A gentle and yet passionate cats rescue advocacy guide…
Atteberry, a certified Veterinary Technician and Cat Behavior Consultant, fills his latest book with moving insights and strategies about rescuing and rehabilitating the felines with an extremely slim chance of survival. He begins the book by sharing his own struggles of dealing with autism. The crippling condition made it extremely hard for him to communicate with people outside his comfort zone and form new connections, resulting in him becoming the target of bullies and relentless harassment from a very young age. Trying to complete his graduation, he began to volunteer at an animal shelter. It was during his volunteer days that he recognized his own battered spirit in the shelter animals and quickly developed an affinity for felines. Owing to his own relentless battles with isolation, depression, and suicidal thoughts, he was able to connect to the animals’ fear, confusion, discomfort, and aloneness in a new environment and found it easy to work one-on-one with cats without overwhelming them or pushing too hard. Whether it’s about rescuing and rehabilitating Maggie, a polydactyl cat with multiple jaw fractures; Lucas, an incredible young Siamese mix with a white blood count of over 60,000 and a glucose level of 10; Miya with severe frostbite damage and extreme anxiety and fear; or Sunshine with radial nerve paralysis from a coyote bite, Atteberry skillfully evokes the shelter environment and the great length these institutions go to in order to secure the vulnerable animal population’s chance at survival. He also explores the life threatening, dangerous situations felines often find themselves in, including human cruelty, animal attacks, illegal traps, shotgun injuries among others. Recounting the endless hours and sleepless nights caring for the rescue cats with a slim chance of survival (10% even with a golden standard treatment), Atteberry reflects on the meaning of resilience, patience, faith, and compassion and why even the sickest felines deserve a second chance at survival. With deep understanding and empathy, Atteberry relates heartbreaking stories of animals and stresses on the power of personal attention and involvement one can have in the recovery of a sick or injured cat. Atteberry’s account is rooted in self-awareness; by caring for countless felines, Atteberry learned to deal with his own depression. The full-color photographs of cats are an added bonus. In conveying the heartbreaking stories of felines, Atteberry has provided concrete tools for better interaction with the animals in our own lives. Animal lovers of all kinds will be rewarded.
The 10% Factor
What Saving The Most Vulnerable Felines Taught Me About Defying The Odds
By Zachariah Atteberry
Pub date April 5, 2021
Price $12.99 ( USD) Paperback
