In my mind, the best gifts for Christmas are books. And given that I am such a cat person, of course I am always looking for the best cat books I can find. I have been really lucky this year in that my Abyssinians are appearing in two new books, so of course I am going to feature them, as well as some of my favorites.
Abyssinians, by Lynn Stone. Lynn Stone is a former teacher and sports writer who is now a widely published children’s book author and nature photographer. He spent several hours in our kitty courtyard last year taking photos of our Abyssinians to feature in his book about the breed. We were very honored, particularly since Lynn has photographed animals on all seven continents.
One of his books, Box Turtles, was chosen as an Outstanding Science Trade Book for the year 2008. He grew up in Connecticut and now lives in northern Illinois with his wife, golden retriever and two cats. The Abyssinian book is one of a series on different cat breeds, and our Magic appears on pages 7 and 19. For those of you who are into wild animals, dogs, wolves, whales, or other animals, Lynn has dozens of children’s books to choose from. Just log onto www.amazon.com and order some of his books for under the tree.
Continuing on with children’s book, another Connecticut native, and fairly new children’s book author, is Linda Dixon. Her children’s book, The Happy Home, is a must for every animal lover’s library. How she shows the lucky cat who meets the homeless kitty and teaches so many lessons, is quite wonderful. And it brought me to tears. Linda wrote the book to help our homeless cats and donates all profits to various rescue organizations.
Helping Paws was one of the recipients earlier this year. She will visit classrooms and talk with the children about how to take care of their pets and what pets give to us. For Christmas, the book now comes with an audio CD and a holiday cat ornament. So not only will you and your children have a book to remember, but you can help the homeless animals in your community as well. You can contact Linda and order her book by emailing her at onehappywren@aol.com.
My last Children’s book is one geared to four and five year olds – it’s called Cats, Cats, Cats and was written in 1984 by Bernard Wiseman. How did Miss Kittikat take care of all those homeless cats? A wonderful book I was so happy to find .
Adults – if you have not yet taken my advice and bought The Stony Point Whisker Club, then this year you need to get going and buy it. Don Loprieno was a history book writer and his last book was about Revolutionary War history at Stony Point. Needless to say, I missed that one. However, Don realized that there are different kinds of history and in this book, he has combined personal and feline history, blending it together to form one history. The story of one man’s life changed forever because of a little tabby named Cato. What made Cato so special? Can’t tell you that because it will ruin the story for you.
Suffice to say, you need to read this book. I asked Don what made him finally sit down and write this book and he told me that the turning point was losing Cato, although he knows in a very real sense, Cato can’t be lost. He thinks about him every day and although he has Clio who he views as Cato’s spiritual descendant and Titus, his other rescue cat, there will only be one Cato.
Remember, Don also donates the profits of his book to rescue groups and has recently added Helping Paws to the dropdown menu on his website so you could choose Helping Paws to receive that profit from the books you purchase. This holiday season, Don is offering a special that includes his personally inscribed book with free postage, a savings of at least $4.00. The book sells for $14.95 and can be purchased on www.thestonypointwhiskerclub.com.
Or you can email me at helpingpaws@sbcglobal.net and order the book as I have some copies left. However, I can’t offer free shipping. And to top everything off, there is a possibility of Cato’s story also becoming a children’s book – I will look forward to that.
A Snowflake in My Hand, by Samantha Mooney, is for lovers of cats and life itself, according to the New York Times. The story of Samantha’s work at New York City’s Animal Medical Center, her book centers on the lives of Clancy the tiger cat who is quite the Irish Rogue, gentle Oliver, who summers in Maine and makes friends with a sea gull, and Fledermaus, a tiny black cat who shows Samantha the rewards and risks, of loving again. Take out your Kleenex, and enjoy an afternoon of reading this book. Also available on amazon.com.
Last but not least, we end with the other book that my cats are featured in. The Cat Breeder’s Handbook is not just for Breeders. It is a beautifully prepared book that covers not only information about keeping and breeding cats, but offers valuable information from veterinarians, breeders and breed registries on many topics. Diseases, Medications, herbs and Homeopathy for cats, feeding raw, making your own cat food, vaccination controversies, identification, altering, stress and how to show a cat, are also covered in this book.
There are blueprints for making your own outside cat enclosure as well as how to sew stud pants for your whole male! The book offers tips on removing urine smell from your home. And my cats are part of this book too. It can be purchased on amazon.com for $48.95 and every serious cat lover should own this book.
So buy some books this Chrismas season – for yourself, your friends and your children. An economical way of sharing experiences with the authors and in many cases, helping the animals themselves through the donations of the authors.
Merry Christmas from my home to yours!
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