We hope you enjoy this exclusive interview with author and humane educator Valerie Ingram, who recently spoke to us about her latest children’s book, Nobody’s Cats.
We love this book and it’s so inspiring. It’s based on a true story?
Nobody’s Cats IS based on a true story! It tells the tale of a boy who saw a tiny black cat shivering in the snow by an old shed, one of many that had been born or abandoned there. These kitties were seen as a nuisance and ignored, but the boy in the story stood up for the cats and learned how to help them. In real life, it was two girls who saw the suffering cats and contacted the Lakes Animal Friendship Society for assistance. They brought food and shelter to the kitties, taught their schoolmates about the plight of community cats, and got their school involved to raise some of the funds to pay for spaying and neutering. The community really came together, not just for fundraising but also for the trapping, follow-up care and feeding.
As a humane educator, what role did you play in the project?
My husband Alistair Schroff and I started the Lakes Animal Friendship Society about nine years ago. I also volunteer in our local schools, teaching kids about care, compassion and responsible pet guardianship. The children know me well and they turned to me for help with the cats.
You co-wrote the book with your husband. Can you tell us about that process?
Alistair and I do most activities for the animal society together, so it seemed natural to write this story together too. We were so inspired by the brave actions of those girls and their passion and innate love for animals. After we started writing the book, I went to every school in our community and spoke to all 700 children, and I asked them to help us write the ending of the story. The children sent us stories about the cats in their lives and artwork depicting community cats, which you can see examples of in the book. The children felt empowered and were part of the book from start to finish.
What was your main goal for the book? To raise awareness about community cats? To inspire other communities? To celebrate kids making a difference?
Yes, all of the above! I am most excited to see that after nine years of going to schools to teach about care and compassion for animals, there has been a real change in attitude and behavior. The children have learned that they can make a tremendous difference. By working together, we were able to achieve something monumental, getting more than 400 community cats spay/neutered and making their lives better and happier! Cats that were once neglected and ignored have now become part of the community, and there’s a new sense of shared responsibility to care for them. The children beam with pride, knowing that they’ve inspired people to see these cats in a whole new way.
It’s great that all proceeds will help animals. What’s the response been to the book so far?
The response has been astounding! What we thought was a local project to empower local children has become rather global. What’s been most exciting is learning about all the community cat groups out there that have such passion. So many tremendous volunteers are doing so much and they really appreciated our little book. Word spread and we’ve now distributed nearly 15,000 copies. We also gave several thousand books to other rural communities, places experiencing similar problems with community cats.
The climate in Canada, where this story takes place, makes survival especially hard for community cats. Can you tell us about the winter shelters the townspeople have built?
It all began with us noticing so many freezing animals during the winter. Some people didn’t understand or didn’t have the resources to provide shelter for their animals, many of which were kept outside in minus 40-degree weather. It was not uncommon to find frozen cats and dogs in our area. So we started small, building shelters in our backyard and bringing them to animals in need. Then we shifted to refurbishing dog houses that people donated. Today the program is completely sustainable, with donated supplies and a high school class that designs and builds structures of various sizes. Each one is fully insulated and requires just a single sheet of plywood. We’ve distributed over 250 shelters thus far.
What can we do to teach children – and grown ups! – to have more compassion for animals?
Our children and community have shown how caring communities can come together for a common cause. It’s clear that a happy, healthy family – including its animals – makes for a happy, healthy community. As Jane Goodall said, “A person may be easily overcome with feelings of helplessness in whatever cause you are passionate about. A person sometimes questions how their actions could possibly make a difference. But apathy is overcome, only if we have hope.” My hope lies with our young people. It’s all about empowering them to make a difference at home and in their community and beyond. The children in our small town are animal welfare ambassadors and they can see the ripple effect of their compassion. They know what’s possible now and that gives them hope. Children need to see role models caring for animals within their families and community. And in our case, the children were the role models. In learning how to solve this problem, they took ownership of the solution and made a real difference in the lives of hundreds of cats.
Autographed copies of Nobody’s Cats are available in our online shop or in person at the FixNation clinic. Each book is $10 and all proceeds go to help animals in need!
