Friday, July 19, 2013

Cat Chat Presents A Book Review: A Forever Home For Athena by Marie Symeou



Hi everyone it's Cody! I thought that since I am a rescue cat, that it is only fitting that I present the book: A Forever Home For Athena by Marie Symeou to you.

I was just a little guy when Mom adopted me, I was probably around the same age as Athena was when she found her furever home.

Being a rescue cat isn't easy. When Mom and I sat down to read Athena's story, it brought back vivid memories for me. Being scared, wanting a home and a Mom of my own. Wondering what happened to my brother and sister. It made me remember the foster home that I was in with my wonderful and loving foster mother. I remember people walking by my cage at adoption events and my two siblings receiving more attention than me! Even Mom had them as HER first adoption choices but neither of them liked her. Only I did! It reminded me of how often we rescue kitties have to turn the "cute" into overdrive in order to be noticed!

It made me sad when I read that Athena and her sister, Lily, were cast aside like trash. Their Mama had died, they were starving, frightened and leery of humans. They didn't know what was to become of them. They found themselves in a shelter full of scary sounds and smells, hoping upon hope that SOME of the humans who came and visited would one day take them away and give them a special home of their own. There were some evil humans that visited that had "black lights" around them that Athena prayed would NOT take her away!




Athena sweetly and accurately describes what rescue kittens (and cats) are thinking and saying from when they are abandoned, until , if they are lucky, they find their furever home. She shares her fears, hopes and insight as to what it is like being a rescue kitty, and what it is like to live with the constant fear that even if she is adopted, will she be abandoned again?

Mom said it didn't surprise her that Athena is so wise. The name Athena is a Greek baby name and it means  The Goddess of Wisdom. In fact, Mom said that she first began reading Athena's Mom's blog, because of two things.

1. Mom minored in Philosophy in college (she isn't as clueless as she appears) and she was familiar with the meaning of the name Athena, she knew that Athena was the Goddess of Wisdom,  it intrigued her to find a cat on a blog with that name.

2. Mom has a "thing" for Tabbies (don'tcha know!?) My Grandpa Bobo was a tabby, and just what do you think that yours truly is?

A Forever Home for Athena is a sweet, touching and fast-read (only 49 pages) that anyone who has ever rescued/adopted a cat will be able to relate to. Kitties? You will appreciate it as well! Have your Mom/human/2-legger whatever you call them, pick up a copy by clicking here. 

Part of the proceeds from this book will be donated to 3 different animal charities.



FROM THE AUTHOR: Adopting the beautiful tabby kitten I have named Athena was the best day of my life and I wanted to share our story with others, mainly to raise awareness and the importance of adopting a pet from an animal shelter, rather than buying one from a breeder. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marie Symeou is an author, cat blogger, animal healer and animal rights advocate. Visit her at www.mariesymeou.com and her blogs, www.purrsfulloflove.com and www.catgoddessathena.blogspot.com

Mom and I were not compensated for this review. All opinions are our own. We were sent a complimentary copy by Marie Symeou to read and review.










60 comments:

  1. While none of us kitties came from the shelter, we were all rescued from the streets. When first rescued, we would gobble down whatever food was placed in front of us as we didn't know when the next meal would come. Today, we know food will always be provided so we some times annoy Mommy by not eating. MOL!

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    1. Hi Guys! My Angel Bobo was rescued from the streets too. I had found him when he was 6 mos old and he was a stray. Bobo used to sometimes annoy me too by not eating! xoxo

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    2. Hey I came over from "life with Ragdolls"!! And me&my kitties love your blog!!! Cody is just plan HANDSOME/CUTE!!!!!!!

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    3. Hi Ragdoll Mommy!! You are soooooooooo sweet! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! THRILLED to have you here and we LOVE YOUR KITTIES! Mom just LOVES Ragdolls! Thanks for the kind words!

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    4. THRELLLED to be here too!!!! You guys are sooooooooooooooo sweet! And we LOVE YOUR BLOG CODY IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HANDSOME!!!!!! My Ragdoll (Anya) has fallen in LOVE WITH him!!! LOL;)

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    5. OMG THANK YOU!! We think YOU are sweet too! Cody would LOVE to have Anya as a girlfriend! We LOVE her name and as you know, I am partial to Ragdolls! xoxo

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    6. LOL! I didn't name (Anya) Anya her old owner named her that along with (Nico).but I love her name too!!! Please come back to "life with Ragdolls"!!:-)..lol yes Anya wants a boyfriend lol!!!;)

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    7. I haven't left! I just re-subscribed under my Cat Chat email address :)
      Cody is HONORED!!!!

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    8. We love the name "Cody" too!! He is one handsome boy!!!.By the way it's Anya:-)!

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    9. Awww THANK YOU! Uh-oh! Did I misspell???

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    10. Do you happen to have a female cat?.Cause my (Ragdoll) Nico wants a girlfriend lol!!!:-)

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    11. No, sorry! Just boys here! One male cat and one male Sheltie :)

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    12. No you sure didn't you got it right lol!! I I meant that this is "Anya" talking to you lol!!:D!!

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    13. Oh:-( Nico is a little sad lol.But Anya can have two boyfriends SHE is cool with that lolz!!!!

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    14. MOL! Mom can be pretty "slow" sometimes" Love, Cody

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    15. What does "mol" mean?.did you mean "lol"?

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    16. Lol you are funny!! It's like "lol" but for cats!!!:-)

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    17. Is Cody "declawed"?.How old is he?.what year did you get him in?.

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    18. Hi:-).Nico&Anya&Star&Saphira and me:-).wish for you and Cody to have a great nite:-).Love Ragdoll mommy:-).and my babies:-)

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    19. Yep it is like "lol" for cats :)
      Cody is 6 years old, nope, he isn't declawed, I don't believe in declawing cats.
      Hope you had a great night and have a wonderful Sunday!

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    20. OMG! You are sooooooooooooooo sweet!:-).thanks I did I hope you had one too!.love Ragdoll mommy:-)

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    21. And I really love how you DON'T BELIEVE IN DECLAWING CATS!!!!!!:-).I HATE JUST HATE DECLAWING!!!!!!:-(.it needs to STOP FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!

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  2. I was rescued by my Human too, and she thinks I should be more grateful but that's a whole other story, MOL!!!

    Cody, my Human says she loves woofies too. That's not a bad secret ;-)

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    1. Spitty you ARE grateful! You just show it in your own way :) Love, Cody

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    2. Hey Cody! It's Anya!,from "life with Ragdolls ".And my mommy says she can't wait to follow you&your mom!!!!!!!:-)

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  3. I was rescued too by a very kind man from an animal auction,Mummy say's I was being sold in the last sales with 2 others for a pound each to the reptile people and the kind man brought us and some others to re-home to save us from that horrid fate.Mummy found me advertised in the pet shop notice board so mummy and daddy came to see me and my fur brothers and they took me home with them after giving the man some money to keep up his kind work,xx SPeedy

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    1. Oh Speedy!! Your story brought tears to my eyes. I cannot even bring myself to imagine that you would have been sold to reptile people (or any rabbit for that matter) That breaks my heart. I am sooooooooo happy your Mummy found you!!!! Love, Cody

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  4. I have been wanting to read Athena's story!

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  5. Sounds great and hooray for adoption. Have a fabulous Friday and stay cool.
    Best wishes Molly

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  6. I'm a rescue and a tabby, so this is a story I'm going to encourage mommy to read for us. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrs.

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  7. Thank you so much Caren and Cody. Your review has made my mum and I very happy today. So glad you enjoyed the book!

    Purrs xxx

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    1. Hi Athena! You are most welcome!! Mom and I LOVED your book and we enjoyed reading it together. We could feel the love you have for each other throughout the entire book! Love, Cody and Caren xoxo

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  8. That sounds like such a good book and what a good review. It is so important to get the word out there about the kitties and doggies in the shelters. That must be so horrible for them to have to be there. Cody we are so glad that you found such a great home.

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    1. It is a wonderful book Marg and THANK YOU! Awwww thanks for your kind words and ALL of YOUR babies are lucky to have such a wonderful home with YOU! Love, Cody

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  9. Woo! Hoo! That sounds like a lovely story! And about how wes feels when we is in the limbo of a shelter waiting for a new home. Thanks for telling us about it and about Athena and her Mom!
    Kisses
    Nellie

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  10. This sounds like a lovely book. Great review!

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  11. Great review! (And I've never, ever, thought your were clueless, smart lady!)

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  12. We have such a hard time reading great books like that...the pages keep getting wet.

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  13. There are so many books for animal lovers. Your blog is the go to spot for reviews.

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    1. Oh Sharon THANK YOU! I am deeply touched. I take immense pride in my reviews and put A LOT of time and thought into them, thank you for your incredibly kind words!

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  14. Both my cats were rescues; Chubbs was abused and Roma was left in a box on the side of the road at 4 weeks old :( It took a lot of work but now they're happy and spoiled! Thanks for the great book review, I just bought Athena's book and can't wait to read it!

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    1. Yay for you!!! Ohhh poor Chubbs and Roma. That just broke my heart. You are to be commended because I can just imagine how hard it was to have them learn to trust again. Thanks so much for purchasing the book! I am certain you will love it!

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  15. Another Pawesome review Cody! Me-Ommmmmm

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  16. Yes, Cody, us rescue kitties are very special :) Athena's story looks like a must read for the human!! xx

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  17. Thanks for letting us know what to expect from Athena's book. Probably most of us can relate to her story in some way. Some of us here were originally abandoned kitties and are so happy we got lucky and got a great home. Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo.

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  18. Rescue kitties are the only way to go!! I could never get a new kitty from a breeder because there are SO MANY in need of homes. Nice review.

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  19. It sounds like a touching story and I wish Ms.Symeou much success with this endeavor. The more people that know that these animals have feelings and deserve a chance, the better. Purrs from the Zee and Zoey gang

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  20. I love your blog for many reasons...and book reviews are one of the biggies! Looks like a wonderful book! AND I learned something about you Cody! You picked your mom...both of you are very smart and sweet!!!

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    1. Amelia your comment means the WORLD to me and I deeply THANK YOU! I probably am most proud of the reviews too. I pour my heart and soul in them and when they are appreciated, it makes me SMILE! THANK YOU!!! Yep, Cody TOTALLY picked me!

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  21. Great review, Caren. I love that you and Cody read it togther.

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  22. What some kitties have to go through makes us so sad. We do bet that it is a touching book and an important one. Great post Cody and Caren.

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