The Old, the Mad and the Wobbly

2015 | Biography

A kitten is a kitten, but each mature cat is unique. Shaped by experience - good and bad - cats are survivors, whether they have wrestled with the dark forces of nature or nothing more demanding than securing the most comfortable billet on the sofa. Older cats are not afraid to be themselves - not that there's ever any real danger of cats worrying what anybody thinks. Mature cats have had years to grow into their ears and even if their ears don't hear too well, those cats still have plenty to say. Author Heather Cook spent 30 years as the homing officer for Woking Branch of Cats Protection and this has afforded her an endless supply of cats that could variously be described as "past their sell-by date", "off-the-wall" or "damaged". This book documents the special felines who have taken up residence at her home (Tresta Towers). "Some of these have presented me with significant challenges, but there is no such thing as a bad cat. I believe that animals react to outside stimuli, favourable or unfavourable, in order to survive," says Heather. Madness happens: in cats as in people. It can take the form of harmless eccentricity, dementia or out and out psychosis.

In cats it can be a rather attractive quality, only necessitating the wearing of protective clothing in extreme cases. Think of kittens racing round a room at head height, their tails like loo brushes and their ears like helicopter blades. They start off bonkers and it can only get worse. Some cats are born wobbly, some achieve wobbliness and some have wobbliness thrust upon them, by illness or accident. If you love cats, you will love this book. The cats featured are very special and have overcome any number of problems to survive. This is not a dreary book, however, as cats are by nature humorous creatures and there are many amusing incidents along the way. All the stories are true and all the cats are very real indeed.

Heather Cook (Author)