Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul: Stories of Feline Affection, Mystery and Charm
380Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul: Stories of Feline Affection, Mystery and Charm
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Overview
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781453274880 |
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Publisher: | Chicken Soup for the Soul |
Publication date: | 08/07/2012 |
Series: | Chicken Soup for the Soul Series |
Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 380 |
Sales rank: | 648,209 |
File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Jack Canfield is co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, which includes forty New York Times bestsellers, and coauthor of The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. He is a leader in the field of personal transformation and peak performance and is currently CEO of the Canfield Training Group and Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Foundation for Self-Esteem. An internationally renowned corporate trainer and keynote speaker, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.
Mark Victor Hansen is a co-founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Hometown:
Santa Barbara, CaliforniaDate of Birth:
August 19, 1944Place of Birth:
Fort Worth, TexasEducation:
B.A. in History, Harvard University, 1966; M.A.T. Program, University of Chicago, 1968; M.Ed., U. of Massachusetts, 1973Website:
http://www.jackcanfield.comRead an Excerpt
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
©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.
Table of Contents
Introduction ix
1 On Love
Stubbly Dooright Marty Becker, D.V.M. Teresa Becker 2
Oscar, the Garbage-Can Kitty Kathleen Kennedy 7
My Mother's Cat Renie Burghardt 10
Music-Loving Tabby Beverly F. Walker 15
Coco's Cat Sheila Sowder 19
The Power of Love Barbara (Bobby) Adrian 23
"Child" Proof Valerie Gawthrop 26
The Uncles Bonnie Compton Hanson 30
A Perfect Match M. L. Charendoff 33
Conversation with a Cat Hoyt Tarola 38
Always Room for One More Roberta Lockwood 43
Disney's World Toni Fames 47
What Was That Sound? Maryjean Ballner 52
What I Did for Love Linda Bruno 57
2 Celebrating the Bond
Beautiful Music Steve Dale as told to Amy Shojai 62
That's My Cat Mary Knight 67
The Wisdom of Socrates Syndee A Barwick 72
Saving Private Hammer Rick Bousfield 78
Billu the Beauty, Henry the Hero Cori Jones 83
The Cat Burglar Marty Becker, D.V.M 86
Ling Ling Theresa Dwyre Young 91
The Ashram Cat Shirley Harmison 96
Ariel and Pongo Keiri Glynn 100
Reunion Karen S. Bentley 102
Can You See Me? Dena Harris 108
Mayor Morris M. L. Charendoff 111
Trash-Pickin' Kitty Marie D. Jones 115
Volunteer of the Year Edi dePencier 118
To Find a Friend Vanni Cappelli 121
3 A Furry Rx
Laser, the Therapist Nancy Kucik 130
Five Hundred Flowers Bev Nielsen 134
A Dickens of a Cat Gwen Ellis 138
Puffin's Gift Jennifer Gay Summers 143
Friends for Life Silvia Baroni 147
Nurse Mima Natalie Suarez 152
Peace for Pickles B. J. Taylor 156
The Cloe Cure Marlene Alexander 161
Angels Among Us Vivian Jamieson, D.V.M. 165
The China Cat Mary Bryant, V.M.D 169
4 Cat-Egorically Wonderful
Catch of the Day Patti Schroeder 174
The Cat Man Roger Dean Kiser 181
Serendipity Amy D. Shojai 186
Panther and the Pigeons Barbara Vitale 192
The Cat's Bill of Rights Michael Ruemmler 195
The Ins and Outs of Cats Betsy Stowe 197
One Smart Cat Rebecca A Eckland 199
Jaws, the Terror Carol Shenold 204
The Cat Who Brought Us a Bottle of Wine… from the Popes' Private Reserve Michael McGaulley 206
In-Flight Movings Lisa-Maria Padilla 210
Comedy Pet Theater Gregory Popovich 213
Ringo, the Hero Cat Carol Steiner 217
5 Cats as Teachers
Clueless About Cats Carol Kline 222
For Every Cat, There Is a Reason Lisa Duffy-Korpics 226
Warm Rocks and Hard Lessons Joan Shaddox Isom 232
Beginning Again Harriet May Savitz 236
Solomon's Smile Sharon Melnicer 240
What Willa Knew Kate Reynolds 244
Learning with Roscoe Ellen Perry Berkeley 247
Time with Marky Joanne Liu 251
6 Farewell, My Love
A Postcard to Fremont Catherine Johnson 256
Angel Cat Lesléa Newman 261
Full Circle Andrea Rolfingsmeier 265
The Long Good-Bye Jeanne Marie Laskas 269
Walking with Ace Edie Scher 273
Patches Carolyn Hams 276
The Bell Tolls for Annabelle Madelyn Filipski 278
The Funeral Linda Mihatov 282
Merlyn's Magic Lori Hess 284
Ring of Fire Sara Wye 289
A Cat's Gift of Faith Claudia Newcorn 293
7 Rescue Me!
A Miracle Called Faith Heather L. Sanborn 298
Black Jellybeans Dorian Solot 304
Persian Love Daniela Wagstaff 308
My Life as a Midwife Brian Baker 312
The Kitten Who Saved His Mom Elizabeth Doyle 316
Bogie's Search for His Forever Home Lorra E. Allen 321
Alley's Gift Lori Pitts 325
Romeo and Juliet E. V. Noechel 330
Happy Endings Janet Mullen 333
8 One of the Family
Elvis Has Left the Building Marie D. Jones 338
A Tale of Two Kitties June Torrence as told to Hester J. Mundis 341
Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera Sharon Landeen 345
Machiavelli Susan Hasler 348
Training Camp for Wheezy Tom Schreck 350
The Call of the Lobster Susan Isaac 357
Jingle, Jingle Dena Harris 360
Confessions of a Cat Hater-Who Got Lucky Marshall Powers as told to Hester J. Mundis 363
The Gift of Acceptance Anne Marie Davis 368
Learning the Rules Jane Lebak 372
George Washington Cat and Family Peggy Seo Oba 375
Who Is Jack Canfield? 380
Who Is Mark Victor Hansen? 381
Who Is Mary Becker, D.V.M.? 382
Who Is Carol Kline? 383
Who Is Amy D. Shojai? 384
Contributors 385
Permissions 395