Kitten Rescue and My New Book Release

Release Day for Historical Romance No... The Vivid Contrast of Colonial Americ...

Kitten Rescue and My New Book Release

Wednesday, my new historical romance novel, Traitor’s Legacy, came out. Authors know, and readers can guess, the effort needed to spread the word. But two tiny kittens also need me. Monday, my feline loving granddaughter, soon to be 7-year-old, Emma, found a minute, very mad, abandoned kitten. About two weeks old, I guessed, which involves feedings every 3-4 hours round the clock (I use a small syringe from the vet because he hates the bottle) and bottom cleaning because kittens can’t ‘go’ themselves at this age. And very young kittens must be kept warm. I use a canning jar with a tight lid and refill the bottle every few hours with hot water, and keep him in a small cloth-lined box, covered with a towel.

This seemed like enough of a challenge, then on Tuesday, Emma and her younger brother Owen found an even tinier kitten (the runt brother of the first little guy) soaking wet, muddy, hollering its head off and looking like a drowned mouse. Turns out, their farm cat mama had four in the litter and wasn’t interested in the two smaller kittens. And, I discovered they had a respiratory thing. So, first thing Wednesday morning of my release day, I’m at the vet’s office, so tired from being up worrying over the kittens I tried to answer my phone by just saying hello without hitting the on button. The brothers (the vet says they’re boys) are on an antibiotic (a little drop in a syringe) twice a day for two weeks and a vet approved supplement for their feedings. The formula from our dairy cows that I usually whip up using a cup of whole milk, an egg yolk, and teaspoon of vegetable oil, recommended by an old country vet years ago, was deemed to be too iffy for these guys.

I’m calling the kittens Peaches and Cream, as the original brother is a pale apricot and fuzzy, and the runty kitten who was muddy brown has revealed himself to be a white kitten trying to be a Siamese with gold tipped ears, tail, and paws. There’s a wild Siamese Tom cat running around the farm I suspect to be the father. Or the mother’s father. Some connection. Cream is the hardest hit by the virus so requires extra care.

Yesterday was my big book blast blog tour day for Traitor’s Legacy. I faithfully tried to make the rounds, but was beat. Last night I slept on the couch to be near the kittens. If at all possible, they are NOT dying on my watch. Tiny Mite, the newborn kitten I rescued last fall and failed to save, still haunts me.

So hey, I have this new book out, and kittens to take care of. And I’m too tired to think straight or even know what day it is. But I’m told the eBook is half price off at The Wild Rose Press, available in pdf, ePub and Mobi (pocket) which means for Kindle. Traitor’s Legacy is also available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and from other online booksellers. And I’ve maybe got another hour and a half until the next feeding and clean up session. Wish me luck! I try to tell myself not to get so attached to the kittens, not to care so much, because it’s awful when they don’t make it. But I do.

Proceeds from this novel will go toward vet bills. He’s seeing them again soon.