Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends

by Rob Laidlaw

Overview

Meet young "Cat Champions", kids who are helping domestic and feral cats by volunteering at shelters, fostering kittens, and raising awareness about cats who need help. Learn about the issues facing our feline friends, and be inspired to become a "Cat Champion" yourself. Around the world, young people are making a difference in the lives of cats. In Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends, meet kids who are helping at shelters, fostering kittens, volunteering with sterilization programs, and caring for abandoned cats. Animal advocate Rob Laidlaw brings readers a hopeful, inspiring look at the issues facing domesticated and feral cats, and the "Cat Champions" who are working to help them. Informational sidebars throughout the book describe issues facing cats ("The Cat’s Out of the Bag") as well as good-news feline facts ("The Cat’s Meow"). Filled with color photographs and real-life stories, Cat Champions will inspire and empower readers of all ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781927485316
Publisher:	Pajama Press Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2014
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1060L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Rob Laidlaw has devoted his life to protecting animals and empowering others to do the same. He is the founder of several animal protection organizations and an author of 6 children's books about animal welfare and activism. No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs won the OLA Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award and the Hackmatack Award; its companion book, Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends, is nominated for the same awards. Rob lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

World of Cats 6

A Fabulous Assortment of Felines 10

Cats on Display 11

Cool Cats: The Hemingway Cats 12

Cool Cats: Simon the War Cat 13

It's an Alley Cat World 14

Feral Cats 14

Aundrea Hirschmiller, Rescue Champion 15

Cat Colonies 16

Jennifer Aggio, Colony Champion 17

Outdoor Homes 18

The Students of Clay High School and Dryden High School, Shelter Champions 19

1,000 Cats Neutered 20

Japan's Cat Islands 20

Shelters, People Who Care 22

What Makes a Good Shelter? 24

Harley Helman, Shelter Champion 25

Lou Wegner, Shelter Champion 26

Sarah Kuhnert, Volunteer Champion 28

Rachel Cohen, Shelter Champion 29

Cat Sanctuaries 30

Cool Cats: Scarlett 31

Becoming a Foster Parent 32

Sun Shibo, Foster Champion 33

Jordyn Arndt, Foster Champion 33

Jasmine Polsinelli, Foster Champion 34

Kieran Zierer-Clyke, Foster Champion 35

Daniel Rademaker, Foster Champion 36

Socializing Cats 36

Adopting a Cat 38

Do Your Homework 38

You've Chosen Your Cat. What's Next? 40

Kacey Rhinehart, Adoption Champion 42

No Need to Buy a Cat 44

Indoors or Outdoors? 46

Outdoors or Indoors? 47

What Does Your Cat Need? 48

Leave My Claws Alone! 48

Raising Funds and Telling the World 50

Rachel and Julia Eisen, Fundraising Champions 50

Zoe Albert, Fundraising Champion 51

Evan Sweitzer, Fundraising Champion 52

Nai-Hui Zhuang, Education Champion 53

Cool Cats: Tuxedo Stan 54

It's Up to All of Us 55

The Cat Lover's Pledge 56

Resources & Links 57

Acknowledgements 58

Photo Credits 59

Glossary 60

Index 62

Editorial Reviews

The information is easily accessible and the stories are engaging and heart-warming . . . This is a wonderful book for any animal lover.

Resource Links

Written in a clear unpreachy style and brimming with lovely full-colour photos, this is an ideal volume for any young cat lover . . .

Quill & Quire

. . . the book's centerpiece is the "cat champions," or young people (some eight or nine years old) who have gone above and beyond to make life better for felines. . . . The list of organizations where kids can learn about ways they can help is extensive and useful.

Booklist

Cat lovers around the world will celebrate this well-written nonfiction selection.

Dragon Lode International Books

Laidlaw, author of No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs, now provides a book that will empower youth to help homeless cats . . . Attractive sidebars contain tidbits of information that will be of interest to cat lovers . . . Highly Recommended. - CM Magazine ****/4

CM Magazine

The straightforward message, good examples and plentiful resources may well combine to inspire new advocates., Kirkus, January 29, 2014|The kids' actions should inspire readers to get involved with rescue efforts in their own communities. This title would be useful for its information on young people and their determination to protect cats everywhere., School Library Journal, March 1, 2014|. . . the book's centerpiece is the "cat champions," or young people (some eight or nine years old) who have gone above and beyond to make life better for felines. . . . The list of organizations where kids can learn about ways they can help is extensive and useful., Booklist, February 15, 2014|The information is easily accessible and the stories are engaging and heart-warming . . . This is a wonderful book for any animal lover., Resource Links, December 1, 2013|Written in a clear unpreachy style and brimming with lovely full-colour photos, this is an ideal volume for any young cat lover . . ., Quill & Quire, November 1, 2013|Laidlaw, author of No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs, now provides a book that will empower youth to help homeless cats . . . Attractive sidebars contain tidbits of information that will be of interest to cat lovers . . . Highly Recommended. - CM Magazine ****/4, CM Magazine, November 1, 2013

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
Gr 3–6—Laidlaw takes children's love of cats and combines it with their interest in making a difference by introducing young people who are working to save these animals. The book begins with a chapter about cats in general-their history, attributes, breeds, and cat shows. He then describes "Cat Champions" in the United States and Canada and their efforts to help abandoned, injured, or homeless felines: a girl who helps trap and neuter cats in a colony near her home, high school students who construct outdoor shelters for feral cats, and others. Unfortunately, the book design can impede readers' efforts to extract the information successfully. Each spread includes several photos and so many facts in the main text, in sidebars, and in captions that the book is visually overwhelming. Still, the kids' actions should inspire readers to get involved with rescue efforts in their own communities. This title would be useful for its information on young people and their determination to protect cats everywhere.—Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ

School Library Journal

2014-01-29
As he did in No Shelter Here (2012), Laidlaw offers a brief history and basic details about a particular kind of companion animal (in this case, cats) and recognizes individuals and organizations who advocate and care for them. Feline fanciers and casual browsers alike will be attracted by the numerous photos—generally three to seven per double-page spread. Posed or candid, stock photos or personalized portraits, the pictures vary in size and placement but are crisp and colorful for the most part. They showcase oodles of cute cats and playful kittens, some accompanied by the humans who love them. The text, meanwhile, explores a variety of related topics, each covered in a few short paragraphs. From a young girl in China who speaks up against animal exploitation to Canadian and U.S. citizens, primarily children and teens, who volunteer in shelters, raise funds or tend to feral cats, the author profiles people making a difference. He also explains how cats behave, what they need and how readers can help. The friendly, conversational tone begins in the first few pages with a personal note that addresses readers directly and continues throughout. Backmatter includes a "Cat Lover's Pledge" as well as a page of Web resources, a glossary and an index. The straightforward message, good examples and plentiful resources may well combine to inspire new advocates. (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews