Book Review and Giveaway: The Good, the Bad and the Furry-Life with the World's Most Melancholy Cat by Tom Cox

The Good, the Bad, and the Furry: Life with the World's Most Melancholy Cat, written by Tom Cox, is honestly the funniest book I have read in quite some time. Tom writes about the cats in his life and how his world revolves around them. You get to meet The Bear-yes, his name is THE Bear-an elderly cat with a constant look of worry on his face. Then there's Ralph who likes to meow his own name and has a problem with slugs. Shipley is a mouthy cat who calms when Tom picks him up and turns him onto his back. These aren't the only cats; Tom introduces us to many others, too, along with his family and friends (his dad is precious!).

He so perfectly describes the cats' personalities you begin to feel as if you are living with them as well. You learn their idiosyncrasies and how they interact in different situations. You fall in love. You also begin to think Tom is a tiny bit crazy, but in an endearing way.

My favorite chapter in the book was a letter written to the house sitter "Keeping our Cats out of the Bedroom: Instructions for Housesitters." Tom was going out of town and realized there were a few "details" he forgot to mention. Like how one cat (after wading through the swamp) will try to break into the bedroom while they are sleeping and another will have night terrors. But hey, don't be alarmed; it'll all be fine. The chapter had me laughing so hard I had to read it out loud to my husband.

Photo courtesy of Tom Cox.

The Good, the Bad, and the Furry is not only a book I would recommend, but one which I will read again. Now that I've made you want to read it, too, let's talk giveaway! You can win a hardcover copy of your own from the publisher.


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I received a copy of The Good, the Bad, and the Furry for free from the publisher. This in no way influenced my review, as it contains my honest thoughts on the book.

Book Review and Giveaway-Texts From Mittens: A Cat Who Has an Unlimited Data Plan...and Isn't Afraid to Use It by Angie Bailey

The world has been blessed with another kitty comedy from Angie Bailey. You might already know Mittens from Catster and his Facebook page. If so, you know he spends a LOT of time texting. Now you can get a whole book full of his conversations in Texts From Mittens: A Cat Who Has an Unlimited Data Plan...and Isn't Afraid to Use It.

If you don't know Mittens, this is a great intro. If you're the type of person who doesn't enjoy LOLCat humor, don't worry. Neither does Mittens. In fact in one of his texts he says, "I just saw some (LOLCats) online. Their spelling and grammar are deplorable!" You might even find yourself needing a dictionary to look up a word he uses.

You may also see a little of your own life in the texts, like when Mitty is texting with his Mom because she has him locked out of her room and he is sticking his paw under the door. Do you feel like your cat is barely tolerating your dog? If he's anything like Mittens, you're probably right.

Page 20 has my favorite text: Mittens asking for a little Hazmat suit to protect him from Phil the dog's breath.

So are you ready to get your own copy? Well, one lucky reader will win a copy! Sorry, only open to readers in the United States and Canada.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: I received a copy of Texts From Mittens for free, but the opinion in the review is my own.

Hissy Fitz-Book Review and Giveaway

Are you looking for a cat-centric book for the little one in your life? You should check out Hissy Fitz by Patrick Jennings. Hissy is a cat who isn't getting enough sleep because of his noisy family. Dad makes banging noises all day and then when the kids get home, if Georgie isn't talking his ear off, Zeb is chasing him around the house. How is a kitty supposed to get any rest? His name comes from all the hissing he does to express his disgust with the humans in his life.

Stilwell doing his best impression of Hissy.

Hissy Fitz is a chapter book suited for kids 7-9 years old. The chapters are short and easy for the young reader to handle. The book teaches a useful lesson about the proper way to handle a cat and how to read his signals. Hissy is a loveable character, he just isn't loved in the way he wants to be loved.

Patrick Jennings is also the author of Guinea Dog and teaches creative writing to middle-schoolers. The story is accompanied by black and white illustrations by Michael Allen Austin.

Author Patrick Jennings

You can win your very own AUTOGRAPHED copy of Hissy Fitz from the publisher, Egmont Publishing. Just enter below. Sorry, this giveaway is only open to residents of the United States and Canada.


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HEXBUG Nano Robotic Cat Toy-Video and Giveaway

I came across a cool little toy at Target the other day. I had never seen it before and hadn't heard the brand name either. It's the HEXBUG Nano Robotic Cat Toy.

It was on clearance, so I thought, "What the heck? It's not like the cats got any toys for Christmas." (I'm still trying to cull the current toy collection to make room for the new stuff.)

I brought it home, took it out of the package, turned it on, and let it go on the kitchen floor. It was an instant hit! All 3 of the boys were entranced. They played nicely together and took turns batting at the buzzing bug.




Even after Lowenstein picked it up and carried off his kill the fun continued.

I decided to check into the brand and found that these little critters didn't start as cat toys. However, we cat owners are a smart bunch. I found many instances of people who bought the toy (which didn't have the attached feather) and let their kitties have at it. You can search for cats and HEXBUGS on YouTube and see lots of videos of the encounters. They put them in boxes and bathtubs, or released several at a time and the cats loved them! 

I couldn't keep this great find to myself! I went back to Target and bought the last two they had. Now one of them could be yours! I'm giving away a HEXBUG Nano Robotic Cat Toy to two readers. The giveaway isn't sponsored by HEXBUG, nor do they have anything to do with this post. I just loved the toy so much that I wanted to share it. You can always buy your own-they sell for $4.99 on the HEXBUG website. That was the same regular price at Target.

If you already know about this great little toy, let me know what you think.



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Book Review AND Giveaway! ASK ANNA by Dean Koontz and his dog Anna

While I was at BarkWorld in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I picked up several books. The first one I read is a dog advice book by Dean Koontz' dog Anna. It is titled, appropriately, Ask Anna: Advice for the Furry and Forlorn.

Dean Koontz is best known for his suspense novels (maybe you've heard of Odd Thomas) but Anna has taken a different path with her writing and is doling out canine advice. Anna is a Golden Retriever who flunked out of school with Canine Companions for Independence. She explains in the book that birds were her "undoing."

Anna gives advice to the dogs who write to her with questions about life. She reminds them that size doesn't matter, everyone has a talent, and tennis balls are symbols of joy. She seems to only have one adversary and that is Pierre, the postman's poodle.

Evelyn thinks, "Silly dogs. Cats don't need advice."

Since Anna spent time at Canine Companions for Independence, all author proceeds are being donated to them! To get your own copy for free, you can enter our giveaway. All you have to do is comment and tell us who you think would benefit from Anna's advice. I know this is a mostly cat blog, but a lot of you have pup friends, too. Maybe a dog friend in your life could use a holiday gift! You can gain an additional entry by tweeting about the giveaway as well. You've got a week to get your entries in!


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EBook Giveaway: 15 Great Pet Blogs

I'm having my first giveaway!

There's a new book from Happy Tails Books all about pet blogs. 15 Great Pet Blogs highlights 15 pet blogs, including mine! The others are: Bocci's Beefs, Catlady Land, Champion of My Heart, Dogspired, FIDO Friendly, Grouchy Puppy, Life with Dogs, Petfinder, Speaking for Spot, The Pet Health Care Gazette, This One Wild Life, Thoughts for Paws, Two Little Cavaliers and Woof Report.

If you would like to read about pet blogs and see favorite posts from each one, you need to order this book! It is 6"x9", 128 pages and costs $12.95. Of course, like all books from Happy Tails Books, 25% of the purchase price is donated to the rescue of the buyer's choice! Even better, if you order 15 Great Pet Blogs by the end of June, you can save $2.00 by using the code blogbuddy2.

Now what about the giveaway?

I'll be giving away one eBook copy of 15 Great Pet Blogs. If you'd like to enter, just leave a comment on this post and be sure to include your email address so I can notify you if you're the lucky winner! I'll choose the winner at random on July 3rd.

 

 

I hope this is just the beginning for giveaways here, so be sure to check back and see what I might be doing!