Tortitude:The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude by Ingrid King (Give-Away!)

When a copy of Tortitude:The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude by Ingrid King arrived at my home a few weeks ago, I was in complete shock,  I was honored, AND I was, (and am!) just a tad nervous!!!

Why? I do not live with, nor have I EVER lived with a tortoiseshell cat!  My immediate thought was "How am I qualified to review a book about tortoiseshell cats when I have never lived with one?"  I know of other bloggers who are far more knowledgeable about torties than I am, but I took comfort in the fact that since I had reviewed ALL of Ingrid King's books prior to this one, that she must have confidence that I will write at least a somewhat intelligent review of:

My first impression after merely LOOKING at the cover of Tortitude, was that it was GORGEOUS! I am one of "those people" who gets a thrill out of simply  touching a book and gazing at the cover, I become filled with anticipation of what awaits me inside, which is why I am NOT a fan of ebooks, but I digress....

When I turned the first page,  I smiled when I saw a quote by one of my favorite "Cat Daddies", Jackson Galaxy:

“Excerpted from: Tortitude:

 The BIG Book About Cats With a BIG

Attitude by Ingrid King ©2015” 

The foreword is written by another one of my faves; Kate Benjamin of Hauspanther.


Once I began to calm down and think, it dawned on me,  that if I , one of millions of cat lovers, knows little about tortoiseshell cats, surely there has to be many, many more cat lovers who might not be familiar with these wonderful cats!

Thinking back, to when I first began blogging in 2009, discovering Ingrid's blog was probably my FIRST exposure to torties, and from that day on, I always considered Ingrid to not only be one of a number of cat experts that I hold in high esteem, but to me, she is a MUST READ not only for misc. trusted information about cats, but for  personal and engaging stories about tortoiseshell cats in particular.

FROM Tortitude:The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude:

"With about 2 million tortoiseshell cats in the United States, these special felines tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and often very possessive of their humans. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable. Ingrid King (The Conscious Cat) brings her professional and personal experience to explore why these cats are so special. With expert insights combined with stunning photography and passages dedicated to the cats and their passionate guardians, King offers a new perspective on these exceptional cats."

When I read the above passage on the back cover, I was not only intrigued, but I began to think that if I were a cat, there is a better-than-average chance that I would be a tortie!!! I am "strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered (No!! Really? Ha!), fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable." I have also been known to be very possessive of my humans!! But once again, I digress...

That quote made me stop and think. I find it interesting that the HUMANS that I know that live with torties tend to have personalities that are the polar opposite of torties! Could it be a case of "opposites attract" or, could it be that these spunky cats have personality traits that their owners secretly wish that THEY as humans possessed, and that they live vicariously through their torties?
I think I may be on to something here!!!

“Excerpted from: Tortitude:

 The BIG Book About Cats With a BIG

Attitude by Ingrid King ©2015”

Did you know...

"that tortoiseshell cats are NOT a breed?"

(if you did, and you don't live with a Tortie, good for you! You move to the head of the class!) I did NOT know that until I read the section in the book titled:

"What is Tortitude?"

Author King points out the colors/patterns and personality traits  that make a cat qualify as a tortie, she also mentions:"while there are some commonalities between torties when it comes to personality, there seem to be wide variations in the degree of tortitude and in how it is expressed. Some cats appear to have read the book on tortitude, displaying all of the traits attributed to cats with this coloring. Others may vary in temperament, and only demonstrate certain aspects of it. All cats are individuals, and torties are no different in that respect, with the possible exception that they are far more demonstrative of their unique personalities than cats of other colors." 

“Excerpted from: Tortitude:

 The BIG Book About Cats With a BIG

Attitude by Ingrid King ©2015”

Being a quote collector/aficionado from way back, I took a special interest in the sizable section of the book entitled:

Quotable Torties

Quotes and photos were submitted by members of "Team Tortitude" and some of my favorites are:

Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance--Dan Greenburg

In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him--Dereke Bruce

If cats could talk, they wouldn't.--Nan Porter

and finally a favorite quote of mine that is posted beneath the photo of beloved Truffles, (who left much, much too soon), submitted by someone who is MUCH more qualified to do a review of a tortie book than I am, Melissa Lapierre of  Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & Meows, 

A catless writer is almost inconceivable; even Ernest Hemmingway, manly follower of the hunting trophy and the bullfight, lived waist-deep in cats. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys. --Barbara Holland


Tortitude:The BIG Book About Cats With a BIG Attitude delivers exactly what the title promises. While the book is small in that it is slightly over 100 pages, it is aesthetically generously sized, and is PACKED with information that will not only appeal to bona fide tortie lovers, but will also appeal to self-proclaimed "tabby girls" such as myself. Tortitude offered me insight into these delightful cats and a deeper admiration of their "colorful" coats and personalities.  Tortitude will appeal to cat lovers world-wide! You MUST get your "paws" on a copy, today!!


AVAILABLE ON AMAZON (and all online retailers NOW). AVAILABLE IN STORES FEBRUARY 5TH, 2016! 

FOR EVERY COPY ORDERED BEFORE FEBRUARY 5TH, INGRID WILL DONATE $1 TO THE JACKSON GALAXY FOUNDATION.


MORE BOOKS BY INGRID KING:

BUCKLEY'S STORY: Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher

PURRS OF WISDOM: Conscious Living, Feline Style

ADVENTURES IN VETERINARY MEDICINE:What Working in Veterinary Hospitals Taught Me About Life, Love and Myself

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ingrid King is an award-winning author (of the books listed above). She is a former veterinary hospital manager. Her popular blog, The Conscious Cat, is a comprehensive resource for conscious living, health, and happiness for cats and their humans. The Conscious Cat has won multiple awards, (including but not limited to), About.com's 2012 Readers Choice Award for Best Website About Cats. Ingrid lives in Northern Virginia with her tortoiseshell cats Allegra and Ruby.

GIVE-AWAY!!!!
Ingrid has generously offered to give-away a copy of Tortitude:The  BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude to one of my readers who resides in the U.S.A. (An approximate $20 value!). Must be 18 and over. Entering is super easy! Just enter on the Rafflecopter below! Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway








In full disclosure:I was not compensated for this review/give-away. I was sent a copy of Tortitude in exchange for my always honest review.

Truffles, Heaven's Newest Angel Cat

Dear Melissa,

Mom and I have broken hearts.We cannot believe sweet Truffles is gone. It's not fair. It's not right. Mom remembers when she first connected with you in 2013 and you told her that meeting me gave you hope you could have another kitty to love after your beloved Tara passed. (A mere two weeks before you and Mom spoke on Facebook.)

You had mentioned you were scouring Petfinder in search of a special kitty.

You found her.

You named her  "Truffles".

Truffles filled your life (and ours) with love. She was the best Secret Paws a kitty could ever hope to have, and an even better friend.

 I was lucky that I was the kitty that she gave gifts to last Christmas and that she sent me a special photo on Valentine's Day.

Truffles read many, many books and did wonderful interviews.

Our lives will never be the same.

We share in your heartbreak.

We pray that Tara and Mom's Angel Bobo are  taking good care of Truffles in Heaven.

 We guess God just needed another kitty angel.

He sure picked a good  one, but much too soon.

We wish he had waited. We are so deeply sorry.

Much love, today and always.

Cody and Caren

You can visit Melissa's Blog:

 to share your sympathy, here

Book Review: "A Cat Called Ian", By Wolfren Riverstick

One of the many things I love about blogging, are the people that I have been blessed to connect with along the way. One of the ways that I have met some truly wonderful folks has been through my book reviews. Sometime in 2012 I was contacted by author Wolfren Riverstick (is that name not the BEST??!!), asking if I would be interested in reviewing his self-published book: A Cat Called Ian. If memory serves me correctly, Wolfren lives in the UK but he has a Michigan connection, I believe he has family here and that is how he first discovered my blog, but don't quote me on that!

Book Cover
Courtesy of
 www.crazywolfbooks.co.uk

Wolfren was supposed to mail me his book late last year, well," best laid plans," it didn't arrive until MAY of this year. SOME things are worth waiting for, and A Cat Called Ian is one of them

Wolfren's target audience for his books are children ages 9-12, but the lessons learned in A Cat Called Ian are lessons that the most "seasoned" among us could use some reminding of.

A Cat Called Ian begins with "The Boy" being cruel to his sister (Ellie). "The Boy" has a mouth that never ceases spewing vicious insults, which bring his sister to tears. "The Boy" also has a distaste for cats, particularly tortoiseshell cats.

After a particularly vile exchange with Ellie, "The Boy" takes off and ends up by a giant great white oak tree which is rumored to be haunted.

From A Cat Called Ian: Legend had it that the tree was haunted, perhaps possessed by evil spirits, although nobody knew for sure."  "The Boy" has always wanted to climb this tree, but had never attempted to. 

When "The Boy" attempts to take on the great white oak and climb it, an Alice-In-Wonderland -esque adventure ensues.

"When a young boy decides to climb the magnificent oak tree on top of Sunrise Hill he discovers that there is much more to it than first meets the eye. After mysteriously stumbling into the mystical world of Catland, the unruly ten year old is whisked into a courtroom where he is punished with the Sentence of Nine Lives in an attempt to make him change the error of his ways...."

"The Boy" is turned into what he loathes, A CAT, a tortoiseshell cat at that! In order to return to the mortal world, he has to repent for the multitude of evil things that he has done. The question is, will he?  You will have to read the book to find out.

I was surprised at how engrossed I was while reading A Cat Called Ian. It was a quick read, both in length (155 pages) and in the suspense that lies within its pages. I read it in one sitting which was just a few hours.

A Cat Called Ian is lively, imaginative, humorous, sensitive, fun and  packed with lessons about how to treat others, (as well as how to treat animals) and is a worthwhile read indeed!

Visit Amazon to purchase A Cat Called Ian or any major bookstore.

Visit www.crazywolfbooks.co.uk