The Cat from Kosovo: The True Story of How a Refugee Cat Found a Haven and a Home in Nova Scotia

Lorraine Douglas is the youth services co-ordinator at the Winnipeg
Public Library.

Olsa and Bashkim are Albanians living in Pristina, Kosovo, who have a
little brown-and-white-striped cat named Mishka. When the Serbs pound on
their door one day and demand that they leave their home, Olsa packs
their bags. At the last minute she decides to take Mishka with them as
they flee to Macedonia. At the refugee camp the couple decides to
immigrate to Canada, but they will have to sneek Mishka in. On the bus
going to the airport the big secret that they have a cat with them is
almost revealed in a very funny incident. When they arrive in Greenwood,
Nova Scotia, the nurse at the immigration centre notices that Olsa’s
duffle bag is wriggling. Olsa can no longer keep the secret. Mishka
emerges, but all goes well. Later, Mishka is given her very own
immigration card—the first and only card ever given to a cat.

This warmly told true story is presented in chapters and features
lovely watercolor illustrations by Tamara Thiebaux. The illustrations
have a lot of energy and feeling because of their gestural charcoal
lines and use of atmospheric color. One unfortunate problem in the
book’s layout is that the illustration of Serbs pounding on the
couple’s door is not on the same page as the text describing the
incident. Author Mary-Jane Hampton presents a balanced viewpoint of the
political situation in Kosovo and provides a useful starting point for
classroom discussions of such issues as civil conflict, immigration, and
resettlement of refugees. Highly recommended.