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Review: PURR M FOR MURDER, by T.C. LoTempio

Purr M For Murder is a really sweet cozy mystery and is the first, that I know of anyway, that is set in a cat cafe! Ms. Witty Kitty would so love to open her own cat cafe someday, so she was overjoyed when she saw the back-cover blurb on this one!

It’s actually set in a Deer Park, North Carolina cat rescue called Friendly Paws, which is owned by sleuth Sydney’s sister, Kat, but in order to raise funds for the rescue, the sisters organize a cat event in a local cafe (which is how the current craze of cat cafes in the U.S. began :)) Well, everyone in the small town is super excited for the cat cafe event, thinking it’s a fabulous idea for a fundraiser – which of course it is – except for Kat’s landlord, Trowbridge Littleton (what a great name!), who promises to do everything he can to keep the event from happening. He also owns an art gallery down the street, and, when Sydney shows up there to try to convince him to reconsider, she finds Kat already there, along with Trowbridge’s dead body. Sydney now has to prove her sister’s innocence and find the real killer. Of course Trowbridge is not very liked among the townspeople, so there are lots of possibilities for who the real killer is, and LoTempio keeps us guessing until the end.

I found all of the characters delightful, as well as the well-described setting, and Sydney is a savvy, endearing sleuth you really want to root for. What I always love about cat or dog mysteries, though, is watching the animal help solve the crime. Here, an orange tabby named Toby performs that function quite well. Toby is a bit of a wandering tom whose ways leads him to see certain things, making him very helpful to the woman whom it seems will become his chosen human, sleuth Sydney.

This is a fun cat cozy and only the first in what I hope will become a long series. Five delicious bonito flakes!

Above sister Katusha checks out our copy of the book, which WK found at the Scottsdale Civic Library’s little Friends of the Library bookstore.

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Review: LOVE AT FIRST BARK, by Julie Klam

Witty Kitty loved this short, sweet memoir she happened to find at a special sale at her favorite bookstore, Changing Hands. It’s by the very funny Julie Klam, about what her experiences rescuing dogs has taught her about herself.

There are several wonderful stories here about the endearingly-portrayed dogs Klam has found homes for throughout the years. She opens with one about Morris, a sweet pit bull she and her husband, Paul, find tied to a tree outside a museum, all day. When it was clear no one was coming to get him, they embark on a sadly funny race against time to get the dog checked in to a rescue Klam has found, which it ends up, can’t take him right away anyway. She and Paul know they can’t keep him because of the three little dogs they already have, but, happily, a friend who’s seen her constant flow of social media posts about the Morris, comes through. Their frantic struggle to find Morris a home brings her and Paul closer together and reminds each what is so amazingly special about the other.

The book ends with my favorite story: about Klam’s experience with a group of people in New Orleans right after Katrina, rescuing dogs left homeless by the flood. There’s one dog in particular, a yellow puppy, who has his head stuck in a jar. Very sad how it got to be that way, by the way. Another frightening but funny race ensues to try to capture and free the little dog, which it turns out takes a village to do. She learns a great deal about the lengths she will go to – literally risking her life – to help these severely distressed animals.

I was also very intrigued by Klam’s story of checking her two terriers, Fiorello and Wisteria – were there ever such cutely hilarious dog names? – to a boot camp known as Kamp Kanine, so the two will learn, among other things, how not to rip their human’s arm out of her shoulder socket during walks. My little terrier (pictured above with the book) so desperately needs this camp. We really hope there is one in the Phoenix area.

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Review: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, by Sofie Kelly

Sister Katusha poses with our copy of the book, which we bought at Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ.

Witty Kitty loved this cozy mystery set in a library and starring two cats with magical powers. Cats who can do magic – what could be more enchanting! Kathleen Paulson, head librarian in small town Mayville Heights, MN, finds the estranged father of a good friend, Simon, bludgeoned to death. It falls on her – and her cats – to prove to the head detective, Marcus, who happens to be Kathleen’s love interest – innocent. It is well known by the townspeople that Simon fought viciously with his father, and he has a motive and little alibi, so Kathleen’s got her work cut out for her.

As for the two cats: Hercules, a tuxedo cat, has the ability to walk through walls, and Owen, his grey tabby brother, the power to disappear at will. (Lots of cats seem to have that power :)) Kelly creatively makes good use of the cats’ magical powers in helping to solve the crime.

This was my first Sofie Kelly book – she has several in the “Magical Cats” series. I found the town to be well described, making me feel like I lived there, and the characters, including the minor ones, well drawn, making me feel like they were my friends. Kathleen is smart and resourceful, as you’d expect of a librarian, and easy to root for, and the mystery was adequately suspenseful without the murderer coming from out of nowhere, like I’ve seen in too many cozy mysteries lately. Kathleen ends up solving not on the the killing at hand but a crime from the past as well.

WK gives this one five bonito flakes!

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Support Your Local Apex Predator for a Healthy Ecosystem

Witty Kitty spent yesterday at the beautiful Saguaro National Park, and, while there, she heard a fascinating lecture given by a guide about her big aunties in the desert, the Puma concolor, also known as a Mountain Lion, or a Cougar – now also named, by WK, as the Dawas of the Desert.

We learned how pumas find and stalk their prey – much like we do, advancing by moving back paws up to front paws so as to not make a sound! And how they find their home territory, mate, and raise their young. And we learned what sounds they make and don’t – no crazy screaming! They actually make the same sounds domestic cats do: hissing, growling, and clicking their teeth together, even purring. Big cats are so similar to small cats, just with about 100 times the power and speed!  And we learned how dangerous being a predator can be – we couldn’t stop thinking of Dawa!

People always think these big cats are a threat to humans, but it’s actually not true. Statistically only one human is killed by a wild cat about every five years in North America. The four-legged mammal who is actually the most dangerous to people is – believe it or not – a deer. Not that deer are vicious predators hunting humans while they’re picnicking or anything horror-movie-esque like that, but because they can’t see cars, and they either run into cars or cars run into them. They end up killing an estimated 120 people per year in the U.S. this way. Mountain lions are not interested in bothering humans, and, unless they are very hungry or somehow feel threatened by you, will be happy leaving you alone. But deer is their primary prey. A deer or a moose can feed a mother puma and her cubs for about a week. Animal biologists have found that whenever the population of apex predators – pumas, or wolves – is low, the entire ecosystem is thrown out of balance, meaning more deer who cause the aforesaid problems to humans as well as those lower on the food chain by eating their vegetation. So, support your local apex predator for a healthy ecosystem!

But also, support your local apex predator just because they’re majestic, awe-inspiring animals 🙂

Above photo from National Park Service.

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Review: LIVING THE FARM SANCTUARY LIFE, by Gene Baur

Our sister Sofia reading Living the Farm Sanctuary Life by Gene Baur with Gene Stone, which we found at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ.

We loved this book! It’s a nice, big, glossy coffee table book by the founder of the Farm Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY, Gene Baur. It’s a combination of little vignettes illustrating what it’s like to live at the sanctuary, where your friends consist of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep, and ducks, stories about some of the animals and how they came to live there, lovely photos of the animal residents and the people who come to visit, facts about the health benefits – both mental and physical – of eating a plant-based diet, and really wonderful vegan recipes! Witty Kitty can’t wait to try some of these – particularly the Wild Mushroom and Spinach Roulade, the Osso Vita (using parsley root instead of deer bone), and the Lobster Mushroom Tostada Tower. Not to even mention the desserts: Salted Caramel Chocolate Bliss Bites, need I say more!

The book also gives you tidbits on how to find some good cheese and dairy replacements. Witty kitty loves cheese, so knowing some quality artisan cheese companies are out there – like Kite Hill, Dr-Cow, and Miyoko’s Kitchen – is very helpful! They also give you some good sources of protein, such as beans, and tempeh, which WK has heard a lot about and must try.

But the best thing about this book is the happy little stories about some of the animals who live there, such as Opie, the calf who was born on a freezing NY morning in a dairy farm still wet from birth, who nearly died. The dairy farmer was just going to let him die when he was found by a member of Farm Sanctuary, who, despite the veterinarian’s warnings that he wouldn’t live, took him in anyway. After keeping 24-hour watch on him, his body temperature improved and Opie began eating well, mooing happily, and frolicking with the other cows. He grew to be a gentle giant, weighing nearly 3000 pounds, and a favorite of cows and human visitors alike, living for 18 years.

Another story features a hog farmer who became fond of a runt he managed to nurse to good health. His friendship with the little pig grew so that, after ten years, he could no longer bring himself to continue to raise pigs for slaughter. He ended up becoming a vegetarian.

And those are only a couple of the stories. There’s also a section on how to dress stylishly and vegan! Sweet, informative, fun book with lots of colorful pics!

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Review: THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, by Katherine Applegate

Our sister, Rhea, poses with our copy of the book. Ivan’s coloring on the cover kind of matches her coat 🙂

The One and Only Ivan is an excellent novel by Katherine Applegate, and it very deservedly won the Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 2013. Set in a small circus, it stars Ivan the gorilla, billed as “the Mighty Silverback” by Mack, the circus owner, Stella and little Ruby, the elephants, and a stray dog named Bob, who befriends them. Mack doesn’t treat the animals very well, unsurprisingly. Particularly the elephants, who are prodded with a claw stick, sometimes harmfully, into performing tricks. And they are kept in too-small cages. When the older elephant, Stella, becomes too injured to perform, and George begins beating sweet, young Ruby into submission so she will take over Stella’s tricks, Ivan becomes determined to save her.

Ivan happens to be an artistically inclined gorilla, who can make drawings with crayons and paint. Mack tries to capitalize on Ivan’s talents by selling the paintings. But Ivan outsmarts him and uses the artwork for something more.

Ivan is based on a real gorilla, also named Ivan, who lived in a tiny cage in a shopping mall circus and, after public outcry, was moved to Zoo Atlanta. He also painted, signing his name with a thumbprint.

This is a wonderful book, and the fact that it’s based on a true story, makes it all the more compelling. Non-human animals do have talents, complex inner worlds, and dreams, and they don’t like being in cages any more than humans do.

Witty Kitty gives this one five bonito flakes, and can’t wait to read more books by Ms. Applegate!

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Review: BORN IN CHINA, the Movie

In the plane on her way to Italy late this summer, Witty Kitty saw this most amazing movie, Born in China, a documentary about three animal families living in the harsh wilds of China. The film began and ended with the family WK found by far the most fascinating (though all three were tremendously interesting) – Dawa, a snow leopard, and her two adorable little cubs. Dawa – WK’s Big Auntie in the Wild! – fiercely struggles to get food for her little ones, after another leopard, aided unfairly by his male companions – steals prey she has killed and then takes over her lair. She is forced off her land, and ventures to another area, but there is less prey there. Okay, WK does not normally like to watch these National Geographic movies where you see predators kill their prey, but you just couldn’t take your eyes off Dawa as she tries and tries to get food for her little cubs. It was heartbreaking. And when WK got back home, she did some research and found that lots of viewers – not just cats! – were most enthralled with Dawa, and sought out the filmmaker to find out what had happened to the cubs after filming ended.

The movie also follows a mother panda as she raises her baby to adulthood, when she will part ways with her – since pandas are solitary animals, and a rebellious little golden snub-nosed monkey who joins a group of hooligan monkeys called The Lost Boys after fighting with his father over a new little sister. That story was a lot of fun too, and had a happy ending. And, while the credits roll, the monkeys are shown playing with the camera equipment!

Seriously, what’s so amazing about this film is how the filmmaker was able to capture the animals’ thoughts and emotions through their facial expressions and body movement. And how human that emotion was. I kept thinking the animals must have been either very real-looking puppets or visual tricks in order to be able to “act” their roles in the stories. I was surprised to find that it was all real footage. Real animals, real footage, real stories that are so human.

WK (and her human!) highly recommend! Five scrumptious bonito flakes!

Above photo of Dawa and the cubs taken from CinemaBlend.

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Review: THE RIGHT SIDE, by Spencer Quinn

Because this is a book featuring a dog – and a black dog at that – we have graciously allowed our sister, Sofia, to model it 🙂

Witty kitty, being a cat, of course loves cat books, but she can most definitely enjoy a really good dog book as well. Especially because of that dog sister of hers… Anyway, Spencer Quinn is the author of the super engaging, comical dog / human mystery series, Chet and Bernie, and also the children’s series, Bowser and Birdie. This is not the same kind of dog book as those, in that the dog here does not narrate any part of the story, and for much of the story he does not have a name. But he does have a strong personality, strong opinions, and he helps his human, LeAnne, solve her mystery. So we love him! This book is also quite a bit more sobering than the others.

LeAnne has just returned from the war in Afghanistan, during which she lost one of her eyes. She’s angry, suffering from PTSD, and is trying put her life back together now that combat no longer seems an option. Her Army superiors ceaselessly interrogate her about the attack that disfigured her, wanting to find out who was behind it. But she doesn’t want to try to remember. Too painful. So, LeAnne flees the hospital and goes in search of the missing daughter of a friend she’s made while in the hospital, who died of her wounds. Along the way, LeAnne meets this mysteriously smart, knowing dog, and he helps her solve the missing girl mystery, and in his own way, helps her learn to trust again.

LeAnne was a very compelling character – as was the dog – and WK found herself really rooting for LeAnne to find the girl, figure out what happened in Afghanistan, come to terms with her past, overcome her PTSD and get a grasp on her future, and befriend the dog 🙂

WK gives THE RIGHT SIDE five bonito flakes!

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THE MOURNING PARADE

Can’t wait to read this novel, especially after hearing the author, Dawn Reno Langley, speak about it tonight The Poisoned Pen, our favorite mystery bookstore. The Mourning Parade is about a female veterinarian who, after her two sons are killed in a school shooting, tries to work out her grief by volunteering at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. There she meets an elephant, Sophie, suffering from PTSD due to abuse. There’s no story we love better than one about human and animal mending each other.

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Goat Yoga

Yes, I joined the craze and did goat yoga, at Welcome Home Ranch in Gilbert, AZ. It was fun – but not a whole lot of yoga, lol! I’d say about 10 minutes of yoga, and 50 minutes of adult petting zoo 🙂

The goats balanced on our backs, individually, and then at one point, we made a circle, and they trotted around it, running atop our collective backs! They weren’t heavy but their nails did get a bit scratchy, so if you do this, I’d recommend wearing a t-shirt that fully covers your back, unlike mine!