To Catch A Cat - Book Review and Giveaway

I love books about cat rescue.  The story becomes more alluring to me when the act of rescuing and the cats themselves makes a life turning impact on a person.  Add in the fact that the author is a former New York City girl who viewed the trek into New Jersey to visit her boyfriend less than pleasurable (I have said on more than one occasion “Oh geez, I have to go to Jersey?”) and the book is a must read for me. (Disclaimer: It has nothing to do with New Jersey… it’s the traffic on the way!) So I was delighted when I was offered the opportunity to review To Catch A Cat – How Three Stray Kittens Rescued Me by Heather Green.

Working a 60 hour work week as a busy journalist in Manhattan, buying light and sweet coffees from the food cart guy in front of her building (a very NYC thing), cat rescuer was the last badge Heather expected to wear (especially being allergic!) That all changed one fateful day as she and her boyfriend, Matt, were on the roof watering Matt’s vegetable garden. Witnessing Matt’s neighbor chasing what he thought were rats with a machete, Heather and Matt intervened only to find out the rats were actually three kittens. After she and Matt managed to catch them, a love story ensued. 

Heather writes a very honest, very introspective memoir. She easily falls in love with the kittens (now named Zero, Two Spot and Number Three), but begrudges them at the same time. “I loved them, but I begrudged them the responsibility they made me feel.  I hated that they needed me, and that I couldn’t give up on them.”  Heather ended up falling in love with the kittens, and when the time finally came to find them a home she wondered if anyone would be good enough for them. After dropping off Zero and Two Spot at their new home Heather’s “heart was breaking. In leaving behind Two Spot and Zero that day I was relinquishing a piece of myself, a part of my life I would never recapture." 

Zero

Heather tells the reader that “caring about these kittens and their mother helped propel me toward the most common and daunting project I’d ever undertaken; figuring out what I truly want from life. At times even the sweetest kittens weigh on you, because they represent the struggle you’re up against.” 

Over the course of ten years Heather and Matt fixed 65 cats and managed to find homes for 70 friendly adults and kittens.  They would have saved more, but in 2009 Heather gave birth to a baby girl, a “responsibility I could never believe I could shoulder…. before Matt and the kittens.” 

Two Spot

Towards the end of the book Heather writes about a cat she rescued that ended up needing lifesaving surgery.  The vet in New Jersey was Dr. Sheheri. There is a Dr. Sheheri at my vet practice in Manhattan, so I contacted Heather to see if this was the same doctor (since that is not a common name.) Turns out it is the same person.  Talk about a small world! Dr. Sheheri took care of a feral kitten my boyfriend found and she was so appreciative that I would seek medical care for her. 

Number Three

To Catch A Cat – How Three Stray Kittens Rescued Me is a must read for all cat lovers. It is a well written book that catches your interest from the first page, which I read on the train to and from work in a couple of days. This book only deepens my respect and gratitude for those who dedicate their lives to animal rescue. 

Heather and Oona, mother to the kittens.  Oona is still with Heather and her family. Although

still shy, Oona will approach Heather when she's working and when she gets into bed at night. 

About the Author: Heather Green is a freelance writer and former journalist. For twelve years, she covered the Internet and digital media for BusinessWeek, winning awards including the New York Press Club Crystal Gavel and the Front Page Award from the Newswomen’s Club of New York. She wrote numerous cover stories on subjects from social media to e-commerce, pioneered using blogs, podcasts, and Twitter at BusinessWeek, and appeared on national TV stations, including CNN, CNBC, and the BBC. Prior to BusinessWeek, she worked for Bloomberg where she launched their Internet beat and at the International Herald Tribune in Paris. She has a BA from the University of Virginia and a graduate degree from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. To Catch a Cat is her first book.

I have a copy of To Catch A Cat to give to one lucky reader residing in the USA.  Enter via the Rafflecopter below.  Giveaway ends 9/5/16 at Midnight EST.

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Dawn
Photos courtesy of Heather Green. 

Disclosure: I received a free copy of To Catch A Cat in exchange for my fair and honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own. Lola The Rescued Cat only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.