The Cat is in the Details
By Sofie Kelly
Because the Magical Cats Mysteries have several cats as characters, I have a lot of facts about cats in my files. But I’d probably know a lot of these things anyway. I like cats and I like interesting bits of information. So how many of these cat facts did you know?
A group of cats is called a clowder. (Probably evolved from the word clutter.)
The Encyclopedia of Cats says there are more cats than dogs in North America. (Since there are also more women than men in North America could the two be connected?) The goddess, Bast has the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Cats have about a dozen whiskers on each side, which function as touch receptors.
According to How Stuff Works, cats don’t have true collar bones like we do, which is why they can squeeze through very narrow openings. A cat’s nose pad is ridged with a unique pattern, just like the fingerprint of a human.
Cats purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine. Most cats are lactose intolerant. A female cat is called a molly. Cats have no taste buds for sweetness. (Which explains, along with the lactose intolerance, why cats don’t eat a pint of Mocha Fudge ice cream when they’re having a bad day.)
A house cat can run faster than the worlds fastest man, Usain Bolt—about 30 mph versus about 27 mph at Bolt’s fastest. A 3 oz can of fancy feast has on average les than 90 calories.
According to the book What Cats Are Made Of, cats make close to 100 different sounds. Dogs make about ten. (I’m not saying that means cats are ten times smarter. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.)
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Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Monday, October 13th for your chance to win a copy of A Midwinter's Tail. (US entries only, please.)
Blurb: Kathleen Paulson is snowed under running her library and caring for her extraordinary felines, Owen and Hercules. But when a fund-raiser turns deadly, she’ll have to add sleuthing to her already full schedule....
Winter in Mayville Heights is busy and not just because of the holidays. Kathleen is hard at work organizing a benefit to raise money for the library’s popular Reading Buddies program. She has her hands full hosting the event. And when a guest at the gala drops dead, her magical cats, Owen and Hercules, will have their paws full helping her solve a murder.
The victim is the ex of town rascal Burtis Chapman, but she hasn’t lived in the area in years. And though everybody is denying knowledge of why she was back in town, as Kathleen and her detective boyfriend, Marcus, begin nosing around, they discover more people are connected to the deceased than claimed to be. Now Marcus, Kathleen, and her uncanny cats have to unravel this midwinter tale before the case gets cold.
Tortie Shorties
Book reviews that are short and sweet...just like Truffles!
The Magical Cats Mystery series is quite simply, pure magic. Owen and Hercules are back for their 4th adventure in A Midwinter's Tail and more adorable and clever than ever.
It's the holiday season in Mayville Heights and Kathleen is keeping busy planning a fundraiser for the library's Reading Buddies program for kids. The rumor mill is in overdrive over Dayna, the ex-wife of Burtis Chapman, who left town 20 years ago and never came back. Then in the middle of the fundraiser she drops dead after eating chocolate truffles that were coated in pistachio oil. Chocolatier Olivia Ramsey swears there were no nuts in her kitchen because she has a nut allergy of her own. Poor Kathleen has no choice but to refund everybody's money and risk losing the program that means so much to her and the town.
In previous books Owen seemed to steal the show with his Fred the Funky Chicken toys, but in this book Hercules has received a little purple catnip mouse that he just adores and Owen is jealous. The hijinks between these two had me laughing out loud. Plus Hercules aversion to getting his paws wet takes an even more humorous turn when there's snow on the ground!
I love how this series has ongoing storylines from each book to the next, including the various romances and especially the care of a local feral cat colony. Rich characters, a cozy setting, and two extra special felines make this one of the best cat mystery series on the shelves today.
I love how this series has ongoing storylines from each book to the next, including the various romances and especially the care of a local feral cat colony. Rich characters, a cozy setting, and two extra special felines make this one of the best cat mystery series on the shelves today.
28 comments:
We loved all those cat facts! The one about the frequency of a cat's purr is really cool. :)
A Midwinter's Tail sounds like a great read. Thank you for the chance to win!
Hugs!
p.s. - I got some "okay" pictures of Truffle this past weekend. I will send them to you soon. :)
Adding this to my ever growing list of books to read. Love the cat facts
this is one of my favorite series! glad to see a new one!
That is a lot of fun cat information! I knew cats made many different sounds, but I didn't realize their "vocabulary" was that big, Very interesting.
This truly is a wonderful series with every element that makes me itching for more, and I'm thrilled to hear Hercules gets Owen jealous and the show reaction sounds hilarious.
Thanks for the terrific review!
Good series, thank you for the chance to win it :)
jslbrown2009(at)aol(dot)com
Love the cover of this book! (How could any cat lover not, eh?!?) Cats and books....there is no better combination!
This is delightful and interesting. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
The cover is special and this cat mystery is a very intriguing one. Many thanks for this great feature. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
Truffles, I totally agree. This is a great bunch of stories.
libbydodd at comcast dot net
another great series! Love us some cats!
I haven't read this series...more for the TBR list! Thanks, Melissa & Truffles!
patucker54 at aol dot com
The cover is fantastic! Love the review-this is now on my must read list!!
Thanks for all the fun cat information! This is a great series - and I love the Reading Buddies Program.
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
Yous don't hav to say it, evewy[awdy knows cats be smawter than dogs. MOL Weez luv yous cat facts.
Luv ya'
Dezi and Lexi
That’s a cute cover. You don’t have to enter me.
I recently discovered this series and it has become a favorite! Always happy to see a new installment!
Loved the cat facts. Sure to enjoy the book.
I really enjoyed the trivia--I didn't know what a clowder was. Can't wait to read more about Owen and Hercules, thanks for the chance to win.
Oh this looks like a goodie! We just loved the trivia tidbits, too.
Mommy posted for Friday about her book win and linked you up and stole your badge! (it's too adorable!)
Thank you again for the giveaway. Our Mommy is mad for books and can't wait to dig in!
>>Smooches<< from all of us.
Pee Ess - if Mommy forgotted something, just let her know.
Loved the cat facts. I never knew they had over 100 sounds! Ours do have some interesting meows and yowls, and one of them has a cute little pur-UP chirpy noise.
Since I also love cozies and cats, this is clearly a series I need to start!
Whoops, forgot to add my address: jkpekar AT crosslink DOT net
Owen and Hercules are such perfect cats for a cozy series---I just can never wait until their next book comes out.
Thanks for the contest.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Thank you Melissa and Truffles for the wonderful review.
Good luck to everyone in the giveaway!
I love, love, LOVE this series!!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!
congrats & continued success to Sofie!!!!
cyn209 at juno dot com
Love your cat facts! I adore the Magical Cat series and actually have had this pre-ordered on my Kindle for some time. Can't wait to see what happens next in this wonderful series!
Marty's Mom
I love this series.
kaye.killgore@comcast.net
I didn't know that a group of cats is called a clowder. This book sounds like a fun read. I love that cover. Thanks for having the giveaway.
ayancey1974(at)gmail(dot)com
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