Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat Book

Oh my! I love this book! Homer's Odyssey is a memoir of sorts about a tiny black cat who loses both his eyes at 2 weeks old. The people who brought him to a kind veterinarian do not want him so she treats him the best she can and then reaches out to numerous people trying to find him a home. It looks as if he is going to end up in a shelter with little chance of escaping euthanasia when a young woman named Gwen takes a leap of faith and brings him home. She names him Homer, named after the blind writer of The Odyssey. This tiny kitten will change Gwen's life.

What an inspirational story about a simply amazing cat! Who knew a sightless kitten could be so self-assured; so joyful; so full of love, life, and chutzpah; and so imbued with wisdom? Gwen credits Homer with helping her make difficult decisions that led to her achieving goals she never thought possible. She also knows he saved her life in more than one way.

Homer has many wonderful moments and experiences, but also survives some very tense situations. He reminds me so much of my own little black cat Eddie, and because of that, at one point I had to stop reading as I was feeling too much angst for what was happening with Homer and was transferring those feelings to my Eddie. I was able to come back the next day though and see Homer through the crisis.

This memoir is a testament to the wonder, the elation, and the blessings a special needs animal can bestow on a pet parent. Two years ago, our 7-year-old Milly cat was taken into emergency surgery at Iowa State University Small Animal Hospital for two "Hail Mary" procedures on successive nights to save her life. Both her ureters were blocked with kidney stones preventing urination and causing severe renal failure. Over those two nights Milly had her clogged ureters replaced by plastic catheters. The vets were amazed that she came through and started passing urine again. However, two nights later she suffered cardiac arrest. She was brought back by CPR, but her lungs were severely bruised by the life-saving procedure, leading to a 4-day stay in an oxygen box. She spent two weeks recuperating in the kitty ICU before coming home for several more months of healing. Her journey earned Milly a spot on the Iowa State "Wall of Fame." She seems incredibly grateful for the life-saving events, dispensing kisses, hugs, and snuggles in grand amounts. She makes frequent visits to Iowa State for followup visits. She is quite famous there and many wonderful vets, residents, vet students, vet techs, medical record people and receptionists always meet us with big smiles and hugs for us and Milly. But best of all is all the love she gives, the trust she shows and the inspiration she kindles in us daily.

We also have Eddie boy, a small fellow with FIV (feline deficiency virus, the kitty counterpart to HIV) infection whom we watch closely because of his compromised immune system. He gets along beautifully with our other five cats so has a safe home with us. He rewards us every day with lap time, under-the-cover snuggles, multitudes of purrs, and his gregarious and sweet personality. He is also Milly's personal groomer. Our special needs kitties are the lights of our lives and couldn't be loved more.

If you are an animal lover (or even if you aren't), you will enjoy Homer's emotive, poignant, at times heartbreaking, yet rousing and ultimately uplifting memoir. I am pleased to see Gwen has a couple of other books that feature Homer, and I will check those out. I highly recommend Homer's Odyssey for all readers for a deeply satisfying read.