Stray (Love) Cats

CAT STATS

Reading: The Making of Pride and Prejudice by Sue Birtwhistle & Susie Conklin
Listening to: Peggy Lee Sings the Blues
Watching: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (again)
Making me smile: My friend Sue just sold to Harlequin Mills & Boon!

Two summers ago, an abandoned cat gave birth to a litter of kittens at the winery/vineyard where I worked. Cat and kittens consumed my time for the next two months--making sure they had food and water, that they were wormed, that they were loved and the kittens were socialized--a very important task which entailed hours of playing with them!




Having watched the kittens from the day they were born until the day they went to their new homes, I knew their personalities well. They were all lovely--of course!--but I particularly adored the little black girl who came running to greet me every time I opened the door, and the little grey tabby with the M on her forehead who purred so loudly whenever I picked her up. And then there was the little grey tabby boy who loved to lie belly-up in my hand and have his stomach rubbed...




That litter of kittens made it into my second Harlequin Historical, Beauty and the Scarred Hero, (available in North America now). The heroine, Lady Isabella Knox, has a habit of rescuing strays--a habit that gets her into trouble when she rescues a runaway bride and is catapulted the path of the dangerous Major Reynolds.





In real life, I didn’t get to keep any of the kittens or their mother because my landlord refused to allow me to have pets, but Lady Isabella doesn’t have that problem with the kittens she saves. She gets to keep the two I loved the most!




The vineyard kittens and their mother all found great homes, and the kittens in Beauty and the Scarred Hero do too. One day I hope to repeat the experience by fostering a pregnant cat from the SPCA--it was fascinating to watch the kittens’ day-to-day growth and the development of their personalities. And this time, I’ll get to keep the mother and a couple of the kittens!


Please feel free to share stories about kittens and/or rescuing stray animals with us on the LoveCats blog!