Customer Reviews

Urban Tails: Inside the Hidden World of Alley Cats

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are a cat lover, know a cat lover or have experience with taking care of feral and stray kitties, you MUST purchase this book. This hauntingly beautiful book was written and photographed by two very talented and compassionate people, Sara Neeley and Knox. It honestly chronicles both the joys and the tragedies of urban alley cats through amazing photographs and thoughtful text. It will make you smile and make your heart ache all at the same time. But mostly, it will inspire you to respect, protect and hopefully, fight hard for these creatures who do not have a voice and need and deserve human help NOW. As Sara and Knox discover through their diligent care and close observation of these city cats, the kindest...most humane...most progressive step you can take is to spay and neuter these cats through a process called TNR (trap, neuter, return or rescue). It alleviates so much suffering and is the only way to end animal overpopulation. Buy this book, take it to heart and take action!

There is nothing slick or commercial about this book. For the everyday pet lover and animal activist alike, "Urban Tails" is an engagingly gritty, but very beautiful, photo essay about the photographer's long-term relationship with his subjects. Knox's artistry, some of which is playful, othertimes ethereal, takes hold of the underlying reality that these colonies of feral cats face a desperate and daily struggle for survival. Any human with half a heart will think twice the next time they catch a glimpse of dumpster diving felines in the parking lots or alleys. Neeley's text compliments Knox's story and brings to life the alley cat underworld, complete with the individual life journeys of select ferals. "Urban Tails" stirs compassion in the reader and is a motivating and solution oriented force to become involved in helping those who are unable to help themselves, instead of remaining a passive bystander.

The book combines some of the most effective and affective writing with stunning photos. The picture on the cover is just the tip of the iceberg. Knox's skills with the camera are to be lauded among those of the greatest wildlife photographers in the world. Sara Neeley's words, too, provoke emotional responses I didn't think were possible when discussing alley cats: sympathy, empathy, fraternity, joy, and so on. I highly recommend this title for anyone and especially for cat lovers.

A sudden movement out of the corner of our eyes is most of us ever see of feral cats. To most of people a hungry tom searching through the garbage or a friendly stray with kittens is a normal every day occurrence. One that leaves our thoughts as soon as we turn around the next corner.

Knox captures on film, the essence of the plight of our forgotten felines, without exploiting them or the horrible fate many suffer. When looking at these pictures you can almost hear their cries for help, you can see the love, caring and compassion they have for each other.
You can also see the pure emotion and see into the "soul" of a forgotten feline. With the images captured in this book, you can see that they do indeed have feelings and do need our help. Coupled with Sara Neeleys writings, you can spend the day looking through the eyes of a cat as they struggle for survival, play, love and find joy in the simplest twig.

These cats are our responsibility as humans. We have domesticated them and they are willing loving companions. We owe them a better life than to be dropped of on the corner, or put outside for good. This is OUR issue and we have to abandon the "its just a cat" attitude.

If to the reader, a cat is a status symbol, or if you think that a cat is only to be purchased by pedigree, then this book is not for you.

However, If you are a true cat lover. A lover of moggies, toms, DSH and all forms of our furry feline friends, then this is a MUST have book.

If you can find it in your heart, buy one for yourself, your vets office and anyone you think would appreciate this.

Thank you Knox and Sara!
RIP Spooner.

As a person involved with a Feral Cat Colony this book is a must have. Any human, animal shelter, or government office that does not support TNR must view this book. It is an emotional journey for a fact of life---There are feral cats everywhere----the general way of dealing with strays IS NOT WORKING! I want to share this book with everyone I know.

Finally some light is being shed on the plight of feral and homeless cats. They exist as a mostly un-noticed society of living-feeling animals right in front of ours eyes. I really enjoyed the book, the photography is excellent and I have been inspired to get more involved. mk.

Cat enthusiasts will want to consider the plight of the common alley cat in URBAN TAILS; INSIDE THE HIDDEN WORLD OF ALLEY CATS, which pairs fine photos by Knox with text by Sara Neeley. This is no casual survey: hundreds of hours of observation have gone into this photologue and chronicle of the cats' plights - and even better, the authors have researched an alternative called TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) as a viable management plan for feral cats and cats living outdoors.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The concept of this book fascinated me because all of my life I have been surrounded by stray cats. Ever since I was a child, my family have always left food out for our neighborhood strays. Eventually, some of those strays made our backyard their home, regardless of where we have lived. Many, many cats - all with their own names and distinct personalities - have shared our yards and our lives. Some for fleeting moments, some for many years. We even have photos of some of these cats in our family photo albums, because they were like a family. Even now at their present home, my family has a colony of about 15 cats living in their yard. The numbers vary as they come and go as they please. Some never return. Like the cats in this book, many have met with sad ends - not due to coyotes, but mostly to cars and human cruelty in the form of poisonings. But the cats that remain are loved and fed, their antics entertain us, and they are buried properly when they die.

My mom has been trapping and taking all the strays that she can to be spayed and neutered for years now. I didn't even know it had a name (trap-neuter-release). It is hard work, though, because of her extremely limited financial resources and uncooperative or unable animal welfare agencies. The Humane Society of Miami, where we used to take some of the strays for low-cost neutering years ago, no longer performs this service for stray cats (only for those that are adopted from them), which I find unbelievable, as what can be more humane to an animal than to neuter it and prevent the inevitable suffering of their unwanted (by humans) litters?

Instead, they refer us to the city Animal Control, who has recently put a limit on the number of cats a single person can take in to be neutered. They also used to have a mobile trailer that went to different points in the city throughout the month to have cats neutered at free or low cost, but due to budget cutbacks this service has also been discontinued. My mom has had to fight tooth and nail and written to everyone from the mayor to the directors of the Animal Control simply to get permission to neuter a few more cats. My mom cannot afford to do this at a private vet's office, and she knows of no private vets nearby that provide this service for free or at a cost as low as the Animal Control. It's too bad that these agencies are unwilling to help the very animals they are supposed to protect.

Back to the book. It's a great book! Like another reviewer mentioned, if you only love purebred cats and see them as a status symbol, then this isn't for you. This is for true cat lovers who see as much beauty in a scraggly little stray kitten as in an expensive purebred Angora. The photographs are striking, but what I enjoyed most was actually the text. At the end of the book, the poignant stories of some of these cat characters are offered. Some have happy endings, some do not. But they are nevertheless fascinating to read. I would have read a whole book worth of them.

I think it's especially important to have a person who hates cats or at the least thinks they don't have as much personality as dogs to read this book. It will show them just how much love, loyalty, and devotion cats can truly have towards each other, and how intelligent and resourceful they can be. Most importantly, it should tug at the heartstrings and inspire feelings of compassion in people so that they stop needlessly hurting and killing these little animals. They need to stop seeing them simply as nuisances or pests, and more as creatures like us: with real families and real feelings, who mourn the loss of their relatives and would fight to the death to defend them.

Are you looking for something more than the usual, run of the mill cat book?? For something more compelling and informative, as well as beautiful, check out "Urban Tails - Inside the Hidden World of Alley Cats" by Sara Neeley and Knox. It is a photographic journal of urban feral cats who are being cared for by the authors and their own TNR program. No one could fail to be deeply moved by this wonderful and poignant book. Anyone involved in caring for feral cats will especially appreciate this photographic essay of, what are often, forgotten felines.
It makes a refreshing change to see someone who isn't just taking pictures of these homeless/feral cats, but who is actually doing something about their plight.

"...or when you drive by that place near the river" -Jared Carter.

Thank you - gorgeous photographs, bittersweet words, precious lives.

Inspiring!

Our six feline waifs and strays had to wait for their dinner while I read this book, cover to cover, and I'm looking forward to going through it again, slowly, savoring the beautiful photographs.

These urban-tailed cats are my cats, in a different location, slightly different circumstances - my cats came from my workplace too, kittens climbing in the dumpster to eat, a white cat abandoned at a fuel site, an infant kitten left in a box. Now they're in our home; they are our family.

Thank you for this book - it is a joy to read, and an encouragement to help where we can.