mother of a human baby (she and her husband have had cat babies for years.. awesome great pre-game). She is a writer and her story about their cat, Edgar Allan Poe (Eddie, for short), is one of the stories in the book.

As her mother and Eddie’s MiMi, I am unspeakably proud of both of them!

Eddie’s story (he insists I call it that, since he is, after all, the star) is in the chapter about cats that “choose” their forever home and, more importantly, their forever family.

Emily and Dill (her husband) had recently moved into their home, with their “princess” Janie, a gorgeous shiny black cat who has been a real character since day one. She was adopted as a tiny kitten and had run of the house since day one.

Eddie showed up one day, on the brink of death (literally – I don’t exaggerate) to their home. He may or may not have realized it then, but he had just chosen his forever home and forever family and could not have done a better job. I’m still convinced that Princess Janie consenting to accept a brother was an answer to prayer. If you knew this little girl like I do, you’d know it couldn’t have been anything but Divine intervention.

I hope you will buy the book to read all of Eddie’s story – as well as the many, many other heart-warming and uplifting stories. So many (including Emily’s story… I’m sorry… including Eddie’s story) moved me to tears – fortunately, I know by now to always sit down to the beautiful Chicken Soup books with a box of tissues. These stories are so beautiful… so precious… so MAGICAL.

Cats bring a certain amount of magic to our homes and to our lives and this wonderful book is an extraordinary reminder.

The Magic of Cats is available on Amazon and would make the most amazing gift for cat lovers imaginable. Just be sure to package it with a box of tissues to catch all of the happy tears.

~ Joi

P.S. Chicken Soup is just as healing as it ever was.

Eddie… Living His Best Lives!

Great Book for Cat Lovers: You Need More Sleep (Advice from Cats)

March 29, 2017 By Joi

Like any cat lover worth an ounce of catnip, I love books about cats… whether they’re humorous, touching, informative – or a little of each – I grab them up and devour them cover to cover.

You Need More Sleep: Advice from Cats is an especially fun book for cat lovers.

A few of the adorable (and, let’s face it, true!) nuggets of wisdom include:

show you care with homemade gifts…
don’t be nice to unpleasant people…
never let anyone dress you…
trust the person who feeds you regularly….

An enjoyable and entertaining read, this is a book you’ll want to read again and again. It also makes a perfect gift idea for the cat lovers in your life – if that describes your mom, dad, or an upcoming graduate, this is the time of year to grab each one a copy!

Review: Call of the Cats (What I Learned About Life and Love From a Feral Colony)

October 25, 2016 By Joi

Call of the Cats: What I Learned About Life and Love From a Feral Colony by Andrew Bloomfield

Call of the Cats: What I Learned about Life and Love from a Feral ColonyBefore I tell you more about a book all cat lovers will want in their life asahp (as soon as humanly possible), let me give you a glimpse into my everyday life (it’ll help you understand just how fast I jumped at the opportunity to review this book):

First thing each morning, I feed my inside furry baby, Alexa (the stereotypical long-haired, chubby, spoiled-rotten cat who rules her domain) and provide her with fresh water (yes, from a bottle in the refrigerator). Then I turn my attention immediately to my outside children: Feral cats and “reformed ferals” who are now fat, spoiled housecats who happen to live outdoors. They’re fed and watered, while obscene amounts of attention and love are poured upon them. Those that allow it are held and told how precious they are while those who don’t allow me to even touch them are told the same words from a distance. This love fest is repeated throughout the day.

I keep both eyes peeled for arrivals throughout the day and, naturally, greet them with treats and salutations. Oh, and photos… so many photos are taken!

Call of the Cats: What I Learned about Life and Love from a Feral Colony has inspired me to write more about my own beloved feral cats (who are, at this point, simply known as family). I’ll be adding more pictures of these special little family members regularly to Cat-Pause, as well as stories from here on out and I have this incredibly beautiful and fun to read book to thank for the inspiration.

{Book review continued below….}

From the Back Cover:
When aspiring screenwriter Andrew Bloomfield moved into a bungalow in Southern California he soon discovered that he shared the property with a large colony of feral cats — untamed, uninterested in human touch, not purring pets in waiting. But after a midnight attack by predators that decimated yet another litter of kittens, Bloomfield decided to intervene. He began to name and nurse, feed and house, rescue and neuter. Drawing on his time living in Asia among spiritual teachers, he takes us on the contemplative, humorous, and poignant journey of saving these cats, only to find it was they who saved him by revealing a world of meaning beyond his unrealized Hollywood dreams.

While Call of the Cats is an especially riveting and heart-touching book for those of us who care for (and love unconditionally) feral cats, the book is a must read for all cat lovers. Even if the only cats in your life are the ones now lying on your bed, you will be touched by, amused by, and affected by this beautiful book and the author, Andrew Bloomfield’s Texas-size heart.

Editorial Reviews

“With humor and wit, Call of the Cats illustrates the perils and rewards of rescuing animals that live at the margins of human society. If you have ever cared for an animal, this book will resonate with you.”
— Marty Becker, DVM, America’s Veterinarian and author of Your Cat: The Owner’s Manual

“Andrew Bloomfield’s heartfelt memoir is not just about his unconditional love for the feral-cat colony that he came to know and adopt. It’s also a much larger portrait of how we can live with, and gently support, animals, who are all at our mercy.”
— Patrick McDonnell, creator of MUTTS and illustrator of Guardians of Being

“Great writing is great storytelling, and Andrew Bloomfield is a great storyteller. This book is, in a word, stunning!… Buy it for every cat lover you know, as well as every ‘not yet’ cat lover. If this book doesn’t win them over, I don’t know what will.”
— Amelia Kinkade, author of Straight from the Horse’s Mouth

“Call of the Cats is like Born Free in an urban backyard, full of remarkable detail about the wild life around us and the extraordinary emotional attachments that can exist between human beings and the untamed animals that occasionally share our lives.”
— Bruce Joel Rubin, Academy Award–winning screenwriter of Ghost

About the Author

Andrew lived the better part of two years in Nepal where he followed a 17th century pilgrim’s guidebook to research spiritual sites around the lower Himalayas. He has worked as assistant manager and book buyer for East West Books in Manhattan, and for Snow Lion Publications in Ithaca, NY. He wrote Learning Practical Tibetan (with MP3s) for Snow Lion. In Seattle, he opened his own bookstore, Infinity Books, in Pioneer Square, where he hosted many public events, including appearances by renowned Tibetan lamas, Hindu saints, and Zen masters. He moved to Los Angeles and wrote How to Practice Vedic Astrology (with CD-ROM) for Harper Collins, subsequently published by Inner Traditions.

When writing book reviews on any of my websites – whether it’s a cookbook review on my food blog or an inspirational book review on my self help blog, I always like to tell why I loved the book, what my first and last reactions were, and (most importantly) what my readers will get from reading the book. I try to accomplish all of this without giving away anything within the book that I want future readers to discover for themselves. A book reviewer should, in my opinion, set the tone for the book without giving anything away.

When I enjoy a book as much as I did Call of the Cats: What I Learned about Life and Love from a Feral Colony, it’s especially hard. My words get so worked up and excited that they trip all over themselves – like a litter of kittens all trying to get to “milk time” first.

My reactions to this book were the same at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end: I realized that I was in the presence of a kindred spirit. The author’s compassion for cats, love of each one, and overwhelming drive to help make each one safe and protected speaks to every inch of my being. When I saw that he, also, named feral cats, I even said out loud, “My kind of human.”

Below are a few questions and answers with this Andrew Bloomfield (“My kind of human”)

Why did you begin feeding these cats when you knew they would become dependent on you?

Initially the impulse to feed the cats was in response to watching on of the cats die from choking on a bone it had scavenged from a neighbor’s trash. That was the impetus for making sure the cats were well nourished. Imbedded in that was the tacit understanding that we were making a commitment, to always be there for them. Or if not, to find someone to take our place – which is what happened. The thought of their dependence on us was a secondary consideration, and for us not as important as making sure they were getting safe, nourishing food. Dependence has somewhat of a negative connotation, and perhaps having wild cats depend on us was wrong. I have no way of knowing. But from our point of view it would only have been wrong if we were inconsistent with our care-giving.

Why did you spend money on these cats when you could barely support yourself?

None of this was very well thought out ahead of time! But I’ve come to learn that truly helping really has no self-reference. As I mentioned in the book, I once heard a spiritual teacher comment that the mantra of stupidity is “what about me?” It’s been my experience in life that whenever I’ve tried to self-protect or wonder “what’s in it for me,” I end up with less. What I tried to hold onto for myself slipped through my fingers like sand. Also, whether I fed the cats or myself with my last dollar didn’t much matter. Either way I was going to be broke.

How do you know that Trap Neuter Release Really Works?

In my case I can only share my experience from one colony of cats in my back yard. As a result of TNR we went from 50 cats to 6 over time. The colony naturally and organically grew smaller as older cats died off and weren’t replaced by others, as no other litters were possible. So in our case the results were textbook, just as described.

Obviously most won’t be called to care for cats. Can you shed any insight into how others might find their life’s purpose?

I do believe one key in discerning one’s true purpose is simply by doing the thing right in front of your face. The thing closest at hand.

Our civilization is skewed toward unease. An unease born of not looking like, having, or accomplishing whatever an advertiser deems to be indispensable at the time – or what the idol-of-the-day embodies. Thus many strive to look like, or be like, or have the things we’re told will bring us satisfaction. But what is lost in that search is authenticity. Authenticity is being true to oneself – being comfortable in our bodies and content with our skill sets. I’ve met parking garage attendants who take great pride in their work and are more fulfilled in their lives as a result, than some Fortune 500 CEOs.

{Book review concluded below….}

Beautiful Cover Model of Call of the Cats!

I believe he really nailed it when he used the word fulfillment. The happiness that comes from being fulfilled with what you are doing is unlike happiness that springs from any other source. Caring for cats gives cat lovers a great sense of fulfillment. When the happiness that comes as a result meets the love that flows from cat to human – it’s simply a breathtakingly beautiful thing.

I chose to end this article with the precious picture above – the one that graces the cover. I don’t think a more apt or perfect picture could have been chosen for this book because this is, quite frankly, the face of the feral cat. You can see pride in the eyes – because no animal is more proud than a cat! – but you can also see a need to be cared for. There’s a hint of vulnerability in every cat, whether she admits it or not. There are so many things (some with fur, some with not) that have the potential to harm cats and when we take it upon ourselves to help them dodge harm, we do a great, fulfilling, and even beautiful service.

It’s the cat’s pride that is always at the front of my mind when caring for all of my cats (inside, outside, tame, wild, feral… they’re all family!). My family and I always seek ways to help the cats help themselves by providing food, water, and shelter. One of my sons-in-law builds “cabins” for them and my husband buys heating pads for the cold months to place inside the cabins.

My youngest daughter and I find blankets, sleeping bags (so thick and comfortable!), and even pillows to make their lives more comfortable.

Caring for cats is an honor and one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever known.

If you love cats, trust me, Call of the Cats is the next book you want to read. It’s inspiring, uplifting, heart-touching, and often downright hilarious.

Cats are such characters!

It’s a highly entertaining read and one I highly recommend. It would also make an EXCELLENT gift idea for the cat lovers in your life… a gift they won’t soon forget.

Lessons from Stanley the Cat: The Ideal Gift for Cat Lovers

December 9, 2010 By Joi

I was recently sent a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful book to review for my websites titled Lessons from Stanley the Cat: Nine Lives of Everyday Wisdom.

This warm, funny, and very thought-provoking book was written by Jennifer Freed as a tribute to her beloved cat (a real character if there ever was one!) Stanley. Not only is the book a beautiful account of a very special little cat and the love he had for his human… and vice-versa… Lessons from Stanley the Cat: Nine Lives of Everyday Wisdom also serves as a self help and self improvement book, offering countless tips and lessons.

Lessons courtesy of Stanley!

The little book will become one of your favorites instantly – you’ll fall in love with the illustrations, the author, and most certainly Stanley.

Product Description

Seduction is just the practice of artful stretching.
Never let people know how fast you are. Appear slow in all things, and less is expected of you. When someone is on the computer too long, help them by distracting them, or walk lightly on their keyboard.So advises Stanley, a remarkably astute cat with a keen eye for the important things in life. Perhaps you don’t have time for yoga, can’t afford therapy, or wouldn’t dare cry to mother. If so, let Stanley be your guide. Lessons from Stanley the Cat offers wise and witty maxims from Stanley himself, translated by his doting psychotherapist (human) parent, Jennifer Freed. Whether you’re a cat lover or prefer companions of the canine variety, Stanley’s warmth and insight are sure to brighten even the grayest days.

About the Author

Dr. Jennifer Freed is a psychotherapist, a radio show host, and a professor. She lives with her family in Santa Barbara, California. You can learn more about Jennifer at www.jenniferfreed.com. Tone Gellerstedt is a journalist and a graphic designer. She lives with her fiancé, Jonas, and their daughter, Lo, in Uppsala, Sweden. She works at her local paper and publishes books and artwork for her company, Artelligens.

I’d strongly urge you to buy several copies – one for yourself and one or more for the cat lovers on your gift list. This little book (costing just a little over $10) is the ideal book for a cat lover to have in their book collection. After all, we cat lovers love few things as much as fellow cat lovers – other humans who revere and love their cats as much as we do our’s.

The author of Lessons from Stanley the Cat: Nine Lives of Everyday Wisdom? Make no mistake about it, she’s our kind of people… cat people.

Click HERE right away and order your copies today. Act now and you’ll have Stanley’s lessons in time for Christmas!

The Magic of Cats… Because We Could All Use a Little Magic Right Now

Great Book for Cat Lovers: You Need More Sleep (Advice from Cats)

Review: Call of the Cats (What I Learned About Life and Love From a Feral Colony)

Editorial Reviews

Lessons from Stanley the Cat: The Ideal Gift for Cat Lovers

Product Description

About the Author

#1 Best-Seller on Amazon

An Ingenious Litter Box…

Christmas EVERYDAY!

Cat Tunnel..

Photographs on the Blog

Keep Your Indoor Cat Active and Entertained