Life was gooood. As a matter of fact it was GRRRRREAT…. until Moo Kitty’s mom died and went to heaven, and once the contents of the house were packed up and trucked away, Moo Kitty was carried out the door and placed next to the trash cans. “The people left without a backwards glance, he didn’t understand,” she recounts on page 10.

Valerie L. Veltre portrays what it must feel like to lose someone near and dear to you, and then be cast aside, not understanding what has happened and why you are alone. She weaves in the importance of the cat’s faith, pointing out it was all he had left upon being the very last of the original group of friends that he’d first made when entering the animal shelter.

The 8.5 by 11 inch, 66-page book is beautifully illustrated by Pennsylvania artist Liz Leonard, tells a poignant story of an adult cat who went from a life of bliss to abandonment. Moo Kitty was named such because of his resemblance to a Holstein cow because of his black spots on his white body.

In the promotional  press release from Pamela Haines and Mike Lovell at publisher Sqidgy Press, it compares Moo Kitty’s abandonment with ‘an all-too-common scenario in today’s world of home foreclosures that force families to part with pets they can no longer afford. …. It offers a hopeful message keeping the faith when all looks dims. Though that faith may be tested, maintaining faith is essential to a joyous ending.

When Moo Kitty finds himself outside next to the trash cans, he is confused. He runs from the front door to the back door and stays in the garden. He is cold, hungry, and afraid. Then, a miracle of sorts happens. In his despair, Fred, Calvin and Maybelle, kitty guardian angels, come to him telling him they will guide him to safety. They told him to have faith…..even though he would be unable to ever see them again. The next day, he took a giant leap of faith and left his familiar surrounding to go into a big unknown world.

His journey took him to the streets, and finally to some people who picked him up and took him to the animal shelter where he would stay long after his other new-found friends, especially the kittens, found new homes.

We can truly feel for Moo Kitty and all the shelter kitties when the author wrote, “they all wanted the same thing. They wanted someone to love them. They wanted a home.”

But day after day, Moo Kitty didn’t find a home. His hope of finding a forever home was dimming. He thought no one wanted an old cat…but he’d remember the angels and dig down inside for more faith…it was all he had…

Then one day a little girl came in with her parents….and Moo Kitty was her cat of choice. She wanted the spotted kitty that looked like a moo cow. And as he left, he testified the importance of faith – “don’t loose faith, it will happen for you all. Just believe and don’t give up hope.”

What’s so amazing about this story is it isn’t just about an abandoned cat. It’s a story of love, love lost, hope, faith, endurance, tested faith, loving people, abandoned cats, perseverance, and most of all the plight of older cats that find themselves in shelters.

We all know that the cute kittens are the first to be adopted. Yet many times, an older cat would be a better choice, especially for those that don’t wants the little ones scaling the curtains or jumping off the rafters at 2 am when you’re trying to sleep.

Moo Kitty is a real cat and based on a true story. Author Valerie Veltre does a splendid job of capturing Moo Kitty’s feelings, and does so in a way that should help children realize that if they keep the faith – no matter how tough things get – there is hope that life, indeed will get better, but they have to believe

With two pages of benefits and more benefits, and tips for adopting an adult pet, the author delivers a strong message on the whys, hows and wherefores of adopting an older cat.

We’re glad to find out that Moo Kitty is alive and well, enjoying daily excursions to inspect the flower garden at Bee Tree Farm, and it is none other than the author, that adopting this inspiring feline.

For more information about Moo Kitty or author Valerie Veltre, visit their website at ValerieLeeVeltre.com or MooKittyFindsAHome.com.

If you have a book about pets that you’d like reviewed, contact me and perhaps it could be the focus on a future blog post.  Or if you have a story of an older cat that was abandoned, please share.