Summer Reading with the Cat Daddy #ChewyInfluencer

Meows from Mudpie!

This month when our Chewy Influencer email arrived Mommy was quite pleased to see something for humans listed - a book! And a cat book that she didn't already have, no less! While we have both of Jackson Galaxy's Catification books in our library for some reason we didn't have his first book, Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean, so that's the one we requested.

Here's what the publisher has to say about Cat Daddy...

Cat behaviorist and star of Animal Planet's hit television show My Cat from Hell, Jackson Galaxy, a.k.a. "Cat Daddy," isn't what you might expect for a cat expert (as The New York Times noted, with his goatee and tattoos, he "looks like a Hells Angel"). Yet Galaxy's ability to connect with even the most troubled felines -- not to mention the stressed-out humans living in their wake -- is awe-inspiring. In this book, Galaxy tells the poignant story of his thirteen-year relationship with a petite gray-and-white short-haired cat named Benny, and gives singular advice for living with, caring for, and loving the feline in your home.

When Benny arrived in his life, Galaxy was a down-and-out rock musician with not too much more going on than a part-time job at an animal shelter and a drug problem. Benny's previous owner brought the cat to the shelter in a cardboard box to give him up. Benny had seen better days --- his pelvis had just been shattered by the wheels of a car -- and his owner insisted he'd been "unbondable" from day one. Nothing could have been further from the truth. An inspiring account of two broken beings who fixed each other, Cat Daddy is laced throughout with Galaxy's amazing "Cat Mojo" advice for understanding what cats need most from us humans in order to live happier, healthier lives.

Now Mommy is a huge fan of Jackson Galaxy and all he does for kitties, but we have a little problem at our house. I won't let her watch My Cat From Hell! As soon as the show comes on all that screaming and turmoil sends me into a frenzy and she ends up having to turn it off to calm me down! What can I say? I like peace and quiet in my home and just don't want to hear all that kitty conflict! So she watches it On Demand when I'm sleeping in the bedroom or playing in the basement and she keeps the volume very, very low. (Do I rule our house with an iron paw or what???)



That being said, we loved this book and learned so much about Jackson that we didn't know. Given what Jackson does you might think it's a how-to book about dealing with behavioral issues using examples from his clients, but that's not the case at all. This is Jackson's own personal story of how he overcame life as a drug-addicted musician merely surviving day by day to one of the most famous cat behaviorists in the world thanks to the influence of a special cat named Benny. It's no secret that the love of a good cat can be life-changing, and the relationship between Jackson and Benny, two broken souls brought together to heal each other, proves it. Cat Daddy is raw and revealing, but it's also incredibly inspiring.

And yes, during the final pages when Benny went to the Bridge Mommy's tears were flowing, but that's where the power of Mudpie comes in. I came to her two years ago to piece together her shattered heart and she's a continual work in progress.

Chewy currently has Cat Daddy on sale for only $8.60, so why not add a little something to your order for the special human in your life the next time you need to stock up on food, toys, and kitty litter? 'Tis the season for summer reading, and if you're lucky you might get some extra lap time while their nose is buried in the book!

Disclaimer: We received a free book from Chewy.com as part of their Blogger Outreach Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and we never recommend a product we don’t fully believe in.