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Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That?: 101 Stories of Miracles, Mischief and Magical Moments

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The cat really did that? You’ll recognize your own cat in this entertaining collection of stories about the surprising, amusing, heartwarming things that our cats do.

From cats that save lives to cats with nine lives—from cats that repair families to cats that wreck houses—from cats that crack us up to cats that act like therapists—you’ll see your own cat with new appreciation for its unique skills and intuition.

With a special emphasis on the benefits and joys of adopting abandoned cats, black cats, senior cats, and all the other cats that get left behind, these stories may even motivate you to visit your local shelter. And your purchase of this book will help support the important, life-saving work of American Humane!

400 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2017

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About the author

Amy Newmark

381 books183 followers
Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published 191 new Chicken Soup for the Soul titles, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada, more than doubling the number of Chicken Soup for the Soul titles in print today.

Amy is credited with revitalizing the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which has been a publishing industry phenomenon since the first book came out in 1993. By compiling inspirational and aspirational true stories curated from ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences, Amy has kept the thirty-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant.

Follow Amy on Twitter @amynewmark. Listen to her free podcast, The Chicken Soup for the Soul Podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, the Podcasts app on iPhone, or by using your favorite podcast app on other devices.

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5 stars
58 (52%)
4 stars
28 (25%)
3 stars
15 (13%)
2 stars
7 (6%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
286 reviews
February 6, 2021
I smiled, I laughed out loud, I cried.... These beautiful stories of cats and their impacts on our lives is well worth reading.
Profile Image for Gofita.
765 reviews12 followers
February 23, 2018
Lots of great stories about cats and the magic and love they can bring to our lives. My son and I really enjoyed reading this together.
Profile Image for Amber Ray.
1,109 reviews
December 15, 2020
Cute but I thought the writing on some of these short articles was a bit flat, that the narrative needed a little more development to fully develop the emotional content.
I also wanted to sucker punch a couple people who let their cats roam or didn't take in a stray and then mourned their "disappearance". I lost a very beloved cat to a car--we let him be an indoor/outdoor cat. The same cat was kicked in the face by someone wearing a cowboy or pointed boot--he was so friendly he most likely walked right up to the person for pets.
Keep your cats indoors folks. Life outdoors is risky for these little ones.
Profile Image for Dani.
711 reviews30 followers
September 9, 2017
http://literary-lion.tumblr.com/

“So no, I wasn’t a cat person, but I am now.”

A collection of stories about feline friends. From new kittens to senior cats. From the first adoption day to the final loss of a pet. These tales cover everyday moments in the lives of cat people.

I was a fierce fan of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books when I was younger. I owned an entire bookshelf full and would read and reread the stories that were most important to me. That was ages ago but I was thrilled to pick up another...I was a little disappointed that what I found was so different.

It’s not so much that they dropped the little newspaper style cartoons that appeared before each segment but more that the segments mean almost nothing now. Before you could pick up a book and look at the subsections. You could pick out if you wanted a story about losing a pet, adopting a pet, a bad pet etc. There are still sections like this.

“My Heroic Cat” contains stories of cats who save lives. Simple enough. “My Goofy Cat”, “Who Me?” and “That Little Rascal” aren’t really definitive categories. Most of the stories in this book are just funny anecdotes, few have the touching conclusions I remember the books for. There is little about loss or life lessons here (not that there isn’t ANYTHING) but it just feels like it has a lot less depth.

The stories are cute, but most are very short. Several are very similar. I will read stories about cats forever if given the opportunity, but I would rather read ones that are a little more meaningful. Yes cats stealing food and being sneaky is cute but it doesn’t really leave a lasting imprint on me.

I don’t know when Chicken Soup for the Soul lost its ability to actually nourish souls. I don’t know if it is exclusive to this book or if every recent entry has been as clickbait-y and lifeless as this one. I don’t even know if I might be viewing the older books through a hazy nostalgia and they were always this empty.

I obviously enjoyed some of the stories, and it’s fine for a light read but it doesn’t have the resonance the series used to be known for, and I’m sad to see something that was a staple of my childhood reduced to something so soulless.
Profile Image for Rose.
18 reviews
June 14, 2018
Este libro son historias cortas de diferentes personas que hablan de eventos que han pasado con sus gatos, se paso muy rápido y como hay una historia diferente no se hace aburrida, algunas historias son tristes otras chistosas. De igual manera cambio mi perspectiva de ver los gatos. Fue una lectura diferente y divirtida.
Profile Image for Alyssiacorbett.
15 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2022
I love ❣️ reading stories from Chicken soup for the soul: especially when it's all about kitty 😺 cats I am now on chapter 2 page 37., I was able to finish the entire first chapter in less than 5 days started on 1/23/22 and it is now 1/29/22 at 3:14 am, that is good being that I decided not to read it for a day or 2.
Profile Image for Phyllis Barlow.
817 reviews10 followers
June 27, 2025
Love the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Very entertaining stories about cats in this edition. I have one suggestion though, I enjoy reading meet the contributors at the end, but I wish they would reference the story because if it's taken you a while to read the entire book it's tiresome to have flip back through to match author and story so sometimes I don't finish reading it, and I know that's a disservice to the authors who want us to get to know them.
Profile Image for Noelle Walsh.
1,173 reviews60 followers
February 2, 2018
This book is something any cat lover will enjoy. Filled to bursting with stories ranging from tiny kittens to senior cats, it has something for everyone. Cat lovers and fans of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books will enjoy this book immensely!
Profile Image for Alison.
971 reviews272 followers
March 17, 2021
Gotta love a cat book. Nice easy read true short stories about cats and their owners. In the typical 'soup for the soul', are all life affirming, fun, sad, and loads in between. Great for cat lovers or just lovers of animals to read.
Profile Image for Meg.
443 reviews2 followers
June 24, 2021
The reason it took me so long to read isn’t because I didn’t like it, but it was my going to the doctor book. Since Co-vid most of my appointments are virtual, that is why it took me so long to read it.
Profile Image for AdaCakes.
106 reviews
April 14, 2022
DNF at 50%. I thought I'd love it because I really love cats, but I just couldn't finish it. I can't push through. It's likely meant for certain types of people. The writing from a couple of the contributors was quite good.
637 reviews10 followers
July 7, 2018
A must read for cat lovers. I laughed and I cried, great stories.
Profile Image for Patricia Atkinson.
1,079 reviews11 followers
April 8, 2022
stories of some of the crazy things and catts do bought for my mom the crazy cat lady she has 6 all fixed but had to read it first. a must read for any cat lover....
Profile Image for Joyce Nieuwesteeg.
129 reviews1 follower
April 7, 2023
A book with 101 stories about cats can't be anything but wonderful! It made me laugh, cry, and everything in between.
Profile Image for Kirby.
231 reviews
October 30, 2019
My progress in reading the Chicken Soup for the Soul books is quite slow. For me, it is just the right type of book to always have near. If I need a feel-good story, especially one that involves animals, I need only open one of these books and read to relax.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews