Cattitude - Episode 304 From Garbage Can to Beloved Cat: Snarf’s Incredible Rescue Story

<v Speaker 1>This is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.
<v Speaker 2>Hello, cat Levers, Welcome to Cataitude. I'm your show host,
<v Speaker 2>Michelle Berne. Happy Monday. We're recording this on a Monday,
<v Speaker 2>and if you're listening on a Monday, Happy Monday, or
<v Speaker 2>whatever other day of the week, you're listening to us.
<v Speaker 2>So today we have an author who wrote a book
<v Speaker 2>and this subject is near and dear to my heart,
<v Speaker 2>rescue tn R. It's so important we cannot, you know,
<v Speaker 2>educate ourselves enough or our children. So stay tuned. We'll
<v Speaker 2>be right back.
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<v Speaker 2>Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Vanessa Nitez. She
<v Speaker 2>is the author of the Adventures of PuppyCat and the
<v Speaker 2>Lost Name. Welcome Vanessa, Thank you so much.
<v Speaker 3>I'm so happy to be here.
<v Speaker 2>Very happy to have you. So what inspired you to
<v Speaker 2>write the Adventures of PuppyCat and the Lost Name.
<v Speaker 3>So the Adventures of PuppyCat and the Lost Name was
<v Speaker 3>inspired by my real life rescue cat, SNAr, who I'm
<v Speaker 3>super excited to tell you more about. But even before
<v Speaker 3>I met Snark, I'd always loved animals, and I think
<v Speaker 3>I've kind of always been a bit of a storyteller
<v Speaker 3>on the Mexican side. Like the older relatives, they kind
<v Speaker 3>of passed that down to me. You tell your story,
<v Speaker 3>use your imagination, you kind of pass it down. So
<v Speaker 3>since Snark is my rescue cat that I actually just
<v Speaker 3>found in the garbage one day, I have no idea
<v Speaker 3>where she came from, so I kind of started just
<v Speaker 3>creating a story in my mind, like what what she
<v Speaker 3>could have gone through? You know where she came from,
<v Speaker 3>and that's kind of where the story came from.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thanks, So wow you said you found starf in
<v Speaker 2>a garbage can.
<v Speaker 3>Yes, I found her in the garbage one day.
<v Speaker 2>Doesn't just blow your mind that people just take living
<v Speaker 2>creatures and just throw them in the garbage. I can't
<v Speaker 2>even fathom that, but it happens, right.
<v Speaker 3>I can't even imagine how she exactly ended up there,
<v Speaker 3>And that's kind of part of the book, Like how
<v Speaker 3>how does this beautiful cat end up in a garbage can?
<v Speaker 2>It's really shocking to me. I mean happens very often
<v Speaker 2>with kitties, which is horrific, and puppies too, and grown
<v Speaker 2>dogs and cats now for sure. So tell us the
<v Speaker 2>story of how you actually found Snarf and how that
<v Speaker 2>moment stayed with you.
<v Speaker 3>So, you know, just to preface the story, I just
<v Speaker 3>wanted to share that I've always loved animals, but I'm
<v Speaker 3>actually allergic to cats, like pretty allergic to them. So,
<v Speaker 3>you know, despite this fact, I always think it was
<v Speaker 3>passed down from my family, Like I would like to
<v Speaker 3>feed straight cats, but I wouldn't kind of get too
<v Speaker 3>close to them because I was a little concerned for
<v Speaker 3>my health. So one day in March, I'm in my
<v Speaker 3>neighborhood and I hear some rustling and noise coming from
<v Speaker 3>the garbage can. So I look a little closer and
<v Speaker 3>how tumbles this super puffy, fluffy, long haired cat from
<v Speaker 3>the garbage So already I'm shocked. I'm like, I've never
<v Speaker 3>seen a cat like this, know arout other people, but
<v Speaker 3>usually when you see a straight cat, it's usually not longer.
<v Speaker 3>That was like the first time I ever saw a
<v Speaker 3>cat that looked like her. So she was just like
<v Speaker 3>beautiful and unique, and you know, I just saw her
<v Speaker 3>and I was just like, Okay, she's nowling, she's madded.
<v Speaker 3>You know, I know she needs help. But it was
<v Speaker 3>difficult because I was a little confused because I wanted
<v Speaker 3>to take her in right away, but I have allergies
<v Speaker 3>and I have asthma, so I didn't want to also
<v Speaker 3>have an anasthma attack. So what I did was right
<v Speaker 3>away I ordered a cat condo, like an outdoor cat condo,
<v Speaker 3>just just to figure out what I would do with
<v Speaker 3>her in the meantime. But I knew she needed help,
<v Speaker 3>and I got her into the vet. So when I
<v Speaker 3>got her into the vet, they checked for a microchip,
<v Speaker 3>and she had no microchip. She did kind of look
<v Speaker 3>like she had something. It looks like she had a
<v Speaker 3>collar around her neck that may have been removed because
<v Speaker 3>the hair around there was like kind of pressed in
<v Speaker 3>her neck, so who knows what happened to it. So
<v Speaker 3>in any case, from there, I contacted family and friends
<v Speaker 3>and local animal shelters, and nobody could take her, they
<v Speaker 3>didn't have room. And then in the process, what I learned,
<v Speaker 3>because I you know, I didn't know until I met Snarf,
<v Speaker 3>is that a lot of these shelters they don't take
<v Speaker 3>in the grown cats. They taken kittens. And I got
<v Speaker 3>a lot of no's, and you know, we need kittens.
<v Speaker 3>And how old is she? Perhaps because you know, it's
<v Speaker 3>not as much of a demand, I'm not too sure,
<v Speaker 3>but you know, they wouldn't take her in. So I
<v Speaker 3>just decided, I said, you know what, all these doors
<v Speaker 3>are closing, maybe it's for a reason. So I made
<v Speaker 3>the decision. I said, you know what, I got to
<v Speaker 3>get allergy shots. And it's a huge commitment. It's shots
<v Speaker 3>once a week for one to two years, and then
<v Speaker 3>after that once a month for three to five years.
<v Speaker 3>But now she's mine and she doesn't make me sneeze,
<v Speaker 3>and I'm just so happy we're I don't regret one
<v Speaker 3>shot that I had to take for her.
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm glad to hear it. And allergies and cats
<v Speaker 2>vary a lot. I'm allergic to cats and I have
<v Speaker 2>asthma too, but it's not the same. So I don't
<v Speaker 2>get itchy, I don't sneeze I just get wheezy, right.
<v Speaker 2>So I have three cats in the house, and I
<v Speaker 2>had two dogs at one time, so that was a
<v Speaker 2>lot of hair and dander and stuff. You know, as
<v Speaker 2>much as you clean, you just don't get rid of it.
<v Speaker 2>But all allergy, you know, the effects of allergies are
<v Speaker 2>all different, and yours was more, way more extreme than
<v Speaker 2>mine was. At one time, my spouse wanted me to
<v Speaker 2>get another cat inside, so four cats inside, and I said, yeah, well,
<v Speaker 2>if you want me to breathe, that's not going to happen.
<v Speaker 2>So it was so we didn't do the fourth inside,
<v Speaker 2>but we adopted because the litter one of my cats
<v Speaker 2>came from was three, so we had found homes, legit
<v Speaker 2>good homes for two. But I commend you because that
<v Speaker 2>is definitely taking on a lot of responsibility to save
<v Speaker 2>your cat. So thank you for that.
<v Speaker 3>And there is truth.
<v Speaker 2>Especially we always say April through October starts kitten season,
<v Speaker 2>but like a lot of things, it's starting earlier this year,
<v Speaker 2>or it's been starting earlier, so now it's really like
<v Speaker 2>March through October. And I think a lot of shelters
<v Speaker 2>they have concerns because they either are full or know
<v Speaker 2>they're going to get full from kittens, you know, from
<v Speaker 2>all the faro cats not being spade and so, and
<v Speaker 2>it is harder to adopt a grown cat. And a
<v Speaker 2>cat might have just been a year old, you know,
<v Speaker 2>or maybe technically still a kitten. But once it's past
<v Speaker 2>the little cutesy stage, a lot of people are like
<v Speaker 2>they don't want to adopt it, or they only want
<v Speaker 2>they don't want an adult because they assume an adult
<v Speaker 2>cat might have issues, which is not the case, right.
<v Speaker 3>I think it was more so like of a demand thing,
<v Speaker 3>like maybe they thought if they would take it in
<v Speaker 3>it would be harder to adopt. So I kind of
<v Speaker 3>understood where they're coming from, but she still needed help, So.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, yeah, absolutely. The title says the Adventures of Puppy
<v Speaker 2>Cat and the Lost Name, So what does the lost
<v Speaker 2>name mean?
<v Speaker 3>So? I wanted to be pretty intentional about that because
<v Speaker 3>I kind of feel like, whether you're a human or
<v Speaker 3>a creature, anything, really, you start and and everything with
<v Speaker 3>your name. It's part of your identity, your story, It's
<v Speaker 3>kind of who you are, right. So when I wrote
<v Speaker 3>this story, I just started thinking about just like a
<v Speaker 3>cat who had an owner, their identity was they were
<v Speaker 3>somebody's pet, and all of a sudden that's taken away.
<v Speaker 3>So one of the lines in the book is I
<v Speaker 3>don't know who I am. I don't know where I'm from.
<v Speaker 3>I was dumbed to the streets and my owners are gone.
<v Speaker 3>So I was intentional about it because I wanted to
<v Speaker 3>show the effect of what happened when a cat loses
<v Speaker 3>their home. It's dumped on the streets and now theur
<v Speaker 3>just trying to figure out who they are.
<v Speaker 2>So what is one of the things in writing the
<v Speaker 2>book that you really hope children and then parents, because
<v Speaker 2>many parents, you know, read to their children take away
<v Speaker 2>from this story.
<v Speaker 3>So I really hope that when they read the book,
<v Speaker 3>children will learn to have more and more compassion and
<v Speaker 3>empathy for animals. And I hope it gives them a
<v Speaker 3>glimpse of how rough it is on the streets as
<v Speaker 3>a stray cat. But at the same time, like you know,
<v Speaker 3>seeing puppy cat, I hope they realize that they're these
<v Speaker 3>amazing and curious and beautiful creatures and very important. I
<v Speaker 3>want them to learn that it's not just kittens we
<v Speaker 3>need love. It's grown cats. It could be a senior cat,
<v Speaker 3>a special needs cat, and after that, I want them
<v Speaker 3>to learn about friendship because in the book, she encounters
<v Speaker 3>a dog that is not her species. It looks nothing
<v Speaker 3>like her, and the dog is just trying to be friendly,
<v Speaker 3>but she's she's weary. She's suspicious, right, because you're taught sometimes,
<v Speaker 3>oh this person looks like this, you're not supposed to
<v Speaker 3>be their friend. So I hope this kind of teaches
<v Speaker 3>them to just give people a chance and to look
<v Speaker 3>past their looks and like, look at who they are inside.
<v Speaker 2>You just mentioned one of the wonderful parallels in this story.
<v Speaker 2>Do you think with more and more books being written
<v Speaker 2>about head adoption, about understanding what it's like to adopt,
<v Speaker 2>to understand spay and neuter, that maybe I don't know,
<v Speaker 2>might not be the next generation, might be a couple
<v Speaker 2>of generations, that this will really have an impact on
<v Speaker 2>less cuts being euthanized.
<v Speaker 3>That's what I hope. Then that's why I decided to
<v Speaker 3>make it a children's book, because they're very young, and
<v Speaker 3>they can they can learn, like from the very beginning,
<v Speaker 3>to have this compassion to not look past the straightcat,
<v Speaker 3>you know, to help feed them. So maybe ask their parents, hey,
<v Speaker 3>is it okay if we put out some food for them,
<v Speaker 3>and then later, Yeah, you're right, then they can teach
<v Speaker 3>them more about staying and neutering and controlling the population. Unfortunately,
<v Speaker 3>like there's so many kittens and there's not enough homes.
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, Okay, we're gonna take a short break and we'll
<v Speaker 2>be right back.
<v Speaker 3>Mollie, here's your dinner. Zeuce.
<v Speaker 2>That's not your food.
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<v Speaker 4>Let's talk past.
<v Speaker 1>It, Let's do about life.
<v Speaker 3>Radiot life Radio.
<v Speaker 4>Pet Life Radio dot.
<v Speaker 2>Com, Welcome back everyone. We're talking to Vanessa Benitez and
<v Speaker 2>we're talking about her book, which is the Adventures of
<v Speaker 2>PuppyCat and the last name based on her real life cat,
<v Speaker 2>her rescue cat, Snarf. So rescuing Snarp was the real
<v Speaker 2>life experience that influenced this story. Do you have any
<v Speaker 2>other rescue stories that played into or rescue stories you
<v Speaker 2>read about that might have played into your story.
<v Speaker 3>So it's kind of interesting because you know, like I said,
<v Speaker 3>I had the allergies, so I always fed animals, but
<v Speaker 3>I kind of did it from afar, So before Snarp,
<v Speaker 3>I didn't have maybe those up close and personal experiences.
<v Speaker 3>But after I met Snarf and I started getting the
<v Speaker 3>shots number one, I started getting better, right, so I could,
<v Speaker 3>you know, be a little closer to them, And I
<v Speaker 3>started having these, like you're saying, like closer experiences with
<v Speaker 3>strays because I was able to get closer to them
<v Speaker 3>and I learned how to do T and R. So
<v Speaker 3>in the process, I would name every cat that I
<v Speaker 3>that I trapped, right humanly trapped. I made sure I
<v Speaker 3>give them a name, and then you know, i'd make
<v Speaker 3>sure they got the medical care and I would bring
<v Speaker 3>them back. In the process, I kind of saw like
<v Speaker 3>all of the stuff they were going through, Like these cats,
<v Speaker 3>some of them would be limping, they would have you know,
<v Speaker 3>patches of firm missing, they would be always hungry. So
<v Speaker 3>those experiences when I wrote the book. Although Puffy Cat
<v Speaker 3>isn't sick in the book, she's very hungry. So I
<v Speaker 3>kind of wanted to show that that, you know, these
<v Speaker 3>cats have these strong needs and I don't want them
<v Speaker 3>to be forgotten. So that was kind of like my
<v Speaker 3>whole thing when I wrote this book, like I want
<v Speaker 3>you to remember those cats that you pass by you
<v Speaker 3>might ignore. I don't want you to ignore them anymore.
<v Speaker 3>I want you to see what they're going through. I
<v Speaker 3>like that.
<v Speaker 2>You also have partnered with Four Animals Inc. Can you
<v Speaker 2>tell us about the work they do for stray cats.
<v Speaker 3>Yes, I'm so excited to partner with them. So Four
<v Speaker 3>Animals Inc. Is a nonprofit organization and what's great about
<v Speaker 3>them is there a small organization and so you know
<v Speaker 3>the big ones, you know, kudos to them. I'm so
<v Speaker 3>happy that they're getting the funding and the recognition that
<v Speaker 3>they deserve. But this is just a small one in
<v Speaker 3>Queens New York and they service New York City. You
<v Speaker 3>can contact them and if you have these feral cat communities,
<v Speaker 3>they can go in there and they can humanly track
<v Speaker 3>all of them. They'll get them vaccinated, they'll of course
<v Speaker 3>get them stay neutered, they'll make sure they're okay help wise,
<v Speaker 3>and then they'll return them, you know, because it's important
<v Speaker 3>to return them to the same area so other cats
<v Speaker 3>don't go. It's like a vacuum effect. But then in
<v Speaker 3>addition to that, if they catch a cat or a kitten,
<v Speaker 3>doesn't matter which one. If the cat is like somewhat
<v Speaker 3>friendly and you can touch them, they will put them
<v Speaker 3>with a foster parent and they will do their very
<v Speaker 3>best to get them adopted. So I partner with them.
<v Speaker 3>So what I'm doing is every time you buy the
<v Speaker 3>adventurous cat a puffy cat on the lost name, I'm
<v Speaker 3>going to donate a portion to them so they can
<v Speaker 3>help more cats.
<v Speaker 2>Oh that's wonderful. Now you mentioned tan R for those
<v Speaker 2>which is trapped need a return. So why for those
<v Speaker 2>that don't know, why is that so important?
<v Speaker 3>So shop need in return is really important because it
<v Speaker 3>helps control the plot population. Because I was reading a
<v Speaker 3>statistic that they were saying, if a cat remains unstayed
<v Speaker 3>in a lifetime, they can have between one hundred and
<v Speaker 3>one hundred and fifty kittens. So I can't even imagine
<v Speaker 3>what they would due to the poor cat's body and
<v Speaker 3>then all these little kiddies on the street and not
<v Speaker 3>on a pone. So it helps control the population. In
<v Speaker 3>addition to that, both male and female cats, it helps
<v Speaker 3>them reduce different types of cancer. So for the female
<v Speaker 3>cats it can reduce breast cancer bearing cancer, and for
<v Speaker 3>male cats it helps reduce testicular cancer. So not only
<v Speaker 3>does it control the population, but it keeps the cats
<v Speaker 3>that are already around, It keeps them healthier.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, it does. Have you trapped any cats yourself?
<v Speaker 3>Oh? Yeah, trapped plenty of cats. Once I got the
<v Speaker 3>ALGA shots, I became cat crazy, so I've got a
<v Speaker 3>dozen of them.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>Did you ever run into any challenges?
<v Speaker 3>It was more so like getting the hang of it,
<v Speaker 3>Like you know, I would see stuff online. I also
<v Speaker 3>knew people who were doing it, and I was trying
<v Speaker 3>to kind of skip steps, like I wouldn't put the
<v Speaker 3>newspaper in the in the cage, or I wouldn't put
<v Speaker 3>it in an area that you know, other cats can
<v Speaker 3>kind of get to the fool because they fight for
<v Speaker 3>the foods. You know, it's a little difficult. Sometimes you
<v Speaker 3>have to fend off one cat throwing pro checken of them,
<v Speaker 3>and then try to lure the other cat in. But
<v Speaker 3>it's more so just getting the hang of it. But
<v Speaker 3>I got I will say I got pretty good at it.
<v Speaker 3>I've saved a lot of cats, thank god, and I've
<v Speaker 3>gotten a lot of kiddies' homes.
<v Speaker 2>Oh, that's wonderful. I think there's a special talent because
<v Speaker 2>when who was it that I had a trap? Molly's mom,
<v Speaker 2>Sammy could not trap her. Sammy and Jethwa have passed
<v Speaker 2>on since, you know, they've been gone about a couple
<v Speaker 2>of years now, unfortunately. But Sammy was this skinny little
<v Speaker 2>cat that I thought was a kitten, and I had
<v Speaker 2>a higher a cat trapper I tried. I caught the
<v Speaker 2>baby daddy twice. I caught a raccoon once. No, no, Sammy,
<v Speaker 2>she was so tiny she was able to like put
<v Speaker 2>her paw in and clever put her paw into the contraption,
<v Speaker 2>move the food. So I actually all a cat local
<v Speaker 2>cat trapper, you know live you know, in the South.
<v Speaker 2>It's yes, we have kitten season, but it's warm all
<v Speaker 2>the time, so there's always stray cats. And I knew
<v Speaker 2>the numbers. I knew if I didn't catch her, she
<v Speaker 2>would have another litter. Baby. She had a second litter
<v Speaker 2>while I was trying to catch her.
<v Speaker 3>Oh wow, so that's how fast.
<v Speaker 2>Because I don't know offhand the gestation period. I want
<v Speaker 2>to say it's about three months or something.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think it's around three to four months.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, so it's very short and it took that long,
<v Speaker 2>you know. Okay, she just had the babies. Okay, all right,
<v Speaker 2>so let me and it wasn't even kitten season. Let
<v Speaker 2>me try to capture her. No, no, so interviewed and
<v Speaker 2>she used like a roadrunner type. So if you guys
<v Speaker 2>date myself, it's in an old cartoon, look up roadrunner
<v Speaker 2>and that's kind of a drop trap. But boy, I
<v Speaker 2>even asked her success rate. She said, you have to
<v Speaker 2>follow my directions with a certain food, do this, do that,
<v Speaker 2>and you know it worked. She went on to live
<v Speaker 2>four good, healthy years that I don't think she would
<v Speaker 2>have had otherwise, and then there would have been more kittens,
<v Speaker 2>you know, gone, because even in the wild while they
<v Speaker 2>might not be euthanized. There's you know, straight animals, There's
<v Speaker 2>I live in the suburbs, but there's still there's coyotes
<v Speaker 2>around in the suburbs and raccoons and they get in
<v Speaker 2>fights and cars and all this kind of stuff. So
<v Speaker 2>I'm really happy you are do T and R. Thank
<v Speaker 2>you so much for that. What was the process like
<v Speaker 2>going from the idea of writing about snarf to actually
<v Speaker 2>publishing the book?
<v Speaker 3>So this thing all started me taking the subway, So
<v Speaker 3>when I was taking the train to work, the story
<v Speaker 3>was kind of coming to my head. So what I
<v Speaker 3>did first before I wrote the book because I kind
<v Speaker 3>of had like ideas, but I wanted to like figure
<v Speaker 3>out the characters furs. So first I already knew PuppyCat
<v Speaker 3>was the star, right, but I wanted to figure out
<v Speaker 3>who would Puffy Cat's friend be. So it was really
<v Speaker 3>just researching like really adorable dogs, and I was looking
<v Speaker 3>up all different types of breaths, and I absolutely fell
<v Speaker 3>in love with polly dogs because I think they're hilarious looking.
<v Speaker 3>They remind me of mops and they have the little
<v Speaker 3>the little the hair that drops to the floor. So
<v Speaker 3>I figured out, okay, that that seems like a very
<v Speaker 3>likable character. So that's where I started. And then every
<v Speaker 3>book needs kind of like that bad guy. So I
<v Speaker 3>had to figure out what type of what type of
<v Speaker 3>character would be the person that Puffy Cat might have
<v Speaker 3>some problems with, right or the or the creature, I
<v Speaker 3>should say. And so when I was looking it up,
<v Speaker 3>I didn't want to like pick a big dog because
<v Speaker 3>I felt like that would be like just like a stereotype,
<v Speaker 3>and then before afraid of the both, so I didn't
<v Speaker 3>want to go there. And then I just thought about
<v Speaker 3>the chihuahua, this like spicy little dog, and I figured, okay,
<v Speaker 3>let's make the Chihuahua Chico. Let's make him the bad
<v Speaker 3>guy in the book. So then after that, that's kind
<v Speaker 3>of when the story unfolded. And I only wrote a
<v Speaker 3>little bit in the morning, a little bit in the
<v Speaker 3>morning on my commute, a little bit home on my commute.
<v Speaker 3>So I work in a school, so it pretty much
<v Speaker 3>took about an entire school year, and then that's kind
<v Speaker 3>of when the story unfolded. Once I had I had Chico,
<v Speaker 3>I had a twisty dog, and then I had Puffy Cat,
<v Speaker 3>and I already knew I wanted it to start for
<v Speaker 3>pumbling from the garbage and then from there. You know,
<v Speaker 3>I wrote the story within a year.
<v Speaker 2>And it's very well illustrated.
<v Speaker 3>Oh thank you, and you know what, I've never met
<v Speaker 3>the illustrator.
<v Speaker 2>But you did well in describing what you needed because
<v Speaker 2>the illustrations are great.
<v Speaker 3>And yeah, story.
<v Speaker 2>Well, so there's maybe a little bit of people out there,
<v Speaker 2>not too many that might think, well, talk about teenare
<v Speaker 2>the kids that might be a bit much What would
<v Speaker 2>you say to those people? I know it sounds crazy,
<v Speaker 2>but I do think there's some that might say, oh,
<v Speaker 2>you know, it should be all snowfla and no, that's
<v Speaker 2>not the expression snowflakes and rainbows or lollipops, you know,
<v Speaker 2>when you're talking to kids. But and even little kids though,
<v Speaker 2>you know, I disagree with that that sunshine lollipops because kids, unfortunately,
<v Speaker 2>even little kids, have to experience things that are not
<v Speaker 2>always you know, happy, even small things like if they
<v Speaker 2>drop something and break it that they like that's a
<v Speaker 2>small thing, but they still have to experience that too.
<v Speaker 2>So talking about T and R and kind of explaining
<v Speaker 2>it in the way that kids relate, what would you
<v Speaker 2>say to those that say no, we shouldn't tell our
<v Speaker 2>kids that.
<v Speaker 3>Well, first I'd say, read the book and you can
<v Speaker 3>see how it's kind of written. But also I think
<v Speaker 3>that you can touch on things in a way that
<v Speaker 3>you don't have to use like language that's going to
<v Speaker 3>scare them. So the book itself is written in verse,
<v Speaker 3>and I I made it a point to do that
<v Speaker 3>because I wanted to introduce a little bit of a
<v Speaker 3>heavier subject in a light, lighter way, like a light,
<v Speaker 3>more fluffy way. And if you look at the illustrations,
<v Speaker 3>you know, you see like a very happy dog, you
<v Speaker 3>see a really cute cat. So it's kind of it's
<v Speaker 3>a way that you can teach them something that is
<v Speaker 3>very important and can be very beneficial to the lives
<v Speaker 3>of different cats and help them also when they grow,
<v Speaker 3>like you know, keep that compassion from like a young child.
<v Speaker 3>But it's a way to do it in a fun way.
<v Speaker 3>So I just think committed to that because I knew
<v Speaker 3>that I was going to teach kids something, and it
<v Speaker 3>was going to teach them in a fun way. There's
<v Speaker 3>always a way to teach kids like heavy lessons in
<v Speaker 3>a way that is going to be easy for them
<v Speaker 3>to understand and not going to scare them.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thanks? What should our listeners do, especially if they're
<v Speaker 2>kids with them and they see a stray cat in
<v Speaker 2>their neighborhood.
<v Speaker 3>So it really depends on what you're able to do,
<v Speaker 3>right because you know, like we talked about, some people
<v Speaker 3>might have allergies, you know, and some people maybe they're
<v Speaker 3>in different financial situations. We don't know, right, but at
<v Speaker 3>the very least, I would say if you're able to
<v Speaker 3>give some food and water, that might be a good start.
<v Speaker 3>You can always take a pet to the vet, and
<v Speaker 3>that's a free service, and you can see if they
<v Speaker 3>have a microp chip because they also might be a
<v Speaker 3>lost cat, right so if they're lost, you want to
<v Speaker 3>try to reunite them with their owner. And hopefully, if
<v Speaker 3>they're listening to this before anything like that happens, they
<v Speaker 3>can research a different organization, like in their neighborhood that
<v Speaker 3>can help them. So maybe they can't do t and R,
<v Speaker 3>but maybe there's an organization out there that can do
<v Speaker 3>t and R or help a cat get adopted or fostered.
<v Speaker 3>And to just reach out to your network of family
<v Speaker 3>and friends, you know, there's a lot of people who
<v Speaker 3>might even want to take the cat in maybe you
<v Speaker 3>can't take the cat and belily they can. So it's
<v Speaker 3>important just to keep a strong community, and you know,
<v Speaker 3>research different animal organizations and speed them. They're so cute.
<v Speaker 2>Hopefully you can do that, yes, of course. So how
<v Speaker 2>is Snarf doing today?
<v Speaker 3>So Snarf just her eight years old. She's doing amazing.
<v Speaker 3>I had a little cat celebration for her. I'm not
<v Speaker 3>going to say a party because a part of me
<v Speaker 3>and I invited guests and I didn't go that far.
<v Speaker 3>But I decorated her cat tree, and I gave her
<v Speaker 3>dry treats. I gave her tuna treat I gave her
<v Speaker 3>a little cat nip toys, so you know, she has
<v Speaker 3>a great life. Her favorite toys are really just a
<v Speaker 3>cardboard box and a grocery bag. So you know, she
<v Speaker 3>stayed humble. That's what she likes. And you know, she
<v Speaker 3>makes my day happy almost every day just being around.
<v Speaker 3>And I hope I make her days happy by you know,
<v Speaker 3>just getting her a cat mama.
<v Speaker 2>I'm sure you do. I had a laugh that cardboard
<v Speaker 2>box and plastic bag. You know, you could spend so
<v Speaker 2>much on things. I mean, you need a cat tree,
<v Speaker 2>so that's not a toy. Though, but then you get
<v Speaker 2>a box or a plastic bag the best thing ever
<v Speaker 2>for a cat.
<v Speaker 3>Right, that's their favorite thing. Yeah, they go buy them
<v Speaker 3>the toy, but they want the box.
<v Speaker 2>They want the box and the canaan and they make
<v Speaker 2>themselves spit no matter what the size, which is crazy. Okay,
<v Speaker 2>where can people find out more about the adventures of
<v Speaker 2>PuppyCat and the last name? And also where to buy
<v Speaker 2>your book?
<v Speaker 3>Okay? So it's being sold right now online on Amazon,
<v Speaker 3>Barnes and Noble and Wilmer on their website. And I
<v Speaker 3>have a website called Puffycatbooks dot Com where you can,
<v Speaker 3>you know, find all the links. They're easy if you
<v Speaker 3>need to. If you're local. There's a cat cafe called
<v Speaker 3>Esperso where they actually spell the book hard copy if
<v Speaker 3>you want to, like like fun stuff and you want
<v Speaker 3>to see the real Puffycat. I have a TikTok and
<v Speaker 3>an Instagram or should I say smart does and the
<v Speaker 3>handle is snarf Underscore aka Puffycat and also for animals
<v Speaker 3>like if you want to learn more about them for
<v Speaker 3>animals dot com and they also have the same name
<v Speaker 3>for TikTok and Instagram.
<v Speaker 2>I want to thank you Vanessa so much for coming
<v Speaker 2>on Catitude and congratulations on your book, The Adventures of
<v Speaker 2>PuppyCat and the Lot's Name.
<v Speaker 3>Thank you so much for having me.
<v Speaker 2>I want to thank my guest Vanessa Benitaz for coming
<v Speaker 2>on Catitude and telling us all about her book, The
<v Speaker 2>Adventures of PuppyCat and the Lost Name. I want to
<v Speaker 2>thank all my loyal listeners of Cataitude. I've been hosting
<v Speaker 2>the show, coming up on nine and a half years,
<v Speaker 2>so thank you so much. Thanks of course to my
<v Speaker 2>cat crew Dennis, Charlotte, Molly, all rescues. Thank you to
<v Speaker 2>all the furbabes in my life that were rescues, Miss c,
<v Speaker 2>mister Z, Sammy and Jethro. And of course the show
<v Speaker 2>would not be the same without the magic of my producer.
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Mark Winter for all you do.
<v Speaker 2>And hey, remember lose the attitude, Have Catitude.
<v Speaker 4>Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlight
<v Speaker 4>Radio dot com.