Product Description

Cats first purred their way into human hearts thousands of years ago, and have been our treasured companions and soul mates ever since. Whether impish kittens, regal adult cats or serene seniors, it’s impossible for us to remain indifferent to them—especially at 4 A.M. when the food bowl runs dry! So smile at their many "c'attitudes," and feed your feline passion by "purr-using" wonderful stories like these:

• A Russian blue comforts his mourning owner by faithfully bringing her flowers
• An heroic red tabby Manx saves the family he loves from a lethal gas leak in their home
• A Devon rex with extraordinary talents—including playing the piano—expands people's notions of what a cat can do
• A fish-loving shorthair nearly loses his head while scavenging in the garbage disposal—but lives to meow about it
• A three-legged kitty befriends a lonely third-grade girl, transforming her world and inspiring her future success in life

From playful and hilarious accounts of life with cats to heartwarming tales of cat courage, healing and learning, each touching story in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul celebrates the special bond we share with our cats.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19869 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 380 pages

About the Author
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Marty Becker, D.V.M., is regularly featured on ABC-TV's Good Morning America and writes a weekly column for over 500 Knight Ridder newspapers.

Carol Kline is co-director of the Dog Rescue Program at the Noah's Ark Animal Foundation.

Amy D. Shojai, writes a weekly newspaper P'ETiquette™ column and the weekly online PurinaCatchow.com "Emotional Health" column.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Oscar, the Garbage-Can Kitty

Oscar was named after the Sesame Street character who lives in a garbage can because that is where we first became acquainted. I was working at a pizza-delivery chain and had been assigned garbage duty. While tossing bags into a Dumpster, I heard a faint meow. I began digging through the trash, and several layers down I found a cat—bruised and thin. I wasn’t sure if the cat had crawled into the Dumpster to scavenge for food or if he had been put there purposely. Our establishment sat directly behind an apartment complex, and unsupervised and abandoned pets were common.

Back on solid ground, it became evident that the cat had an injured leg. He couldn’t put any weight on his right hindquarters. The situation created a dilemma for me. Finances were tight, and I was moving back home to my parents’ house—with two cats already in tow. Dad barely tolerated the two established felines. His reaction to another injured stray was sure to be less than receptive. I took the stray to the vet, hoping to patch him up. After shots and X-rays, the vet discovered the cat had a cracked pelvis. I posted notices, hoping someone would claim the cat or adopt him.

Meanwhile, the response at home was swift and firm: No more cats! Dad insisted I take the cat to the Humane Society immediately. I protested that the cat would be put to sleep. Luckily, my mother intervened. She agreed the injury would make the cat unadoptable, so we would keep him long enough for his hip to heal. Then he would have to go—no arguments.

Oscar must have somehow understood his situation. He seemed to study the other two cats and their interactions with my father. We suspect he bribed Tanner, our golden retriever, with table scraps in exchange for etiquette lessons. When the other cats were aloof, Oscar was attentive. He came when his name was called, and he would roll over on his back to have his belly scratched. As his injury began to heal, he would jump on the ottoman by my father’s favorite chair, and, eventually, into his lap. Initially, Dad pushed Oscar away, but persistence paid off. Soon, Oscar and a muttering Dad shared the chair. At mealtimes, Oscar would come to sit with us.

Positioned on the floor by my father’s chair, every so often Oscar would reach up with one paw and tap Dad on the knee. At first, this provoked great irritation and colorful expletives expressed in harsh tones. Oscar, however, refused to be put off. Repetitive knee-taps soon led to semi-covert handouts of choice morsels.

Oscar greeted my father at the top of the stairs every morning and waited for him at the door every evening. My father sometimes ignored Oscar, and, at other times, stepped over him, complaining the whole time. Oscar mastered opening doors by sticking his paw underneath the door and rocking it back and forth until it opened. Soon, he was sleeping in the master bedroom at the foot of the bed. My father was completely disgusted, but couldn’t stop the cat from sneaking onto the bed while they were sleeping. Eventually, Dad gave up.

Before long, Oscar, aspiring to his own place at the table during meals, began jumping up into my lap. He was allowed to stay as long as his head remained below table level. Of course, an occasional paw would appear as a reminder of his presence.

Three months passed, and the vet pronounced Oscar healthy and healed. I was heartbroken. How could I take this loving soul away from what had become his home, from the people he trusted? Sick at heart, I brought Oscar home and told my parents what should have been good news: Oscar was a healthy cat with a healed hip. “I’ll take him to the Humane Society like I promised,” I said dully. As I turned to put Oscar in the carrier for the trip, my father spoke, uttering three magic words: “Not my cat!” Oscar is home to stay. He now has his own chair at the table and sleeps—where else?—in the master bedroom between my mother and father. He is their official “grandkitten” and living proof that deep within the most unlikely heart, there is a cat lover in all of us.

-Kathleen Kennedy

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©2005. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

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Customer Reviews

IT HELPED ME
I had recently lost my favorite cat, and was looking for something to help me get over my lost. I came across this book & reading stories of other people and their cats helped me get over my loss, especially the part about other people losing their cats! It does help your soul, when you lose your one true friend. I recommend this book highly!!!

For Cat Lover's Only
Being a Lover of Cat's when I saw this Book--it was a "must have" for myself. Each story is true and has its own uniqueness just as every Cat does. It is simply a fun book to curl up with, you will laugh, cry, sigh and definately agree with, for one way or another you will understand and learn through each story about how amazing "Cat's" truley are. If you are a Lover of Cat's you will enjoy adding this Book to your Home Library-------this one you won't regret. MEOWWWWWWWWWW.

Cat Lovers.. of all ages!
My little one is a big cat lover. Although her allergies forbid her to own a cat, this book helps her to receive a better love for them. We have many of the chicken soup books and this one is her favorite. Also.... shop for the book "The Secret" it has some footnotes from this same author. The Secret is a must for children too. Of course, we all want our children to grow up with a world of knowledge, well it starts with what us parents buy our children. Books...Books...Books.... people. Turn Off the TV's...