Review: A labour of kitty love
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 23, 2011
As someone who is obsessed with cats and fluffy animals in general, I picked up this book excitedly. As a child, our house was literally filled with animals and as an adult I've had four of my own cats. Once, years ago, two of them got pregnant at the same time at only five months old. The result was ten little furry lives charging around my home. At the time, Annarita's book would have come in handy. Although I think I'm a sort of expert now on cats, I learn't quite a few things that I didn't know, such as why some cats will follow you around everywhere, sitting on you at every opportunity, while others remain aloof, or the best age to take in a kitten or how to deal with a difficult animal. Oh no, I'm not telling you... you'll have to read... This book provides a handy and intelligent guide for anyone thinking of getting a kitten or who finds themselves adopted by a homeless cat. There are many stories within these pages, many examples, many tips, many episodes from Annarita's experiences of bringing up her four-pawed friends. Even things she views as mistakes are catalogued, along with the better way of doing them. Useful advice includes how to feed a kitten a pill - I hadn't thought of that solution. Fascinating stories include one in which she drove 100 miles to adopt a kitten that needed a home with some crazy results. The story of the cat and the windowsills had me giggling on the train. Many other anecdotes reminded me of situations in the past with my own cats. All in all, you get the impression that Annarita loves her role as mother to 34 kitties. This would seem a daunting task to most people, but she relishes it. This book is a real labour of love and represents the sum of her experience, which she enthusiastically passes on. You also get the impression that you're listening to her in person as she brings all of these cats and their individual personalities to life on the page. Purrfect reading.