I’ve never owned a tortoiseshell cat, but any cat lover will appreciate the comments, quotes, and gorgeous photos in Ingrid King’s new book, Tortitude: The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude.


King has owned five torties, and it’s obvious she loves them. She shares the stories of her cats, including the office cat, Virginia, the tortoiseshell who adopted King when she became office manager at an animal hospital. Virginia shredded King’s nylons to show her love, introducing King to typical behavior for torties. Named for their coloring, because many breeds can contain torties, the cats have what she calls tortitude, tortoiseshell attitude.

Torties “tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human”. They’re fiercely independent, feisty, unpredictable, and spunky. Those attributes combine to make up “tortitude”.

While King discusses tortitude and facts about tortoiseshell cats, it’s the third section of the book, “Quotable Torties”, that is for all cat lovers. There are seventy-three photos of tortoiseshell cats from around the world, and beneath each picture is a quote about cats. Who can resist the comment from the late Terry Pratchett? “In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” Or, every cat lover understands George Mikes’ statement. “You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.”

Ingrid King’s book is informative, interesting, and, most of all, charming. Even if you don’t own a tortoiseshell cat, if you love cats, you’ll appreciate them just a little more after reading Tortitude.

Ingrid King’s website is www.Consciouscat.com

Tortitude: The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude by Ingrid King. Mango Media Inc. 2016. ISBN 9781633532939 (hardcover), 115p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – The author sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.