Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat
“These are discussions that we need to be having publicly, because these are decisions that need to be made not only for pets, but with pets,” said New York Times-bestselling author Gwen Cooper.
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 28, 2016
The odds had been stacked against Homer, the little blind kitten, until Gwen Cooper came into his life. And when Cooper published her international best seller about their life-changing journey together, Homer’s Odyssey, Homer quickly went from beloved housecat to world-wide star. As a “spokes-kitty,” he championed the cause of special-needs animals, and became an internet sensation via his social-media platforms, which now reach more than 2,000,000 unique pet owners every day. With her latest title, Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat, Cooper shares how in the next stage of his journey, Homer taught those who loved him best the path to live and die with strength, dignity, and joy.
While advancements in medical care for pets continues to grow, decision-making about caring for a beloved furry family member has become increasingly difficult and complex for animal guardians. Options including organ transplants, joint replacements, chemotherapy and complex microsurgeries can be exorbitantly expensive. How can pet owners best prepare intellectually and emotionally for these contingencies – and at what point should they feel comfortable admitting that the amount being spent is too much – or that the pet’s quality of life is not being improved by the treatment? Beyond the financial considerations, because humans can talk and plan for decisions with their family members, treating animals is rarely as straightforward as treating people. How can responsible pet owners make the best possible health care decisions for their specific cat, dog or rabbit?
“These are discussions that we need to be having publicly, because these are decisions that need to be made not only for pets, but with pets,” said New York Times-bestselling author Gwen Cooper. “We had three cats with very different needs at the end of their lives, and we made our decisions individually and with great care for each of them. For Homer we elected to do nothing beyond an initial diagnostic vet visit because of his unique personality and quality of life, and while I know I made the right choice, I waited nearly three years to write the final chapter of Homer’s life from fear of being judged a ‘bad cat-mom.’"
Since the release of her book in December, Cooper has already received hundreds of letters from readers thanking her for helping them through the process or easing their minds about the hard choices they made for their own animal companions.
In Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat, the author addresses the vital issues surrounding the care and end-of-life complexities of elderly or ailing pets clearly and compassionately through exploring the final years of Homer and his two senior feline companions. All three of Cooper’s cats benefited from the same advance financial planning and a similar range of treatment options for their end-of-life illnesses. But ultimately, three very different courses of treatment were pursued because each animal had its own unique needs and personality, and what was best for one wasn't necessarily best for the other two.
Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat is available at http://www.hihomer.com, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com, Gumroad, and the iTunes store.
About Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat and Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat; the novels Love Saves the Day and Diary of a South Beach Party Girl; and the crowd-sourced collection of cat-selfies, Kittenish, 100% of the proceeds of which were donated to Humane Society International to fund animal-rescue efforts after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Her books have been published in more than two dozen languages. Gwen blogs for Psychology Today about the human/animal connection, is a frequent speaker at shelters and fundraisers, serves on the advisory boards of Tree House Humane in Chicago and Tabby’s Place in Ringoes, NJ, and donates 10% of her royalties from Homer’s Odyssey to organizations that serve abused, abandoned, and disabled pets. She also runs Homer’s social-media platforms, which reach more than 2,000,000 unique pet owners every day. Gwen lives in New Jersey with her husband, Laurence and her two perfect cats—Clayton the Tripod and his litter-mate, Fanny—who aren’t impressed with any of it.
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