We very kindly told her that we don't observe Christmas, but we are strong supporters of TNR and managed feral cat communities... and we thanked her for writing about them!
"A Christmas Feral" is an ebook short story available for Kindle readers (and apps) on Amazon.com and the price is 99¢.
The story is a riff on the Dickens' classic tale, with Scrooge played by the local magistrate and the ghosts played by various magical cats. The moral of the tale is that a managed cat colony does no harm and may actually do good (e.g. reducing the rodent population, etc).
The tale is sweet, if a bit rough in places. There were a few times where the story suddenly changes direction and could be a bit difficult to follow. And the dialogue can sometimes skip from modern to Dickensia to the Roaring 20's and back.
But the story itself is charming, with chuckle-worthy descriptions of the Scrooge character:
"he didn't RSVP to our wedding until you sent the amended invitations, 'No Gifts Please'."
And what's not to like about a fluffy white deaf cat named Tatiana? As you know, we're suckers for hearing impaired kitties over here.
In all, though the tale feels like it could benefit from one more pass by a good editor, it's a quick read and it's about cats. And most importantly, it shines a light on a very important subject: the plight of feral cats in our communities. And it includes a link to Alley Cat Allies at the end.
At only 24 pages, we feel we can recommend this as an easy lunchtime read.
We thank Mary for giving us a copy of her short story to review.
