Katz Tales by Ellen Whyte

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
No. of pages: 200
ISBN: 978-967-3035-64-9
Price: RM28.00

In a nutshell
Join Scoop, Bones, Au and Target on their adventures and witness their paw-raising cat fights, learn to interpret their meows and growls, know when to give them treats and be rewarded with free deliveries of rodents, and be charmed by their big, round, adorable eyes that help them get away with almost anything. Their mischievous antics and brainy, well-thought-of tricks would tickle you to the bone! And... they have taught me my first cat lesson: you can’t outsmart a cat.

You could also learn a thing or two about cats in Katz Tales’ Part 2 Cat FAQs. Learn from how you can toilet train your cat, to how to keep your cats off the furniture, what to do when your cat’s upset, and how to have catty chats with your cats!

What I liked
Even for a non-cat lover, I find it hard not to fall in love with indomitable Scoop, low-key Au and shy Target after getting to know them in Katz Tales. One of my favourite stories in Katz Tales is ‘Scoop Fakes an Illness’, where he tricked Ellen into giving him extra treats by ‘extending’ his illness and how he tried to pretend that she had not seen anything. Having read that story to my husband, he chuckled.

My favourite tale of Au is ‘Big Brother’ when he dealt with street fighter Yow Yow who was about to attack little Target, and saved him from what seemed like a possible, ruthless catfight. This is one of my favourite passages:

“Au took immediate advantage of the situation to demand a treat but rather generously shared it with Target. They spent the rest of the day together, with Target looking at his big protector worshipfully. Au is pretending nothing has happened but if you look closely you can see he’s smiling. Au is having a good day.”


That's Au and Target enjoying each other's company

And Target, oh, Target. How I loved the shy, sentimental Target. I felt so sorry for him in ‘The Big Snip’. In order to keep him away from danger, he had to be neutered. It must have been tough for him having to fast for eight to 10 hours before the operation. But thankfully, Target, being the strong survivor he is, survived the operation and recovered rather quickly.

Besides the stories, I loved how Ellen narrated them. She not only managed to tell her cats’ tales so charmingly, but to also weave in some ‘know-hows’ into the passages, indirectly educating a non-cat lover like me and showing me that cats are just as adorable and loveable as dogs.

There are so many more of these fascinating, amusing tales in Katz Tales and I’m sure somehow, these feline fuzzies of Ellen’s will also find a place in your heart, as they have in mine.

To note
Even after reading 40 tales of Scoop, Bones, Au and Target, I can bet, you still won’t have enough of them *smile* Don't say I didn't warn you! *wink*

As luck would have it, I had had the honour of having an email interview with the author of Katz Tales, Ellen Whyte!

Pictures courtesy of Ellen Whyte. For more of them, go to: www.lepak.com