A brand new (and super fun) book by Jill Rappaport is a celebration of animals in pictures…namely, those clever, cuddly critters we call cats!
Come along with Jill as she introduces you to Mittens, a tabby striped kitten who is patiently awaiting a loving home. Mittens has a special living arrangement, however….he gets to wait for adoption living among 500 cats!
The 12 acres of the Cat House on the Kings is home to hundreds of kitties waiting for their forever homes. Run by Lynea Lattanzio, it’s the largest no-cage refuge for cats and dogs in California.
Mittens gives a photograph-rich tour of his home, this sanctuary for felines of all sizes, ages, and breeds. This book doesn’t just raise awareness of this facility and the need for more places like it….it’s a celebration in pictures and story of the love of animals, the value of pets. My children adore reading this with me, and the pictures make them giggle every time.
You see, pet adoption holds a special place in our hearts. My husband and I adopted two kitties the first year or two of marriage. Now ages 8 and 9, Odyssey and Ajala are still very much a special part of our family, and their love, devotion, antics and quirkiness help make our life so much more lively and rich!
You can purchase this fun little book for $9.95 from HarperCollins’ store or your favorite bookseller. It’d be terrific for the little ones, as well as a whimsical gift for the all-around pet aficionado.
Win it! Courtesy of HarperCollins, one of you can win 500 Cats to add to your home library! Just tell me about a special kitten or cat in your life (or from your past)…funny stories allowed! 
I’ll close the contest next Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 11pm EST. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck!
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
Congratulations to the winner of this book, commenter #8, MJ!
Winning Readings (2 years ago)
Our last kitty was an earthworm hunter. She must have gotten it from the robins – she would put her head near the ground, and then start digging. On rainy days, her mouth was always muddy, and we had earthworm “presents” under all our rugs where the earthworms had crawled for some darkness and quiet. Months after the kitty died, we were still finding dried earthworms under things…
This looks like a cute book! Thanks for the email: we’ve posted this at Winning Readings: http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/2009/11/500-cats.html
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
piper (2 years ago)
My cat, doobie was none too happy when I brought home a puppy. She looked at me then looked at the puppy a few times the stuck her tail in the air and walked away. For weeks she would act as if she hated the puppy, but then I turned the corner and found them cuddled up sleeping together happily…Until she realized i saw her! then she jumped up and away from the dog pretending it had never happened! lol BUSTED
nettysgirl at gmail.com
Roberta (2 years ago)
My son picked out Freddy at the shelter on November 11, 2009. The nice lady said his name was “Speedo.” Little did we know how appropriate that name is. Freddy races through the house at about four feet off the ground. I have never had a cat so athletic and energetic. Our other cats lay around watching him dash by. Because we have wood floors, more than once we’ve watched him sprint by, try to put the landing gear on with all four paws out and wipe out into a wall. Crash! He always walks away like, “I meant to do that.”
Marie (2 years ago)
One of my favorite cats has been our T. Tucker the Terrible Tabby. I knew he was the cat for us when I first met him at the Humane Society — he climbed straight up my leg (ouch!) and sat on my shoulder and meowed in my ear — needless to say he came home with me
And he was the most wonderful, bossy, huggable, 20 pound cat anyone could ever want. I miss him so much!
Jaent F (2 years ago)
My special cat is my little one named Baby. My son rescued him form a construction site when he was only about 3 weeks old. I raised him and he is very devoted and loving. He is afraid of the outdoors and he never even goes close to the door. He screams if you open it. I guess he remembers what happened to him. He was starving and his lips were sealed when my son found him.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
nicolerenae(at)gmail(dot)com (2 years ago)
My special cat is actually my sister’s cat, Bella. My daughter loves her and names her toy cats after her. My daughter is a cat lover, and I’m hoping to be a cat owner someday when we no longer have our feisty dog.
Birdie S. (2 years ago)
Our cat -Brother,would call to me, he would say mo mo when he wanted me, guess he couldn’t pronounce ma ma !!! we miss our beautiful blue eyed BOY….thx 4 lettin me share.
MJ (2 years ago)
I have a 3-legged rescue cat named Cammie.
mj.coward[at]gmail.com
doubleprizes (2 years ago)
Just wanted to let you know that I added your contest to doubleprizes.com and hopefully more people find your blog… Thanks!
artsweet (2 years ago)
We love cats! We have two orange kitties and just had to say goodbye to our sweet white kitty.
Tanya (2 years ago)
I have two cats Named Bella And Gypsy.. They are sisters but have completely different dispositions Bella is playful and loving. Gypsy likes sleep in strange places like the bathroom sink, in my cabinets and in the laundry basket. She is so funny because you never know where you will find her
Wendy (2 years ago)
I personally do not have a cat or kitten but I have an aunt who has two very shy cats. I don’t know that I have ever really seen either of them, but they love my aunt and uncle.
Chelsea S (2 years ago)
All of my kities have such wonderful personalities. My youngest, KiKi, is a silly one. She likes to sleep in a large empty flower pot in our living room. She loves to climb, especially the Christmas tree and curtains. My kitty, Angel, is such a sweet baby boy. He loves to sleep on people’s chest, right under their chin, even when they are sitting up. Dont ask me how, he just does. He is also quite the talker. He is a siamese and sometimes he gets very frusturated with us when we dont understand what he is saying. Whatever he says, he does it with such intent. I feel bad I dont talk kitty. One funny (and dangerous) habit he has is to eat random things when he wants to be fed. He especially loves to rip newspaper and eat it. My third and eldest cat is Stinky. He is HUGE. We call him the dude. Nothing phases him. He also loves to lay on black things. I think he much have been a chamealeon in a past life because his fur is black and blends right in with a black purse, black suitcase, etc.
Bitty (2 years ago)
We had two different cats when I was little – Princess, an outdoor cat with super fluffy hair, and then Mr. Kitty, a white cat with blue eyes, who was deaf and had to be indoors. Mr. Kitty was extremely goofy in his behavior.
We loved him, and he got along well with a dog we got later – Jake – but I developed a severe allergy to Mr. Kitty and we couldn’t find anyone to take a 9 year old deaf male cat, and eventually had to put him down because it was threatening my health so badly.
I wish there had been a sanctuary for him.
Now, expecting my first child, we still can’t have cats, but I want to him to enjoy cats at least through book form!
Jessica (2 years ago)
One our cats is an adoption cat, but not by means of a sanctuary. One day my aunt saw a man pull over to the side of a country road, he jumped out of his car and threw something in a ditch. My aunt, stopped to see what was going on. A few minutes later a small kitten climbed up the side of the ditch. She took him home and asked if I could take care of him. Who could refuse? Not a funny story I know, but a sad fact of life in the community I grew up in.
Rachel Sue (2 years ago)
I had a cat growing up that I loved like a baby. His name was Cheetah. I love cats. Sadly, I married a man deathly allergic to them. So, we don’t get to have one at our house. Which is a bummer because I think all of my children have inherited my love of cats!
Renee G (2 years ago)
We got our first kitten after she sat on our porch crying for a day in the winter. I told my husband to let her in and I would try to find out who she belonged to. Although we asked all the neighbors (not that there are too many since we live in a rural area)– no one would claim her. Well, since she wanted to be a part of our home so bad, she got to stay.
rsgrandinetti@yahoo.com
Staci A (2 years ago)
We currently have 3 cats, including 2 kittens we rescued in the last year.
Hmm, a funny story? A few weeks ago I was in the living room when I heard a splash. I thought my five year old had gotten into something, until a wet kitten came running past. Apparently someone left the toilet seat up, and the youngest kitten had fallen in! He was fine, just a little wet.
mommyof2cutiepies (2 years ago)
So wonderful learning about how your cats came to your family!
I come from a family of cat lovers! Growing up, my family took in so many stray cats. I cannot even count them all with two hands. We had every single one of them spayed/neutered and they were all considered true members of our family. I have very fond memories of all of our cats growing up. The unconditional love pets give is priceless.
Now that I’m married with two children of my own, I of course wanted cats in our home. However, with so many cats in shelters it was a must that we adopt cats in need of a good home.
We adopted our first cat, Zoey, from Petsmart. Soon we realized she needed a friend so we adopted our second cat, Sophia, from Petsmart as well. They were both from no kill foster homes. They truly are soul mates, or should I say soul sisters! Watching them play, snuggle and love each other warms our hearts.
My husband didn’t grow up with cats, but he absolutely adores them now. I’ve turned him into a hardcore cat lover and I love it! My kids can’t get enough of our cats. They add so much laughter, love and joy to our lives. Our family would NOT be the same without our two furry family members.
Thanks for this great giveaway. When I saw the book, I just knew I had to enter. My daughter is a huge animal lover and it would be so wonderful to give this to her as a Christmas gift.
s14drifter @ hotmail.com
Sarah (2 years ago)
We rescued a kitten from a swampy forest area recently. We were walking by and heard this unearthly cry… suddenly there was Mogli, bounding out of the swamp and into our arms! She has been a wild, spirited, and LOVING addition to our family
Carol M (2 years ago)
Our first cat was a stray that we took in. His name was Mittens! We had him for seventeen years. He was a very friendly cat and greeted everyone at the door that came to visit. Even at the end when he wasn’t feeling well, he would sit with my grandchildren when they came to visit. He was a cat that love people and we still miss him.
mittens0831 at aol dot com
Wehaf (2 years ago)
My boyfriend fostered 3 kittens a few years ago; because of a period of upcoming travel, he wasn’t able to adopt his favorite, but he took care of them from when they were tiny to when they were big and bounding. He still keeps the photos of them!
Carolsue (2 years ago)
I had a cat that lived to be nearly 21 years old. He disproved the theory of a cat having nine lives cause I’m sure he used twice that many when he was alive. For instance, he chewed through an electrical cord that was plugged in and it didn’t phase him! We have had as many as five cats, but are now down to one. I really miss all the others!
Laureen (2 years ago)
I had a cat we named Spunky since he was truly full of life. He must have thought he was a dog since he absolutely loved to play fetch with his foam balls. He thrived on the anticipation of a ball being flicked away from him and running like mad to catch it. He would come quickly back to the person who was playing with him with the ball in his mouth and drop it at their feet. If the person did not pick it up, he would insist with short, loud meows.
He was very feisty and played on my fear of him by hiding under the kitchen table and darting for me suddenly in a surprise attack.
He once got mad at me for some reason (unjustified, of course!) and bit me across the bridge of my nose. I still have a light scar 20+ years later. I shall never forget him.
He was truly a super smart cat with a marked personality.
One other memory I have of him is when he decided to eat a live large, hard-shelled beetle that he had found on the floor in my room. I can still hear the crunch!! ;(
Thanks for the chance to win!
JenniferB (2 years ago)
I have 4 special kitties- Last May 2008, a stray cat came to our house I do not have any pet cats so I talked to my husband and started to feed her. She decided that we were nice and she brought her 2 kittens which we didnt know she had . Also I didnt know that she could still get pregnant while nursing her babies, she did and had 10 kittens so I now have 4 kitty kats
MJ (2 years ago)
Thank you!