Top Five Cat Books by Anita Kelsey

By Anita Kelsey – Author of Claws. Confessions Of A Cat Groomer

I admit it. I am crazy about cats and when I get any downtime I like nothing more than to relax with a good book about.. you guessed it – cats!!!

Here’s my top five cats books to keep you all happy and cosy with your own fur bods.

LOST CAT by Caroline Paul and Wendy McNaughton.

Caroline Paul was recovering from a bad accident (she had been flying a plane when it happened) and thought things couldn’t get worse. But then her beloved cat Tibia disappeared. She and her partner, illustrator Wendy MacNaughton, anxiously waited for his return, before resigning themselves to their loss.

But weeks later, Tibia waltzed back into their lives. His owners were overjoyed. They might also have been a bit jealous. All right, they were very jealous! Where had their sweet anxious cat disappeared to? Had he become a swashbuckling cat adventurer? Did he love someone else more? His owners were determined to find out.

Using methods as diverse as GPS technology, cat cameras, psychics, the web and animal communicators, they embarked on a quest to discover what their cat did when they weren’t around. Writer Caroline Paul tells the warm and poignant story of their discoveries, alongside Wendy MacNaughton’s elegant and hilarious full-colour watercolours.

Lost Cat was a wonderful read and had me crying with laughter in places and crying with sadness in others. The illustrations were really outstanding.

Click here to read an interview I did with Caroline Paul.

DEWEY – THE SMALL TOWN LIBRARY CAT by Vicki Myron

I couldn’t put this book down once I had started reading it. On the coldest morning of the year, Vicki Myron found a tiny, bedraggled kitten almost frozen to death in the night drop box of the library where she worked, and her life — and the town of Spencer, Iowa — would never be the same.
Vicki was a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm and an alcoholic, abusive husband. But her biggest challenge as the new head librarian in Spencer was to raise the spirits of a small, out-of-the-way town mired deep in the farm crisis of the 1980s.

Dewey, as the townspeople named the kitten, quickly grew into a strutting, adorable library cat whose antics kept patrons in stitches, and whose sixth sense about those in need created hundreds of deep and loving friendships.
As his fame grew, people drove hundreds of miles to meet Dewey, and people all over the world fell in love with him.

Through it all, Dewey remained a loyal companion, a beacon of hope not just for Vicki, but for the entire town of Spencer as it slowly, steadily pulled itself up from the worst financial crisis in its long history. Dewey won hearts and proved to everyone he encountered that unconditional love comes in many forms. Such a sweet story.

A STREET CAT NAMES BOB by James Bowen

It goes without saying that I would add this book. And yes, I was one of the people queuing for a book signing at Covent Garden to meet James and the adorable Bob.

When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet.

Yet James couldn’t resist helping the strikingly intelligent tom cat, whom he quickly christened Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas.

Soon the two were inseparable and their diverse, comic and occasionally dangerous adventures would transform both their lives, slowly healing the scars of each other’s troubled pasts.

A Street Cat Named Bob is an extremely moving and uplifting story that will touch the heart of anyone who reads it. It did mine.

THE LIFE OF LITTLE JACK – By Davina Hanes

The Life of Little Jack. This true and moving story provides an insight into how Little Jack was found as a desperate kitten on the streets of Manchester, requiring emergency surgery to his eye. Alone and abandoned, his fate suddenly changed once he was accepted by a small Rescue Charity. However, concern for Little Jack s vision was growing. Would he regain full sight or would he be destined to a life of darkness? What unfolds is Little Jack s journey to recovery following the loss of his eye and his integration into his new home with twelve other furry friends. Cats are notoriously territorial; would they accept or reject Little Jack being in their midst? Little Jack has already stolen the hearts of hundreds in his tiny life. Read on to discover what exactly is so special about this amazing little kitten.

All proceeds of the book go to Oldham Cats Rescue so a very worthy cause.

Last but not least …..

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FURRED KIND – By Tom Cox

Tom Cox is infuriating. Not only is he a fantastic and engaging writer but he managed to nab every book title when I was trying to think of a good title for my debut book!!! Tom explains his book perfectly:

Have you ever moved house, over a distance of 350 miles, with four cats? If you haven’t, and are thinking about it, I’ll give you some advice: don’t.

If you really must move, try to get the cats to arrange their own transport. Focus on yourself instead. You’ll have plenty to think about as it is, and the cats will only get in the way with their sarcasm and hairballs. I moved from Norfolk to Devon with four cats and it felt like such an impossible ordeal, part of me believes that I actually died somewhere along the way and am now living in some kind of afterlife: very much like real life, but a little slower moving, and with slightly clearer air. “That’s just the West Country,” I’ve been told, but I can’t be 100% certain.

A great exploration into the world of cat and human! I enjoy all of Tom’s books and you will too.

So, there you have it. 5 great books for the cat loving reader.

Enjoy!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anita Kelsey holds a first class honours degree in Feline Behaviour and Psychology (work based BA Hons) and runs a vet referral service dedicated strictly to the diagnosis and treatment of behaviour problems in cats. She is also a qualified cat groomer and specialises in grooming aggressive or phobic cats. Anita writes for Your Cat Magazine and is on their experts panel answering readers questions on cat grooming. She also advises on feline behaviour for the CFBA (Canine and Feline Behaviour) magazine as well as being a full member. Anita, a strong advocate of a vegan lifestyle, is based in Notting Hill, London but consults all over the UK as well as international requests. She lives with her husband, a music producer, and two Norwegian Forest cats, Kiki and Zaza.

Her debut booked, pictured left, is published by John Blake and is called Claws, Confessions Of A Cat Groomer.

Available from Amazon and all good book shops.