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Feline Frolics #4
Raining Cats and Donkeys
More tales of warm, hilarious adventures of English village life—a must for cat lovers
Life is never a bed of roses for the Toveys and their beloved Siamese cats Solomon and Sheba. For one thing they've got Annabel the donkey to contend with and the thorny matter of her troublesome stomach after she overindulges on the apple harvest.
More calamities ensue when Doreen and her husband Charles return from a riding course in the Scottish wilderness and Solomon thinks they have brought the Loch Ness Monster home with them. Then Sheba baffles her owners with a series of mysterious disappearances.
What with Annabel adopting a cat of her own, Charles taking up the piano, Father Adams' flying hat and Solomon's determined efforts to catch a hare, there are endless adventures in store in this loveable, witty classic.
Doreen Tovey spent much of her life in a 250-year-old cottage in Somerset. Her books have sold more than 150,000 copies in eight countries.
Life is never a bed of roses for the Toveys and their beloved Siamese cats Solomon and Sheba. For one thing they've got Annabel the donkey to contend with and the thorny matter of her troublesome stomach after she overindulges on the apple harvest.
More calamities ensue when Doreen and her husband Charles return from a riding course in the Scottish wilderness and Solomon thinks they have brought the Loch Ness Monster home with them. Then Sheba baffles her owners with a series of mysterious disappearances.
What with Annabel adopting a cat of her own, Charles taking up the piano, Father Adams' flying hat and Solomon's determined efforts to catch a hare, there are endless adventures in store in this loveable, witty classic.
Doreen Tovey spent much of her life in a 250-year-old cottage in Somerset. Her books have sold more than 150,000 copies in eight countries.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
34 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Doreen Tovey
38 books33 followersDoreen was born in Bristol on 24 October 1918. At this time a flu epidemic was raging and her mother died from this leaving her two week old daughter to be brought up by her Grandmother, as her father, being an engineer, was away from home for long periods of time.
It was this upbringing that introduced Doreen to a variety of pets, as Grandmother was an inveterate rescuer of anything in need.
Together with her Aunt Louisa they shared a house with cats, dogs and an owl called Gladstone whose perch on the bathroom door dictated that the use of this room was a swift one as no heat could be kept inside with the continually open door.
Doreen went to Grammar School and passed her matric (as it was called then), she would have loved to go to university but knew her grandmother could never have afforded it.
After a couple of boring jobs she joined Imperial Tobacco and was with them for many years. Starting as a typist, then a secretary and, when they discovered that she could write, in their public relations department.
It was here that she met Rene, who was in the Accountants Department. They met on the staircase one day and six months later Rene went to war in the Royal Navy.
Rene came home on leave and they were married in Bristol by special licence on a Monday afternoon and spent a two-day honeymoon on a farm and Rene went back to war.
She spent most of the time Rene was away with her Aunt Louisa who made life quite fun for Doreen after the austerity of her Victorian grandmother, who loved her dearly but had set ideas how a young lady should be brought up.
Two and a half years later Rene was on his way home. His convoy coming via the Cape to avoid the still roaming enemy submarines, the war was still on and he was sent to London where Doreen was transferred to be with him. He was then posted to a shore station in the West Country and Doreen and Rene set about to find their dream cottage. They rented a very dilapidated ex public house with an earth closet, the dream cottage put on hold, both back working in Bristol for their old firm, Doreen now as their statistical librarian, writing reports that were read by the Board. A job normally only considered for a man.
After a couple of further moves, a Georgian relic and a happy period in a farm, they found the perfect place at Rowberrow, Somerset. They had also found a baby squirrel, which had fallen from its drey and Rene refused to climb the thirty feet necessary to return the little bedraggled mite to its nest. So Blondin became part of the Tovey family and unwittingly the reason Doreen and Rene got their first Siamese cat, Sugieh.
Blondin was a hoarder and the cottage soon became infested with mice looking for Blondin’s nuts and pieces of bread that he had stuffed under cushions and carpets for his rainy day. Whilst the mice had plenty to eat they did not cause too many problems but when Blondin caught a chill and died, their supply died too and they took to eating anything and everything. Doreen decided to get a cat and having seen a neighbour’s Siamese out for a stroll one day on a rather fetching collar and lead, decided that a Siamese would be the answer, she could also have a litter and maybe raise the Tovey finances.
Sugieh produced a litter of four kittens. Doreen decided that one’s fortune was not going to be made that way and when Sugeih died whilst being spayed (a far less straightforward procedure in the mid 1950s than it is today), decided to keep a sealpointed boy called Solomon and his bluepointed sister Sheba.
The antics of these kittens, a donkey called Annabel and the following Siamese inmates of The White Cottage were to bring Doreen world wide recognition of her books and writings, starting with ‘Cats In The Belfry’ published in 1957. The Canadian Government sponsored her and Rene on a trip to the Rockies to write about the Canadian Wildlife, with special focus on Grizzly bears. This trip can be read about in ‘The Co
It was this upbringing that introduced Doreen to a variety of pets, as Grandmother was an inveterate rescuer of anything in need.
Together with her Aunt Louisa they shared a house with cats, dogs and an owl called Gladstone whose perch on the bathroom door dictated that the use of this room was a swift one as no heat could be kept inside with the continually open door.
Doreen went to Grammar School and passed her matric (as it was called then), she would have loved to go to university but knew her grandmother could never have afforded it.
After a couple of boring jobs she joined Imperial Tobacco and was with them for many years. Starting as a typist, then a secretary and, when they discovered that she could write, in their public relations department.
It was here that she met Rene, who was in the Accountants Department. They met on the staircase one day and six months later Rene went to war in the Royal Navy.
Rene came home on leave and they were married in Bristol by special licence on a Monday afternoon and spent a two-day honeymoon on a farm and Rene went back to war.
She spent most of the time Rene was away with her Aunt Louisa who made life quite fun for Doreen after the austerity of her Victorian grandmother, who loved her dearly but had set ideas how a young lady should be brought up.
Two and a half years later Rene was on his way home. His convoy coming via the Cape to avoid the still roaming enemy submarines, the war was still on and he was sent to London where Doreen was transferred to be with him. He was then posted to a shore station in the West Country and Doreen and Rene set about to find their dream cottage. They rented a very dilapidated ex public house with an earth closet, the dream cottage put on hold, both back working in Bristol for their old firm, Doreen now as their statistical librarian, writing reports that were read by the Board. A job normally only considered for a man.
After a couple of further moves, a Georgian relic and a happy period in a farm, they found the perfect place at Rowberrow, Somerset. They had also found a baby squirrel, which had fallen from its drey and Rene refused to climb the thirty feet necessary to return the little bedraggled mite to its nest. So Blondin became part of the Tovey family and unwittingly the reason Doreen and Rene got their first Siamese cat, Sugieh.
Blondin was a hoarder and the cottage soon became infested with mice looking for Blondin’s nuts and pieces of bread that he had stuffed under cushions and carpets for his rainy day. Whilst the mice had plenty to eat they did not cause too many problems but when Blondin caught a chill and died, their supply died too and they took to eating anything and everything. Doreen decided to get a cat and having seen a neighbour’s Siamese out for a stroll one day on a rather fetching collar and lead, decided that a Siamese would be the answer, she could also have a litter and maybe raise the Tovey finances.
Sugieh produced a litter of four kittens. Doreen decided that one’s fortune was not going to be made that way and when Sugeih died whilst being spayed (a far less straightforward procedure in the mid 1950s than it is today), decided to keep a sealpointed boy called Solomon and his bluepointed sister Sheba.
The antics of these kittens, a donkey called Annabel and the following Siamese inmates of The White Cottage were to bring Doreen world wide recognition of her books and writings, starting with ‘Cats In The Belfry’ published in 1957. The Canadian Government sponsored her and Rene on a trip to the Rockies to write about the Canadian Wildlife, with special focus on Grizzly bears. This trip can be read about in ‘The Co
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 23, 2018
I love all of Doreen Tovey's books. This one revolves around their Siamese cats, Solomon, and Sheba, and their donkey, Annabel. As usual, if anything out of the ordinary is going to happen, it happens to the Toveys ... and someone from the village is usually on hand to observe, and later re-tell the event to everyone else. A humourous, warm-and-fuzzy, animals-and-antics in the country tale. If you're an animal lover, and enjoy nonfiction, you'll probably love Doreen's books, too.
5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.
5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.
February 19, 2017
Originally from 1967, this lighthearted memoir tells of Tovey’s life in a Somerset village with her husband Charles, two demanding Siamese cats named Solomon and Sheba, and Annabel the donkey. “Nobody misses anything in our village,” Tovey remarks, and along with her charming anecdotes about her pets there are plenty of amusing encounters with the human locals too. In my favorite chapter, Annabel is taken off to mate with a Shetland pony and Solomon has a tussle with a hare. I can recommend this to fans of animal books by Gerald Durrell and Jon Katz (e.g. Saving Simon). Tovey wrote a whole series of books about her various Siamese cats and life in a 250-year-old cottage. I’ll get some more of them out from the library later in the year when I need a twee but cozy treat.
April 20, 2013
Perfect for people like me who love both cats and donkeys! A gentle story full of country charm!
January 18, 2019
Great series so far
Hi i love this series. My beautiful fur baby Lucy passed away on Jan 8 from cancer..i am devastated. Ms Toveys wonderful stories are helping ne heal with her heart warming stories. Now on to the next book!! Blessings to everyone!!!
Hi i love this series. My beautiful fur baby Lucy passed away on Jan 8 from cancer..i am devastated. Ms Toveys wonderful stories are helping ne heal with her heart warming stories. Now on to the next book!! Blessings to everyone!!!
November 24, 2019
Laugh out loud funny
This series is so funny! It's particularly funny if you have been owned by a Siamese cat. One of nature's most fascinating cats.
This series is so funny! It's particularly funny if you have been owned by a Siamese cat. One of nature's most fascinating cats.
April 20, 2013
As enjoyable as ever.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews