I spent my afternoon lying in the sun reading a good book…my ideal Saturday. Oh, sure, I was lying in a recliner in my living room in front of a sunny window. And I was wearing a flannel shirt not a swimsuit. I mean it was only 26 degrees outside.
But the sun did its job. It warmed the room and lifted my spirits. I even drank a glass of iced tea. That’s what you do in Michigan. You make the best of what you have.
In some ways that describes the book I was reading, Cat Women of West Michigan:The Secret World of Cat Rescue. Here we have an apparently insurmountable problem, an over population of stray cats so bad that 5,547 were euthanized in Kent County in 2006. But the ladies that love cats in this county didn’t throw a temper tantrum or shrug and say that’s just the way it is.
Some became vets to offer low-cost spay and neuter clinics. Some organized transportation networks to help people to get to the low-cost clinics. Some put together groups to trap-neuter-and return stray cats. Some turned their garages in to cat rescues. One even opened a cafe where people can choose a cat to adopt in a comfy, homey atmosphere.
And it worked. By 2020 only 119 cats needed to be euthanized in Kent County.
So if you are looking for a way to brighten up a winter afternoon, let me suggest a sunny window and Janet Vormittag’s latest book, Cat Women of West Michigan. Janet has written two humorous, heartwarming books about “You Might Be a Crazy Cat Lady if…” but the ladies in the latest book are not crazy. Determined. Driven. Daring…and getting the job done.