Call of the Cats: What I Learned about Life and Love from a Feral Colony

by Andrew Bloomfield

Overview

When aspiring screenwriter Andrew Bloomfield moved into a bungalow in Southern California he soon discovered that he shared the property with a large colony of feral cats — untamed, uninterested in human touch, not purring pets in waiting. But after a midnight attack by predators that decimated yet another litter of kittens, Bloomfield decided to intervene. He began to name and nurse, feed and house, rescue and neuter. Drawing on his time living in Asia among spiritual teachers, he takes us on the contemplative, humorous, and poignant journey of saving these cats, only to find it was they who saved him by revealing a world of meaning beyond his unrealized Hollywood dreams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608683987
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	683,710
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Andrew Bloomfield is a writer living in Southern California.

Table of Contents

Prologue xiii

Chapter 1 Welcome to LA 1

Chapter 2 It Begins 9

Chapter 3 Tiny: A Kitten in the Fog 17

Chapter 4 Rehab 27

Chapter 5 Sleepless in SoCal 35

Chapter 6 Intervention 47

Chapter 7 Dr. V, Miracle Worker 69

Chapter 8 Supporting My New Family 79

Chapter 9 The Naming of Cats 87

Chapter 10 From the Fertile Crescent to Hello Kitty 101

Chapter 11 Protecting the Colony 115

Chapter 12 Interrupting the Cycle 127

Chapter 13 Three Sisters 147

Chapter 14 Indoors and Out 159

Chapter 15 Daily Grind 177

Chapter 16 Loss 181

Chapter 17 Tiny and Leo's Ordeal 185

Chapter 18 Moving 195

Chapter 19 Present Day 217

Acknowledgments 223

Notes 225

Resources 235

About the Author 237

Editorial Reviews

09/12/2016
After trekking through India and Nepal seeking enlightenment, first-time author Bloomfield found himself homeless and unemployed in Hollywood. At his lowest point, he, like a stray cat, was taken in by a former flame and her sister, who were looking for a housemate. Bloomfield discovered a feral cat colony flourishing behind the house, and began rescuing the cats after witnessing too many deaths from predators and disease. Weaving in stories and superstitions of cats throughout history, Bloomfield tells how he, in caring for the fiercely independent and sometimes ungrateful felines, came to the enlightenment that had previously eluded him. Readers with a strong interest in mysticism may find Bloomfield’s approach to tending to the cats more appealing than more down-to-earth cat lovers, but his deep commitment to the cats he rescued is obvious to all. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

With humor and wit, Call of the Cats illustrates the perils and rewards of rescuing animals that live at the margins of human society. If you have ever cared for an animal, this book will resonate with you.”
— Marty Becker, DVM, America’s Veterinarian and author of Your Cat: The Owner’s Manual

“Andrew Bloomfield’s heartfelt memoir is not just about his unconditional love for the feral-cat colony that he came to know and adopt. It’s also a much larger portrait of how we can live with, and gently support, animals, who are all at our mercy.”
— Patrick McDonnell, creator of MUTTS and illustrator of Guardians of Being

“Great writing is great storytelling, and Andrew Bloomfield is a great storyteller. This book is, in a word, stunning!...Buy it for every cat lover you know, as well as every ‘not yet’ cat lover. If this book doesn’t win them over, I don’t know what will.”
— Amelia Kinkade, author of Straight from the Horse’s Mouth

“Call of the Cats is like Born Free in an urban backyard, full of remarkable detail about the wild life around us and the extraordinary emotional attachments that can exist between human beings and the untamed animals that occasionally share our lives.”
— Bruce Joel Rubin, Academy Award–winning screenwriter of Ghost

“While claiming not to be a ‘cat person,’ Bloomfield nevertheless is a deeply compassionate man in his interventions on behalf of the feral felines....This isn’t a superficial work, and the author provides many pages of references, as well as resource websites for organizations that deal with feral animals. All in all, a very engaging and highly recommended book.”
— Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2016
What do Hollywood, Nepal and the Dalai Lama, a less-than-ordinary life, and feral cats have in common? They all come into focus in this engaging memoir of a man who starts out wanting to be a scriptwriter, spends time in a Himalayan monastery, and ends up living a remarkable life tending to a colony of feral cats back in Los Angeles for 20-plus years. This free-flowing reminiscence weaves together events from Bloomfield's life with lessons learned from the Dalai Lama, details about the cats, and, of course, the stories of the people and events surrounding them. Some of the pieces are uplifting, while others are sad or disturbing. Regardless, readers will be engaged throughout. While claiming not to be a "cat person," Bloomfield nevertheless is a deeply compassionate man in his interventions on behalf of the feral felines. VERDICT This isn't a superficial work, and the author provides many pages of references, as well as resource websites for organizations that deal with feral animals. All in all, a very engaging and highly recommended book.—Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI

Library Journal