Customer Reviews

Cat Tracks

5 star:		(9)
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To say that this book is magnificent is not giving it enough praise. To say that this book is so realistic is not enough. To say this book is a commentary on our world is not enough. This story of a feral cat is such that you are there with the cat, thru every positive and negative moment. You wonder just what is going to happen next. I laughed and cried and mainly worried throughout the novel. Such is the way of a great story teller. You live the book. You become the cat.

I could not put the book down, I was riveted to the story line from the beginning, following his growth, learning what he needed to survive thru trial and error. The ending was such a surprise to me.....I am encouraging everyone I know to read this book.

I learned as much from this book as the tomcat I believe. And to me, that is worth it. The care to detail Gordon took gives the belief you are there, with this cat, going thru all he has to, surviving. The human, Dave, is a caring man. Someone you want to cheer on as he attempts to aid in several ways.

I am going to insist my grandchildren, especially the oldest one, read this book. He will learn much and hopefully pass on what he has learned to others.

Gordon Aalborg's Cat Tracks is a unique and thoroughly engaging novel about the life and daily struggle for survival of a feral Australian cat, as wild in heart and spirit as the lions of Africa. Though often despised as an inimical predator to Australian wildlife, feral cats do not lead easy lives themselves, as Cat Tracks testifies. Cat Tracks is a most fascinating and rewarding read for cat lovers everywhere, compelling us to follow the journey and hardships of its feline protagonist to the very end.

I've never read anything like Cat Tracks before. It's unique. It's an adult novel, not a children's book, although it reminded me (a little) of The Incredible Journey. I couldn't put Cat Tracks down, wouldn't stop for dinner or sleep - until I'd finished the last page. Cat Tracks tells the story of the "bond" between an Australian bushman and a feral cat, but most of the story is from the cat's viewpoint. I don't know how the author got into the cat's head so beautifully, but he did. There are environmental issues, and yet Mr. Aalborg is never preachy. If you like cats, you simply HAVE to read this book. It's a page-turner, very evocative, and a definite keeper. I'd even go so far as to say it could be a classic.

I think this is really nature writing posing as a novel. It is a story of Australian feral cats told mostly from their own perspective. There are two men who have minor roles but the cats are the stars.
Toby, a Show Siamese, is taken on a picnic by his foolhardy owners, and answers the mating call of a feral female. A previous reviewer must have skimmed, citing that Toby has the greatest sex in his life. Yeah, well, Toby has never been put to stud, so he's never had sex and I doubt he'd make comparisons. The greatest sex to an animal is the current sex. It's an instinct, not a romance. Toby returns to man, drawn by the smell of bacon but his mating results in a litter of 4 kittens for the she-cat. Fifty years ago, when I was young, people did not have pets spayed, so the she-cat's care of her kittens reminded me of the delight in watching domestic cats rearing and training their kittens. Hopefully, in today's world, most pets are being neutered.
The story continues with the fate of the kittens, the wide variety of edible game for them in Australia, and it continues to follow the life of the one tom cat from the litter. Particularly upsetting was his encounter with an abandoned mixed terrier dog. Dogs have an even smaller chance of survival on their own. And, of course, that is the ultimate message to be found in this absorbing story featuring a wide assortment of exotic creatures, even a flood, that impacts the life of this cat.
The book is a fascinating and educational read.

This book is a masterpiece that deserves more stars than Amazon allows. I read it in one sitting, and have read it several times since. The publishing world should be proud of carefully-crafted gems like Cat Tracks. I look forward to more novels from Aalborg.

I loved this book from start to finish. The author did a wonderful job making you feel like you were right there with the cat. I was so sorry when it ended. What a sad but beautiful story. Everyone needs to read of the plight of abandoned animals and thrie feral offspring.

Here's your feline "Old Yeller." The author did a fabulous job of following The Cat over hill and dale, through thicket and thin. And he didn't make the all-too-common mistake of going into The Cat's head. Instead, he let us see events as they unfolded through The Cat's eyes.

In addition to a truly moving story, there's a subtle message here about the responsibilities of pet ownership. I hope everyone who loves animals will read this book. It's a "keeper" in every sense of the word.

Toby the Siamese cat finds himself struggling for survival in the Australian wilderness. He has no way of making it as humans have pampered him all his life. However, he meets up with a wild feline and has some of the best sex of his life. The next day humans find Roby returning him to civilization. Toby's evening in the wild leaves behind a pregnant cat. That child struggles for survival against his natural enemies with the worst being the Bushmen. It is through the eyes of this feline that we see the wild "world" of the Australian Outback where survival is a 24/7 occupation.

<P<CAT TRACKS will remind readers of The Bear, as the book is predominately told through the eyes of Toby's offspring. Though fictionalized, the tale provides a non fiction account of surviving using the technique of personification so that the audience gets inside the cat and observes the wild through the feline's senses. Gordon Aalborg provides a charming survival of the fittest novel that brings alive the Outback as rarely seen in nonfiction let alone a novel.

Harriet Klausner

Amazon states that this book is for children, ages 9-12. Not! Like Cat Fancy magazine, I would recommend Aalborg's CAT TRACKS for readers 12 and older. It's a marvelous book, and Aalborg certainly gets inside his cat-protagonist's head, but the mating ritual, the search for - and fininding of - food, and the inherent danger from owls and foxes, might be way above a 9 year old's head. An adult, however, would be truly caught up in the suspense of a feral cat striving to survive. I'll echo what Cat Fancy magazine said: If one person who was considering abandoning an animal reads this book and changes his or her mind, then Aalborg has achieved more than just a good work of fiction. Highly recommended!!! Especially for adults.