MSI Press Blog

  Question: What is a precerpt? Answer: A precerpt is a brief excerpt or preview of a book (or other text), used to give readers a taste of the content before they read the full piece. It's like a sneak peek that hooks the reader's interest (or at least, we hope it will hook yours).  This Friday's precerpt is from  Raising Happy Cat Families  by Luna Norwood --  GAINING A CAT'S CONFIDENCE (part 2) So, how did Boulder became Bobolink? How did I gain the confidence of this scared baby? In the following ways that can be generalized to a number of scaredy cats:   LEAVE THE INITIATIVE TO THE CAT; RESPECT THE CAT’S SPACE. I left the initiative to Bobolink. He could join the rest of the family when he was ready and was not forced to do so before he was ready. Bobolink’s cubby on the cat tree was there as his protective fortress; I did not disturb him there—did not feed him there, did not try to pet him there, removed him from there only once a day for his socialization o

  Bobolink looking up at his owner in pain, fear, trust, and love at a vet visit. It started three months ago. Our feather-duster-tailed, aqua-blue-eyed, quietly affectionate, FIV cat, Bobolink began losing weight really fast. Blood tests showed autoimmune hemolytic anemia . Incurable. Marginally treatable. Pills from VCA, ointments and powders from Chewy, and specially compounded liquids from Sherman’s Apothecary did little to compensate for a worrisome and continuing red blood cell count of 13 (28 is considered the lower limit). After a couple months, Bobolink had regained the weight he had lost, but his weight and appetite fluctuated by the day. He became my lap cat, chair cat (he fit nicely beside me in Carl’s big lazy-boy), and bed cat, following me everywhere as if attached. Then, two weeks ago, his weight dipped very low, and he lost interest in food. One day, I left the room and returned to find him lying in a puddle of pee and looking up with scared, confused eyes. VCA in Sal

  his is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in  feral cats .  General information (from previous posts): For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas,  Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall, and Intrepid , closely bonded to Murjan, died three years ago from the same kind of cancer), all of whom get along pretty fabulously. Of course, all of that is easier said than done, and the bonding took time -- lots of it. Here are some of the things we did to create our cat family, some of which is not at all typical of what others have done, but it has worked for us. We don't trap the feral cats at all; we win them over and invite them in. We do this by feeding them a distance from the house and walking away, then moving the dish clo

  Bobolink in his kennel at the pet hospital. We should have known there was a problem with Bobolink that related to anemia. A feral cat that we domesticated (over a long period of time, he was always a little skittish until November when he wanted to crawl up in my lap or snuggle next to me all the time, literally all the time. In hindsight, he was cold; he was seeking warmth. Even though I am anemic at times and understand the cold feeling, the thought did not register that cats can be anemic as well. Then, he lost two pounds nearly overnight. Clearly, something was wrong. Worried that his FIV had turned into AIDS, we took him to the vet, who, through a blood test, discovered that he had autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a disease in which the cat's body eats its own red blood cells. Little is known about the causes. The vet suggested some possibilities that seemed not on the mark. I suggested FIV, but she said that was not likely. However, I have since found some vet sites on the In

  Question: What is a precerpt? Answer: A precerpt is a brief excerpt or preview of a book (or other text), used to give readers a taste of the content before they read the full piece. It's like a sneak peek that hooks the reader's interest (or at least, we hope it will hook yours).  Beginning today, we will offer Friday precerpts from our forthcoming books. Some are closer to being released than others, but you can anticipate that once a month another precerpt from the same book will be presented so that you can get a pretty good taste for the flavor of the book buy the time it is released. At the moment, the four forthcoming books from which we will share precerpts are: Grandma's Ninja Training Diary (Renz and Leaver) on the first Friday of the month Charming Cats, a series of books, the first of which is Raising Happy Cat Families  (Norwood)  The Curse of the Maestro (Walker) on the third Friday of the month Nothing So Broken (Richards) on the fourth Friday of the mon

 Murjan, born in Jordan, traveled to the USA when he was just a couple of years old. He is the only domestic cat among the six cats, but he quickly established himself as the alpha cat. He sometimes thinks he is human and likes soft and warm sleeping spots. Other times, he is certain he is a dog, likes to be walked on a leash, and rolls over to have his belly rubbed.  Murjan loves to communicate, especially having night time discussions with his human.  He will even listen to and obey little ones.   For many months,  Happy Cat hung out in the bushes, waiting for the other feral cats to finish eating the food that had kindly been set outside. Then, one day he became very ill, climbed the 17 steps to the Leaver front door, where he fell, exhausted. Betty Lou discovered him there, scooped him up, and took him to the vet. Happy Cat had a serious lung infection. Once healed, it was not safe to let him outside. That did not matter because he was delighted to have found a home and will not ve