Power of Purrs: Reflections on a Life with Cats

One can assume that Ogden Nash didn't have much love for cats when he wrote "The trouble with a kitten is THAT eventually it becomes a CAT." Those who share this view will be won over by Gary Shiebler's engaging memoir in which he relates his love for and life with animals, primarily the feline variety. The author grew up in a home where at no time would there be fewer than two cats and two dogs, all of them unforgettable and remarkable in various ways. When a school boy one of his companions was Sweet Kitty. As he writes, "It's easy to appreciate the value of a dog that greets a young boy on a front lawn after school, leaping, bounding, tail wagging, tongue dangling, and eyes beaming. It's not as easy to mark the importance of a sleeping cat curled up on a cobbler's bench next to where you drop your book bag every day. Sweet Kitty was my trusted anchor. Her simple and steady presence helped me believe, even in the most uncertain times, that everything was going to be all right." Shiebler has a gift for recognizing the importance in our lives of cats, and he shares that gift with us. Few readers will forget Cokie who loved to attack legs, to scratch dogs and people yet joined Rusty, the family dog, to sleep with young Shiebler every night. And, there was Rainbow who at four months of age ingested Morning Glory seeds which contain the same elements as LSD. Rainbow was never the same again nor was the Shiebler family. An award winning songwriter and singer, Shiebler also works as a humane educator at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in southern California. Thus, many of the felines we meet are residents of the Center. His stories of them and the children who come to learn about animals are both funny and touching. If you're not an animal lover now you surely will be after reading The Power of Purrs. Highly recommended. - Gail Cooke

I couldn't put Gary Shiebler's THE POWER OF PURRS down. The honesty in his writing resonates. I laughed, I cried (and I'm not just saying that for dramatic effect!), and I remembered the cats that have come in and out of my own life. Even if you hate cats, you'll love the insightful stories Shiebler shares. Maybe you'll even change your mind . . .