Think you’ve heard this storyline before … Homeless man meets lost cat and they end up saving one another? Bet your mind jumps to ‘A Street Cat Named Bob.’
Well think again…Strays is a new non-fiction book by Britt Collins (British journalist and animal activist) that will certainly appeal to fans of Bob the street cat, but offers a fascinating, heartwarming and complex twist on an old plot. Let’s set the stage…
Homeless, alcoholic, and depressed, Michael King (photo below) lives in a UPS loading bay on the wrong side of the tracks in Portland, Oregon and one rainy night, he stumbles upon a hurt, starving, scruffy cat and decided to feed her. According to Britt, “It was the first time in a long while that Michael had spent his last few dollars on something other than booze.”
Nursing her back to health, King took her in and named her Tabor, after the café where he found her. Since then she’s become somewhat of a celebrity in southeast Portland. Oh…did we mention there’s a contest where you can enter to WIN a copy of Strays (details below)?
When winter comes, they travel from Oregon to the beaches of California to the high plains of Montana, surviving blizzards and bears (yes bears!), angry steers and rainstorms. Along the way, people are drawn to the spirited, beautiful cat and moved to help Michael, who frames a striking figure with Tabor riding high on his backpack or walking on a leash.
Tabor comforts Michael when he’s down, giving Michael someone to love and care for, and inspiring him to get sober and to come to terms with his past family traumas and grief over the death of his life partner. As they make their way across the West Coast, the pair become inseparable, healing the scars of each other’s troubled pasts.
OK … you already had us at ‘lost cat’, but let’s continue… >^..^<
Suddenly the plot thickens…
Michael takes Tabor to a veterinarian in Montana, and discovers that Tabor has an identification chip and an owner in Portland who has never given up hope of finding his beloved cat, Michael makes the difficult choice to return to Portland and reunite Tabor with her owner. Now Michael must create a new purpose in his life after Tabor.
This authentic tale of an adventurous and charismatic cat and her compassionate human admirers is a tearjerker of a movie just waiting to happen!
Meanwhile, the cat’s real owner, Ron Buss, spent the entire time distraught over his missing furbaby whose real name is Mata Hairi (Mata for short). When Mata disappeared on Sept. 1, 2012 and didn’t return for days, Buss feared the worst. Usually his cats were allowed out of the house during the day but came home before dark. This time Mata had wandered a little too far from home, and eventually bumped into King and his friends at their encampment.
Thus began a 10-month odyssey for King and Tabor (aka Mata), who embarked on their cross-country adventure whilst day by day Buss was slowly giving up hope that he would ever see his beloved cat again. Mata’s brother, Creto had been equally dispirited back at home the whole time during her absence (photo below…Buss walking Mata).
Spoiler Alert: You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and most likely be an emotional wreck at the bittersweet ending. But it’ll be well worth it!
Strays proves the healing power of love and the profound bond between humans and animals. Enjoy the book trailer below:
We spoke with the author and her publishers, and they graciously provided us with 5 copies of Strays exclusively for Purrington Post readers.
*Contest Now Closed
This contest ended on August 11th, 2017 and was available to residents of the United States and Canada only. To enter the contest you simply needed to submit a comment in our “Leave a Reply” section at the bottom of this page saying:
My cat’s name is [insert your cat’s name] and he/she thinks I need to read Strays because… [your cats reason]
The 5 winners were chosen by the author from all correct entries and contacted by email.
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Photo credits: Images kindly provided by Britt Collins
Summary
In closing we wanted to share a photo of Britt with one of her own cats, and of course Mata, who inspired her book!
Dying to read it? Don’t wait…grab your own copy on Amazon here => STRAYS
Do you have a lost cat adventure story to share? Drop us a comment in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box below.
My cat’s name is Lorcan and he thinks I need to read “Strays” because I rescued him as stray off the street and has developed a strong connection with me.
My cat’s name is Lilith and she thinks I need to read Strays because when I read or watch anything dealing with cats, I tend to love on her the entire time and scratch that special place between her ears as I read. She knows she is my kitty now but that I have dealt with the heartbreak of other cats passing away, or wandering away, and that heartwarming cat stories give us both comfort.
My cat’s name is Katie and she thinks I need to read Strays because I rescued her at 2 years of age and for the last 17 years she has been my rock through my mothers Alzheimer and death and now we comfort and care for each other
good days bad days and all in between, the world will have a big hole in it when she passes, She even accepts all the other cats and dogs that have come into our lives. have to stop now and wipe the tears.
my 2 cats are katniss and maus and they think i need to read strays ,katniss because i rescued her from around 5 years of being homeless around my son in laws dental lab { my son in law is allergic to cats and could not bring her inside altho he did feed her now and then} and it was going to be six degrees that night i was afraid she would freeze to death and now she loves it here at home maus because i saved her from the streets at about 5 weeks old it looks like she was dumped from a car and she would have been killed by cars for sure if i had not saved her and brought her home there are 3 other cats at home and also 2 more homeless outside that i feed on my front porch one was left behind when her stupid owners from next door moved away the other has been around since my husband and i moved to this house in 2005 no one around here knows who she or he belongs to he or she always went to the woods near my house to hunt but she he has been getting old and i think her eyes are not as good so i started feeding her last summer now and then and now she expedts me to feed her everyday which is fine with me although she will not let me get close enough to per her
My cat’s name is Kitty and she thinks I need to read Strays because we both enjoy looking at beautiful cats.
My cat’s name is Rudolph and he thinks I should read Strays because I am obsessing over how the story ends. Rudolph is tired of me discussing this with the family ad naseum – who ends up keeping Tabor/Mata? While I’m sure he would be happy with his original family who loved him dearly, exploring life on the road with Michael was probably interesting and fun. We are all dying to know who he ends up living with and Rudolph is desperate for me to stop talking about it and play with him instead.
My kitties names are Tiger and Billy and we rescued them st 2 weeks old as they toddler out from under a dumpster,they are chipped also and the loves of my live and I admire you and urt my heartbreaks for you having the corrage to return your companion to his owner after he brought you so much joy.Doing the right thing is not always easy♡
My oldest cat (of 14 that I rescued) is Grayson. He was found as a “stray” at 20 years of age…I think we all know that no strays live that long so he was most likely dumped by cruel owners. Luckily my rescue peeps know I have a soft spot for seniors so I got the call. I drove about 80 miles to pick him up. He had only been in the shelter about 2 weeks and is still happy & healthy at age 23 1/2! Tabor/Mata was lucky this man found him and took care of him until he could be returned to his first home.
My cat’s name is Manny and he thinks I need to read Strays because… Many cats have crossed the threshold of my front door over the years. When they came to me, most came as strays or abandoned. Many were born here to stray mothers, having been already full term when they arrived. Some had, injuries, disabilities, or health issues that required special care. All were unwanted by society. I turned none away. I also feed and watch over our neighborhood ferals. I have TNR’d and trapped injured or sick ferals to get them vetted. For a couple of years, while caring for these unwanted kitties, I also fostered for a local cat rescue as a bottle feeder of orphan’s. I bonded strongly with one lone kitten, and she to me, whom I adopted. I have loved and I have felt the pain of loss. Manny is one of 25 cats and 2 dogs still living in my home. Most are 12 years old or older, with the oldest, my Boo Boo, being 17.
My cat’s name is Cam and he thinks I should read strays out loud to him, but he wants me to use Morgan Freeman’s voice. He loves that dude. He also thinks he can rent my copy out to people after I’ve read it, and whether that’s legal or not doesn’t concern him one iota.
My cat’s name is [little Judy ] and she thinks I need to read Strays because Judy was a stray and Elaine came in a recuse me almost like this baby in the book
My cat’s name is [Oliver] and he thinks I need to read Strays because it will give us bonding time.
My cats name is Coon…came to our door with upper respiratory infection….I believe he was looking for help…After Vetted and Neutered he stays here everyday. Personality cat….Maine Coon or Norwegian forest cat mix.. Get along fine with other cats we have …Something special about him. Strays story is wonderful !
My cat’s name is Teddy and he thinks I need to read Strays because there is always something to learn from a stray cat and how it effects the person that interacts with it. Sometimes the cat is reaching out to the human, and other times the human reaches out to the stray cat.
My cat’s name is Loki and he thinks I need to read Strays because he’s afraid I’ll replace him if I don’t get my daily dose of kitties!
My cat’s names are Princess an Rosie and my girls think I need to read Strays because, above all things, cat’s are my life’s passion. I rescue with GRASP locally and my girls are GRASP rescues. My girls say that I sacrifice anything for them at my own expense and all I want to do is save them all. We, Rosie and Princess want you to know our mom has given us anything we need, including large doctor bill to keep us healthy and well. Mom is 60 and struggling right now with some serious health issues and we want her to get this book to distract her from her ills. We love our mom more than anything and she loves us to the moon and back. Thank you
Hello, my cat’s name is “Auggie” and he thinks I should read ‘Strays’ because he was a stray kitten found in Ft. Greene Park, Brooklyn after Hurricane Irene had hit. He was rescued by a man walking his two dogs & through immediate vet care, Auggie survived. He’s been adopted/taken care of by a few people. He needed stability and so did I. A year earlier I had lost by best friend, 19 year old “Avery” & I was devasted. A book, ‘Shop Cats of New York’ brought us together. We bonded on the very long flight home. We help each other and our lives are much better. Tabar/Mata =^..^= you are one very special kitty. Thank you for your love to help Michael.
My cat’s name is Munchkin and he thinks I need to read “Strays” because I rescued him when he was 5 1/2 weeks old as a stray born on the streets in january- he and his brother came to live with me but his brother died at age 6 from renal failure- munch is still with me at age 15 and is my confident and best friend
My cats’ names are Cooper and Zeke and they think I need to read “Strays” because they are both rescues also, and know our mom can’t pass up a good inspiring “feel-good” story where the cat makes someone’s so much better 🙂 Thanks so much!
My cats names were Jewel and Amber, both were rescued from a breeder who was planning to put them down, and both are deceased now. They would have felt I should read Strays because I am in the grieving process and need to identify with others who have undergone the process of letting go of their soulmate kitties. This inspirational story would help me to live beyond my deep sense of grief and embrace the possibility of another furry love in my life.
This book is one of the best EVER! I could not put it down. A modern day classic. I bawled like a baby at the end.