Book Review: "The Confessions Of A Catnip Junkie" By Allan Goldstein

When you are feeling introspective, reflective, re-living moments of your life that might be objectionable, full of adventure or  daring, do you ever feel that the person you are today is a totally different person than the one who had those experiences in the past?

You know it was you who lived those moments, but now, let's say some 10, 15-odd years later you are older and  wiser, you are more content with how things are.  You are less inclined to mess with a "good thing" and risk danger in order to find your proverbial "heart's desire" located "somewhere over the rainbow."

While reading The Confessions Of A Catnip Junkie I was  reminded of the classic, The Wizard Of Oz. The Wizard Of Oz's message that "sometimes when we go searching for our heart's desire, we find that it really was right here all along, in front of us, right here in our own backyard" is one of the main points of this book, but in this story you aren't  "following the yellow brick road" to find it. You are joining Doo Doo Cat who is:

"witty and wise, sometimes foolish, always real and often hilarious. Doo Doo Cat is the best traveling companion you'll ever have. He promises to take you so deep in the the soul of a cat you'll feel yourself purr."


"Doo Doo tells his story in his own voice, we see what he sees, feel what he feels. His adventures will seize your imagination and touch your heart in ways you never thought possible, because you're not a cat. But Doo Doo is. And he promises to take you so deep inside his soul you'll feel yourself purr."

The Confessions Of A Catnip Junkie"  as narrated by Doo Doo Cat is brilliant.    Doo Doo is a delightful mix of sarcasm, intuition, snide humor and  insight.  He is a loving,  ("but don't get TOO emotionally- attached- to -me") orange tabby, who although greatly loved by his "people", (Doc and Fern),  escapes to find his "heart's desire" and adventure heading to parts unknown. Doo Doo blames his desire to escape his comfortable and loving environment on his having been  fueled by the intoxicating scent of catnip (or was it really just the foolishness of being a young cat?)

Doo Doo embarks on a 6000 mile odyssey where he meets characters who to me, were again reminiscent of characters in The Wizard Of Oz.

 There is Kathy, (aka The Good Witch Glinda), Edgar (one of the wicked witches of the west),  Charlie and his "rickety airplane" (the Wizard and his hot air balloon), Rass (Toto) and a host of others who are all instrumental in helping Doo Doo to define not only who he is, but who he will become as a result of his arduous  journey.


In The Wizard Of Oz, Dorothy's  journey began as a result of  a cyclone.  In The Confessions of a Catnip Junkie, " Doo Doo's adventure is blamed on the effects of catnip. The intoxicating, sheer bliss inducing, seductive and "I'm-not-responsible-for-what-I-might-do" effects of catnip.

 Could my interpretation of this book be the result of MY past, succumbing to the seductive scent of bagged greenery with effects akin to catnip? I'll never tell, that was a long time ago and like Doo Doo, I am a different person now than I was then.

In reality it is being young that causes wanderlust. Whether it be an orange tabby or a young adult experiencing these "coming of age" feelings, those of us who are of a "certain age" can relate.   Youth often brings  cocky confidence,  the contradiction of wanting to be loved  by our parents yet rebelling against them.   Being young often brings with it a  longing to spread one's wings, to be free of  physical constraints,  to assert ourselves, experience life for ourselves, to fall and pick-ourselves-up by using survival skills we learn along the way.

 When we are young we often practice  "loving and leaving" when things become too intense and claustrophobic for our liking.  We  resist the safety of the familial cocoon.  We fail to realize  that we really are attached  to the cocoon by a  thread which never unravels but gently tugs at our hearts reminding us, leading us back to what we had all along. The safety and security of home.

Doo Doo's adventure made him become "very lost, but not so lost that he doesn't know what he wants more than anything. It's the same thing we all want-- love and home --"

Ultimately there   is "no place like home". Sound familiar?

MY OPINION OF THIS BOOK: It is now one of my favorites. I read it in one night beginning  at around 7:30pm and as author/blogger extraordinaire Ingrid King said in her review of this book, I, too COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. That isn't the norm for me.  I tend to have a short attention span. Not in reference to this book. I read it until I finished it,  at about 1:30 am. It IS THAT GOOD.

It is full of suspense, humor, action, adventure and warm fuzzies. Goldstein does a superb job of taking "everything that makes a cat, a cat" from its movements, fears,  habits, likes, dislikes, talents and  thoughts (if we REALLY know what cats think),  and conveys them through words that reflect an  inherent understanding of the feline that is unsurpassed by many.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Allan Goldstein lives in San Francisco with his wife, Jordan, and a minimum of two cats. He also blogs regularly on opednews.com, and on hypocrisy.com under the pseudonym Snark Twain. He is currently at work on his third novel. You can read most of his published writing on his website, allangoldstein.com. Want to know about Doo Doo? When you purchase this book (and you SHOULD) be sure to read the "About The Author" section in the back, but not until you have FINISHED the book!

The Confessions Of A Catnip Junkie is available on Amazon.com both in the Kindle Edition  and in paper back.


I was not compensated for this review. I was sent The Confessions Of A Catnip Junkie to read/review. All opinions are my own.