Kitty Karma Books Helps Cats In Need

Today I am so pleased to bring to you a guest post by Wai-Lin Terry, Founder & Publisher of Kitty Karma Books. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you already know that rescue is a topic near and dear to my heart because the stars of this blog, Lola and Lexy, are two rescued cats who changed my life. When Wai-Lin contacted me about her book I was more than happy to spread the word. The first phase of her Indiegogo Campaign ends  on 10/31/17, but you still have time to check out her pawtastic perks. 

I, for one, cannot wait to read this book. As an author and a cat advociate, I wish Wai-Lin much success with her project. 
Dawn

Kitty Karma Books Aims to Fund Shelters for Abandoned, Unwanted Cats in Need

“They say cats choose us, we don’t choose them. I believe that cats, with their nine lives and their super-fine senses, are able to see things beyond this world and are more wired to divine will than we humans are. We can ignore a cat’s blessing and beckoning, but at our peril.

I learned these lessons from adopting one special calico cat. I thought I rescued this little feline, but in the end, it was she who rescued me.”


That’s how the closing chapter of Kitty Karma: Big Stories of the Small Cats Who Change Our Lives begins. (More about the book in a moment.) It’s my account of the calico beauty who adopted me. Kealani taught me much during the years she graced my life. Her lessons included a tour through the depths of despair, after she suffered a heart attack and died right in front of me. 

This sudden loss was crippling and devastating and I couldn’t stop crying for weeks. Her wings were ready to fly but my heart wasn't ready to let go. I kept seeing her here and there and feeling her rustling the bed sheets or claiming her favourite spot on my pillow. 

Kitty Karma Books

My attempts to process the grief and heal has taken many forms. The most notable is Kitty Karma Books, the publishing company I started to honour Kealani. 

I started lurking on online cat forums and following cat celebrities because, while I wasn’t ready to adopt another, I was ready to digitally pet beautiful cats. 

After months of trawling postings on cats, I saw common themes emerging. The common threads running the postings were emotions of joy and celebration, of wonder and awe, shock and anger, of grief and loss. It then occurred to me: I was flitting from one cat forum to another, from one cat celeb to another to get my nightly fill of cat love. Why don’t I put it all together in a book?

As a cat rescue volunteer in Toronto, I know how much work goes into a cat rescue, and every cat rescue, and I wanted to share the stories of these wonderful and selfless volunteers too. 

With help from the global cat-loving community, Kitty Karma Books aims to honour all cats, elevate the welfare and improve the lives of abandoned, unwanted and disabled cats and kittens in need. 

How am I doing this? By publishing cat-centric books and donating all net proceeds from book sales to cat shelter charities around the world. 

The Indiegogo Campaign

I’m raising money via an Indiegogo campaign to help with the start-up costs to get this book out to the public. There are production, design, publishing, promotion and distribution costs. The sooner you can help me meet those production expenses, the faster I can provide an economic benefit to the cat shelter caregivers and the cats they care for.

The campaign has been popular, hitting its funding goal when there was still ten days to go. However, it’s not time for a catnap. 

The first phase officially wraps October 31, after which it moves into InDemand on the Indiegogo portal. The more we raise, the sooner we can provide the much-needed support for these cat charities and extra funding will help us go the extra mile for the kitties.

To honour every pledge of support, we’ve put together a furr-tastic array of perks on Indiegogo. We’ve had fun naming them: There’s the Head Bump Hello, Morning Meow, Cat Stretch Cursty, and Kitty Lick Love, to name just a few. Get free early-bird stories, copies of the book, or signed limited edition hard covers. Maybe get your own beloved cat featured in our M-M-Meow Gallery. Certain perks include social media shoutouts, or acknowledgement right in the book. 

About the Book

Kitty Karma: Big Stories of Small Cats Who Change Our Lives is a collection of unique cat stories.  Some are side splitting, others heartbreaking. 

You’ll read about adventure-cat escapades, heart-wrenching stories of loss and uplifting tales of miraculous rescues.  The book also sheds light on the shadow aspects of the cat world – overlooked issues like cruelty at kill shelters, cat abuse, and irresponsible ownership. In our collection are chapters about the amazing bonds between cat parent and cats, feral cats who live on the edge and are wholly dependent on the compassion of their caretakers and animal communicators who translate the meows and purrs. We’ve unusual boat cats who sail on high seas off the coasts of New Zealand and Mexico and a cat sanctuary located in a war zone. Readers will read about the very first cat café in India and a popular one in Kingston, Ontario, both of which are devoted to rescuing and rehoming unwanted and distressed cats. The book will be published and available for sale in time for Christmas 2017. 

Our authors include award-winning writers, journalists, animal communicators, rescue volunteers, and remarkable cat parents. All of them have donated their time and their stories for free because they care deeply their cats and believe that it’s about time cats got their proper dues. They are a diverse group from all over the world but they have one thing in common: a fierce, powerful and passionate love for cats. Get the full list of contributing authors here. 

The Hero Cause

Some call it a cause, others a mission. I consider these shelter organizations and the people who work tirelessly in them heroes. Kitty Karma Books has picked three hero cat shelters to receive donations out of the net proceeds of sales of this book. 

The Cat Man of Aleppo or Il Gattaro d’Aleppo, is saving, feeding and housing cats homeless by the Syrian war. He started feeding the domestic cats who had been left behind out of his own pocket as an ambulance driver for an NGO. And the numbers grew and grew despite the war that was taking place around them. 

Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel has been the focus of much international news coverage, including this NBC News story from May 2017 or the BBC in 2016. Our book starts off with a full-length chapter about Alaa, as he’s known to his friends, and readers will find out about his unshakable commitment to cats despite dire personal danger. 

Abaykitties looks after feral cats in Hawaii and is near and dear to my heart. I’ve spent a lot of time on the Big Island of Hawaii and each visit, I make sure to visit Abaykitties to get my cat fix. The volunteers tirelessly care for the feral colonies on the western coast of the Big Island where there are no rains and no natural source of fresh water. Although one of the feral colonies on Anaehoomalu Bay is a well-known tourist attraction, there are 3-4 other feral communities that are hidden to the public eye but that have to be cared for daily.

Whangamata CAT (cat adoption team) is a small group of New Zealand volunteers

providing safe refuge, food, and veterinary care for misplaced cats and stray cats. They are currently self-funded but have as one of their long-term goals a permanent shelter with an infirmary to heal ill cats and to provide a focal point for resocialising and rehoming.

Whangamata was referred to me by Skatty, a famous adventure cat who has been featured in online and traditional media. Skatty is quite the media darling partly because he’s a gorgeous polydactyl Maine Coon, and partly because Skatty is the ears for his deaf sailor cat dad Paul Thompson. (You’ll hear from both Skatty and Paul in the book.)  

Cat Blessings 

A life blessed by cats is forever changed. When cats choose to favour us with their love and attention, the world becomes a better place. The bond between cat and parent or cat and caretaker is inexplicable, but extraordinarily joyful. I had a soul connection with Kealani, one that cannot be quantified or fully described, only lived and experienced. Kitty Karma Books was born to honour her but it has grown to a force to doing good.  Cats bring so much immeasurable joy into our homes; let us do something for them in return. 

Let’s be change-makers for all that’s good and positive in the world…starting with the cats.   I thank you for your support, be it in the form of a contribution to the Indiegogo campaign, purchasing the book on its release, talking about us or sharing this post. The cats thank you too.


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Wai-Lin Terry, Founder & Publisher, Kitty Karma Books.