Lonnie Hull Dupont

When we lived in the country we had lots of cats. They each had very distinct personalities and they never ceased to amuse or surprise us. I am an animal lover,
any kind of animal. I was drawn to this book by the cover and of course the fact that was a personal story about a person’s beloved pets. I have to admit I was a bit concerned. Many books like this are, well to put it politely, boring and mundane. Also my past experience with several has been the author talking more about themselves than the pet the book is supposed to be about.
This book was anything but boring! I found it entertaining, humorous and I learned many new things I did not know about cats and why the act the way they do. The author had the perfect balance in sharing personal history about herself and her beloved cats. They complimented each other.
Kit Kat and Lucy were both rescues that found the DuPont’s. Like most felines they waltzed into their lives and claimed the family lock, stock, and barrel. I applaud Ms. DuPont for her openness about her depression and anxiety. The story wrapped around my heart about how Kit Kat and Lucy responded in very sensitive and amazing ways to comfort and uplift her. Ways that only a pet owner would believe and understand. I related as since my husband’s death, I for the first time experience panic attacks. My dog Bill helps me with his show of canine concern and love. The cat’s antics and manipulation of their “skin parents” were hilarious. For me it proved the old saying, “You don’t own cats, they own you.” This book was a joy and a blessing to read!!
I received a copy of this book from Revell Reads. All opinions are my own.… (meer)

Title: Kit Kat and Lucy
Author: Lonnie Hull Dupont
Publish date: September, 2016
Goodreads synopsis:
“After years of loving the vibrant city life in San Francisco, Lonnie Hull DuPont reluctantly trades her three-room apartment on foggy, lively Telegraph Hill for a farmhouse on a quiet plain in Michigan. She immediately misses the rhythm and the pace of the city, and the isolation country living brings has her longing for something more.
Enter Kit Kat and Lucy--stray cats who arrive at the farmhouse a year apart and each ask to move in. The antics and oddities of these two strong personalities wrapped in fur bring a new light to the farmhouse and DuPont's life. Kit Kat, an obsessive-compulsive tortoiseshell, can purr her new human into a happier state of mind. Lucy, the playful, leaping Russian Blue who can nail a bat right out of the air, makes her laugh.
From the hysterical process of getting two strange cats to like each other, to the exciting years of watching those cats thrive--and inspire DuPont in the process--this book is an energetic tale of cat and human foibles. Animals enrich our lives, and the heartwarming story of how Kit Kat and Lucy changed one woman's world will leave readers enchanted.”

The Good: This woman obviously loves her cats, they are her children and I understand that. These cats were so easy to fall in love with that it didn’t take long for me to be hooked by the story. It is nice sometimes to read a happy and very sweet book. That is exactly what this was, no extra fluff (no pun intended) just a plain old book about a woman, well couple really, and their cats. I enjoyed just sitting down to read this book because it was just happy. I felt good while reading it and I did get to spend time with some pretty awesome cats for a while.

The Bad: Uff, there were definitely things about this book that drove me absolutely crazy. There were times that I had to put the book down because all I could think was “Are you kidding me?! People actually think this way?” I grew up a farm kid in rural Wisconsin. I had two indoor cats and a bunch of outside cats. I am a HUGE animal lover. I feel their pain and when something happens to them it is a serious death to me. That said, there were times when this woman seemed to be over worried about normal day to day things. Example, there was an entire chapter dedicated to justifying keeping her cats indoors. Indoor cats are nothing new and to me completely normal. It was very difficult for me to keep reading about how she was just so concerned that they would get hit by a car. I don’t know of anyone, I’m sure there are some out there somewhere however, that would criticize her for having indoor cats. Anyone who wants to read a book about a woman’s cats are going to understand her need to keep them indoors.
The world I grew up in and currently live in is so much different than her world. It made it very difficult for me to connect and relate to her. On page 131 she writes “The road to the clinic was a back road, and while driving it, we came upon a railroad crossing. There were not lights or gate at this track-just a sign that read “Yield.” Take a minute to think about that.” Growing up along the Mississippi River and living in central rural Wisconsin railroad tracks are everywhere. Most places there is nothing more than a yield sign, if there is anything at all. I know most people probably would find that strange but to me this part of the book was just odd.
Another example of odd behavior is when they would not get their cats declawed because they didn’t want to “maim” them. That is their choice and if that’s what they want to do that’s fine. However, their cat would go crazy at the vet when he tried to trim her nails. They got upset with the vet when he refused to trim them anymore because he was afraid he was going to get hurt. When discussing the vet’s decision about trimming her nails they said “You know, if he won’t trim her nails, what else won’t he do?” Ok fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion, however when I turned the page I actually laughed out loud when I read “But Joe and I came away realizing we absolutely could not and would not trim Kit Kat’s nails at home. Not if we valued our own skin.” So it’s terrible of that vet to refuse to trim her nails but there is no way that they would trim them on their own. I almost stopped reading the book completely here, but I didn’t.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone who has a great love of cats. This is definitely not a book for everyone. There were times that I didn’t think I could get through it and I do love cats. As mentioned above, there were some serious oddities about this book for me. Maybe these are things that are normal for most people but for me, they were not. Don’t get me wrong, this was absolutely not a terrible book. Most of the time I really enjoyed the story, just at the times when it was weird, it was REALLY weird.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*… (meer)

Experts agree that pets add significant benefits to a person’s life. In Kit Kat And Lucy, Lonnie Hull DuPont, illustrates this truth repeatedly as she details the lives of her pets, both past and present. DuPont experienced the love and comfort of cats, dogs and even a chicken! Comforting during grief and calming during emotional storms, her furry friends became important to her well-being, even as she helped them to overcome challenges. Throughout the book, DuPont stresses the importance of the animal-human connection. My husband, a veterinarian for 30+ years, sees these benefits daily. With its first person narrative and rural Michigan setting, this personal and homey account will appeal to fans of animals, especially cat lovers.

Audience: older teens and adults.

(Thanks to Revell for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)… (meer)

The book is written in the first person by Lonnie Hull DuPont and her relationship with animals, mainly her cats, which actually found her and her husband, and we are about enter into an in-depth look at their lives.
The story does begin in San Francisco and when Lonnie and her husband Joe for financial reasons need to relocate and head back to where she hails from in Michigan. They move into a money pit of an old house, but Lonnie feels she has returned to her roots, but Joe has a long commute every day to work. During this settling in time a stray cat shows up and they try to rehome her, only for her to find her way back to them, so Kit Kat has a home.
Of course, life has twists and when a Russian Blue kitty shows up, and no one can take her, they end up with their second cat, Lucy. From the descriptions of these cats, I was looking up Russian Blue and wanting one, now I already have two dogs and a cat, so no I don’t need another, but it is in the file.
I know that animals give unconditional love, and these little darlings are no exception, I love how they sense our feelings and sickness, and they are right by our side, she deals with depression and loss with the help of these gifts from God.
This is a heart-warming book, and I for one wanted it to continue, but I had to say goodbye.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Revell and was not required to give a positive review.… (meer)