Coming soon! Cat Café, a new Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery by Mollie Hunt 

A body is discovered on the floor of the cat café, and all the black cats are missing! 

The 5^th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery finds sixty-something cat shelter volunteer Lynley Cannon confronted by the murders of some very senior citizens, including Bea Landrew, the elderly owner of the Blue Cat café, a schoolmate and friend of her mom Carol. Could Carol could be next on this deviant killer’s list?

Cat Café has lots of twists and turns before the killer is finally revealed. The story also highlights many exciting subjects along the way. They all fit somewhere— can you guess where?

Feral cats and the FCCO (Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon*) 

There are of course, many cats in this story, and not just Lynley’s own clowder of eight. There are feral cats and acrobatic cats, black cats and cat café cats.  I thought it would be fun to look a little closer at some of these supporting roles.

In Cat Café, Lynley goes on her first feral trapping adventure. Though Lynley’s all about cats, she has never been on a feral cat outing, and now she gets her chance. Her friend Special Agent Denny Paris takes her to a feral colony in Molalla where she learns the process of Trap-Neuter-Return* from the colony’s FCC (Feral Cat Coalition) caretakers.  To her surprise, one of the long-time volunteers, old Melv who helped found the coalition, went to school with Bea and Lynley’s mom back in the 1950’s. Could he be in danger too?

Though my FCC is fictitious, the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon is not. FCCO does tremendous good for the lives of feral cats by altering them and returning them to cared-for colonies where they can live out their wild lives in peace.

You may not know that FCCO is partnered with the Audubon Society of Portland, Multnomah County Animal Services, and Washington County Animal Services. “We are working together to make our communities more safe for cats and wildlife. Our message is: Cats Safe at Home™.”

*About FCCO:  The mission of the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon is to improve the welfare and reduce the population of feral and stray cats through spay/neuter programs and education.  “We are a non-profit spay/neuter program that was founded in 1995. We have helped more than 90,000 cats and remain the only organization in the area dedicated to providing the level of services that we do for feral and stray cats.”

*About TNR (Trap-neuter-return): Trap–neuter–return is a type of program through which free-roaming cats are trapped, spayed and neutered, then returned to the outdoor locations where they were found.

—Wikipedia

Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane and effective approach for stray and feral cats. Now in practice for decades in the US after being proven in Europe, scientific studies show that Trap-Neuter-Return improves the lives of feral cats, improves their relationships with the people who live near them, and decreases the size of colonies over time.

Trap-Neuter-Return is successfully practiced in hundreds of communities and in every landscape and setting. It is exactly what it sounds like: Cats are humanely trapped and taken to a veterinarian to be neutered and vaccinated. After recovery, the cats are returned to their home—their colony—outdoors. Kittens and cats who are friendly and socialized to people may be adopted into homes.

Grounded in science, TNR stops the breeding cycle of cats and therefore improves their lives while preventing reproduction. It is a fact that the removal and killing of outdoor cats that animal control has been pursuing for decades is never ending and futile. Since feral cats are not adoptable, they are killed in pounds and shelters. With a successful program like Trap-Neuter-Return to turn to, it’s hard to believe that animal control agencies continue to kill cats, even though that approach has shown zero results.

It is time to put an end to catch and kill. Trap-Neuter-Return provides a life-saving, effective solution for these beautiful, independent cats.

—Alley Cat Allies

Tomorrow is October 16th, National Feral Cat Day!

Launch date for Cat Café, the 5th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery is October 29^th, National Cat Day. Pre-order your copy now!