Cat Tails - Heart-Warming Stories about the Cats and Kittens of RESQCATS: blog tour/review

As I talked about in our last post, sometimes I procrastinate and procrastinate on a review in search of perfection - until it's not even necessary or useful anymore. We've been hanging onto a couple reviews - so we're calling this week, "review week!" If everything goes as planned (famous last words) we'll share four reviews this week: a book, two kinds of treats, and a cat bed! Stick around to find out what we think!

Disclosure: We received an electronic copy of, "Cat Tails: Heart Warming Stories About The Cats And Kittens Of Resqcats," by Jeffyne Telson - for free in exchange for sharing the new release with our readers. Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat only shares information we believe would be of interest to our readers. The content is ours - neither the author nor the publisher are responsible for the contents of this post.

Love is a beautiful thing. It has the power to heal, the power to transform, the power to lift up, the power to grow, the power to see a way forward when life is at its bleakest ... treating others with love is never wrong. Loving transforms us as much as being loved. I've talked before about the transformational impact of loving and being loved by my cats. I've seen first-hand just how much of a difference one tiny cat can have - not only for a person - but for the world.

Like many aspects of life, animal rescue gives us a front seat to observe the best and worst of humanity. As much ugliness as there is in animal rescue - cruelty, abandonment, homelessness and euthanasia - the worst of humanity ... one also witnesses the best of humanity. Jeffyne, the author of Cat Tails, had a dream and an idea of how things should be - ideas on how to make the world a better place for cats and people. Inspired by a box of abandoned kittens - and unable to turn a blind eye - she did what most only talk about: being the change she wished to see in the world.

It's easy to talk about making a difference, but it's something entirely different to actually do it. Being so scared of failure or not being good enough, has sidelined me for most of my life. Ms. Telson did what I always dream of doing - she acted. She was afraid, yet her love for cats and their well-being propelled her forward anyway. Despite all the ugliness she's encountered, she's hung on to the positive and changed her life as much as she changed the lives of the cats she was charged with. And the funny part? It's kind of hard to determine who's changed more - the author or the lives of the cats. Life lessons described by the author in this book - what she learned from her tiny but adorable charges - include: courage, patience, joy, unconditional love, and acceptance

In this book, story by story, cat by cat, we see the author learning more about life and love. The book is a love story, a story of transformations, a story about following dreams and changing lives - least of all one's own. This book is a story of healing - of making the best of horrible situations, of persevering. By creating Resqcats, with the mission of rescue, care and adoption of abandoned and stray cats and kittens - Ms. Telson not only saved thousands of cats, but she also changed herself.

Next to the success story of one woman's dream, one of my favorite parts of the book is Ms. Tolson's courage in admitting feelings that many people will never understand. Like her, I've been called too sensitive. Like her, I've thought something was wrong with me because of how much animal suffering affects me. I've never understood how to go on living my life after viewing animals suffering. It doesn't matter if it's a movie, a reality show, in my daily life ... seeing hurt animals ruin my day and destroys my soul bit by bit. I refuse to ignore the unpleasantness because the cats and kittens can't pretend it's not happening just because they don't like it - so how can I? How can I go about life as if nothing happened? The beauty of the author's story is that she used that unpleasantness and pain for good - she used it to advocate for and make a difference in the lives of cats.

A beautiful book and testament to the powers of dreams, the power of love, and that power of loving and feeling compassion for animals, the author also wishes to expand the readers' compassion and appreciation for animals. Mission accomplished! My only complaint is that pictures aren't included in the electronic version. Pictures are worth a thousand words - and the impact of the stories are lessened by the lack of seeing these amazing cats for ourselves. Okay, okay ... and who can really ever get enough cat pictures?!?

About the book:

CAT TAILS: HEART-WARMING STORIES ABOUT THE CATS AND KITTENS OF RESQCATS by Jeffyne Telson, 332 pp., Animals/Cat Rescue, $27.95 (Hardcover).
A book about Ms. Telson's journey through creating a cat rescue, challenges and opportunities faced, and priceless life lessons the cats and kittens have taught her along the way.
The hardcover may be purchased on Amazon: Cat Tails (follow the link to go straight to the page). The book is also available through Resqcats' page: Cat Tails (Resqcats). 100% of the proceeds go to RESQCATS!

About the author and RESQCATS:

"Jeffyne Telson grew up in Dallas, Texas but has spent most of the last half of her life in California. Although she has Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design from Texas Tech University, she has devoted the last two decades to the pursuit of her real life’s passion…caring for stray and abandoned cats and kittens.

In 1997, Jeffyne Telson founded RESQCATS, Inc, as a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, care and adoption of stray and abandoned cats and kittens.

In the ensuing 20 years, with the help of a small group of dedicated volunteers, Jeffyne has grown RESQCATS well beyond her dreams, into a highly respected rescue organization that has placed more than 2800 cats and kittens with qualified families and individuals.

Today, in addition to being the President of RESQCATS, Jeffyne and her husband, Mitch, share their Santa Barbara, California home with 14 unadoptable cats, 9 collies and 15 giant African sulcata tortoises…all rescued of course!"

For more on the book, the author, and Resqcats, please visit Resqcat's website or Facebook page.

The hardcover may be purchased on Amazon: Cat Tails (follow the link to go straight to the page).

Pictures and blurbs from the book provided by Pump Up Your Book.