Chemo Cat

Chemo Cat
By Cathy Nilon

Sometimes the real life cat stories I read are sad because the cat dies at the end, so I liked this one right away because the cat featured here does not die, but survives after being diagnosed with breast cancer and going through chemotherapy, along with all that entails — being too physically and emotionally exhausted to function, wondering if she’ll live to see her kitten grow up, losing all her hair, etc. (The losing her hair part really disturbed me — I don’t know what I’d do without my fluffy tail!) Then I discovered that the book wasn’t about a cat at all, but a human family drawn as cats (I should have known something was up when all the cats were drawn wearing clothes). I gather from what my human says that the author has written this little book from experience — she is the cat in the story, and her little boy is the kitten who is so disturbed by his mother’s illness. She is also an artist and did all the illustrations herself. The book is meant for children with a parent who has been diagnosed with cancer, to help them understand what is happening and to show them that the feelings they have are normal. All the author’s net proceeds are going to an organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer. My human says that out of all the books she has gotten for me to review this year, this one is her favorite. I agree.