Kick Litter: Nine-Step Program for Recovering Litter Addicts [Paperback]

Perre DiCarlo (Author), Chen Design Associates (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 2008

RECOVERING LITTER ADDICTS Moxie and Cooper guide you through nine steps to leaving litter behind. Combining a funny, visually stunning book with an utterly practical guide, Kick Litter features two photogenic cats (and the big guy who feeds them) taking their message of recovery from litter addiction to the masses. Conceived and written by Hollywood web designer (and reluctant cat whisperer) Perre DiCarlo and lushly designed and packaged by the prestigious San Francisco firm Chen Design Associates, Kick Litter is a great gift book for comedy and cat lovers alike.

From the Manufacturer

Kick Litter Overview

• Perfect gift for any cat person in your life
• Eight-time award-winning book (including Best Gift Book at the 2009 Indie Book Awards)
• Potty-train cats in 2-8 weeks
• Learn from two cats who kicked the litter habit themselves - now clean over 4 years!
• Special Edition Poster included!
• Free you and your cats of litter box mess, smells, germs, tracking, sweeping . . . !
• Save money! Never buy litter again. Kick Litter pays for itself many times over
• Cleaner, healthier cats no longer exposed to soiled litter
• Never face the hassle of litter again--no clean up, no disposal, no storage and no additional cost
• Save the environment! An eco-friendly solution to cat litter printed on Forest Stewardship Council Certified paper
• Combine this with any of the available cat toilet training kits--although with this book's do-it-yourself instructions, kits are not needed

Reviews
''Check out this adorable new book Kick Litter by Perre DiCarlo. It is the story of his two 'litter addicts' Moxie and Cooper and how they got over their addiction to the sandy stuff and now prefer porcelain. With some very hip graphics from San Francisco-based design firm Chen Design Associates, this little book would make a great gift for anyone considering making the change.''
--Modern Cat

''A charming handbook to help train kittens to use the toilet instead of the litterbox.''
--HOW Magazine Blog

''DiCarlo, tongue firmly in cheek, describes his successful effort to train his two adorable cats, Moxie and Cooper, to 'kick' their litter habit and learn to use the toilet . . . Each cat confesses to being a 'litter addict.' - 'Litter gave my life meaning' Moxie tells us . . . Enjoy Kick Litter. It's a funny, beautifully designed and photographed book, a perfect gift for a cat lover.''
--Cat Channel

''Kick Litter pokes fun at the concept and offers tips on how to train your kitty to use the pot. It's a small, tongue-in-cheek instructional written in the voice of the author Perre DiCarlo's cats, Moxie and Cooper, who conquered their 'addiction' to kitty litter and bonded with the bowl.''
--People Magazine's People Pets

''Cooper and Moxie aren't your average Internet cats, LOLing their way to stardom like most pidgin-speaking online felines. No, these two kitties are less interested in 'hasing cheezburgers,' and more so in staunchly advocating the trading of kitty litter for being trained to worship the porcelain god.''
--URLESQUE

Awards:

• Best Gift Book, Gold Medal - 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
• Best Comedy Book, Bronze Medal - 2009 Independent Publishers Book Awards (IPPY Award)
• Best In Show, Gold Statue - Print Industries of Northern California 2009 PINC Showcase Awards
• Best Novelty Pet Book, Finalist - 2009 National Best Book Awards

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

PERRE DiCARLO is a comedy writer living in Hollywood. His first book, Kick Litter, won eight awards for comedy writing, gift book, design, and pets. DiCarlo is a lead motion designer for Hollywood websites, including those for Harry Potter, Batman, and Warner Bros. A dog person by nature, he didn't know it was impossible to train his two new kittens until it was too late. He is currently completing his second book, a cautionary tale for celebrity kids: Why Meghan (with an 'h') Shouldn't Bring Her Bodyguard to the Playground.

CHEN DESIGN ASSOCIATES, the San Francisco design agency, has been recognized and featured internationally by leading design organizations and publications, including Communication Arts, Graphis, HOW, Print, STEP, Type Directors Club, AIGA, and Art Directors Club.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: CDA Press; 1st edition (November 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974658278
• ISBN-13: 978-0974658278
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #892,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Perre DiCarlo is a comedy writer living in Hollywood. His first book Kick Litter: Nine-Step Program for Recovering Litter Addicts won eight awards for comedy writing, gift book, design and pets. DiCarlo is a lead motion designer for Hollywood websites, including Harry Potter, Batman and Warner Bros. For fun he edits Nearly Banned Apps, a blog that keeps track of rejected and misunderstood iPhone apps.

"Kick Litter was born in a dream I had just before waking up on the bathroom floor, having failed to keep my cats company while they struggled through withdrawl from kitty litter." DiCarlo says. "It could have been a straight story about toilet training cats. Instead, I tried to keep the tone as comical as the process itself."

Kick Litter is written from the viewpoint of the author's two cats, who realize that their years of litter abuse must finally come to an end. The "big guy who feeds us" suddenly discovered their addiction to litter. So with the help of each other (little recovery buddies) they learn the miracle of the porcelain bowl. And find balance in their lives.

"The impulse to toilet train cats isn't new," says DiCarlo, "it's probably been around since God designed the toilet. We people just got a head start, that's all."

"I first read about potty training cats in a one-page instruction sheet written by Charles Mingus - the great jazz bassist and composer - who trained his cat Nightlife to use the toilet in the 1960s. Being a little naive, I thought to myself that if I ever have cats, I'll do the same. Then when my girlfriend announced she wanted cats I responded: 'Only if you let me train them to use the toilet.' She seemed to know something I didn't and laughed mischievously like girlfriends do, then smiled and said: 'That sounds terrific.'"

"They've been trained for over four years now. And it remains funny to see Moxie or Cooper scurry ahead of me or ahead of a guest and jump up onto the toilet seat. This puts to rest the question of who controls things. Without notice, we humans have to stand there and wait for the cute little cat to finish her business before we can get to ours. That scene never stops being funny."

A dog person by nature, he didn't know it was impossible to train his two new kittens until it was too late. He is currently completing his second book, a cautionary tale for celebrity kids: Why Meghan (with an 'h') Shouldn't Bring Her Bodyguard to the Playground.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Humor, December 4, 2008

By 

Beatrice Baiyul (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kick Litter: Nine-Step Program for Recovering Litter Addicts (Paperback)

Kick Litter is a deceptively simple book. What starts out as a joke book -- something you might buy in a novelty store -- instantly becomes something much more. The title tells us the main premise, which is that cats have to kick the litter habit ... and this book absolutely fulfills its promise of giving us the complete method for toilet training any cat...

But immediately we recognize that DiCarlo has something else for us. A pair of seductive characters that remind us very cleverly, and charmingly, of the conflicting tendencies in human addictions. If you don't have cats, you'll wish you did. If you do have cats -- well, don't read this book around them; they'll see it in your face that you wish you had *these* cats. The language and the illustrations are part of the addiction, I think ... A.A. Milne comes to mind.

This isn't really a book about animals though, it's a marvellous little poem of words and image. Perhaps it would be too much to say that it's a microcosm of post-humanist philosophy. Ok, yeah, that's too much. But I predict that like Pooh, but maybe in a more kitschy way, "Kick Litter" will sprout a number of imitators, and eventually a fondness for spin-offs that find the stuff of life in these admirable and noble little self-help characters.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny book, November 30, 2008

By 

Dr Bruce Wayne (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kick Litter: Nine-Step Program for Recovering Litter Addicts (Paperback)

Really funny book that I couldn't put down. I got it for a gift and of course read it before I wrapped it. Got book within a week even though Amazon website said 4-7 weeks?? I really liked all of the innuendos the cats make through out the book. The two cats have diametric personalities that are hilarious. OK artwork. I like the dust cover/poster idea for the book. Definitely recommend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good yucks, and no more yuck!, December 10, 2008

By 

Luke Andrews "Luke Andrews" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kick Litter: Nine-Step Program for Recovering Litter Addicts (Paperback)

I thought this book was hilarious! It's a great-looking, entertaining, anthropomorphic romp that just happens to provide the blueprint for toilet training cats, and saving tons of money on litter and cleaning! The cover looks like Pink Panther but inside are photos of two real cats Cooper and Moxie who narrate the story like they're
really struggling with their "addiction to litter."

I bought one for my Grandmother-in-law, and she loved it, too. She's kicking herself for not helping her cats "kick litter" sooner!