Dr. Bilski is a member of the Department of Political Science at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She has been an adviser to three Prime Ministers in Israel on social and welfare policies, and is - according to Israeli magazine Haaretz - an expert of political philosophy, social policy and happiness.
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| Dr. Raphaella Bilski with 2 of her street cats. Photo used with permission. |
She also happens to have a rare and intimate knowledge of the cats we would call feral or community cats. She calls them street cats. And her knowledge base was built over 14 years of personal, hands-on interaction with them.
Now I'd like to introduce you to the amazing book she wrote.
Entitled My Street Cats, this tale is both heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. This book provides a first-person account on what it's like to care for a colony of cats for 14 years.
Dr. Bilski brings them to life for you: the independent and cautious Beauty, the abiding friendship of two male cats, the trust a mother cat places in a human when her kitten is ill.
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| Tel Aviv street cat takes a nap. Photo: Gal. Flickr Creative Commons 3.0 |
With each story, you gain insights into the fierce individuality of the species, yet also the societal dance that occurs within a colony that knits it together into a community.
I have never before read a book like this, and cannot recommend it highly enough.
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| A street cat in Tel Aviv. Photo: Victor Bezrukov, Flickr Creative Commons 3.0 |
The tale begins in a country that has little to no facilities in place for animal welfare, then several years into the journey you witness a country that embraces TNR on a national scale - and the impact that has on the colony as told thru Bilski's eyes.
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| Cat walking in the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem at night,by Guillaume Paumier, Creative Commons 3.0. |
My Street Cats is verifiable proof that TNR works. And the fact that Israel committed 4.5 million New Israeli Shekels in 2014 to trap, neuter & return street cats is encouraging. Those of us who live in the U.S. can only hope to see the equivalent here some day.
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| A shelter provides shade and water for street cats in Caesarea. Photo: Ari Moore, Flickr Creative Commons 3.0. |
Please put this book on your must-read list. It's on mine.
Win your own copy of My Street Cats!
This giveaway is open worldwide, to everyone, everywhere.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The winner will be announced next Monday.
If you can't wait and want a copy of My Street Cats today, you can purchase it through our Amazon Associate shop at this link here.
(Disclaimer: we receive a small referral fee if you purchase through our store.)
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MARCH SPECIAL OFFER!
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| March book sales help find homes for the cats at Great Plains SPCA. |
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