What’s Your Passion?

Written by Ruth Hartman

Everyone has a passion. And I’m not talking about your significant other, here. Everyone has something they’re passionate about. Art, writing, biking, sewing, saving the whales. You get the idea. Well, mine is cats.

Yes, cats.

My whole life, I’ve loved them. Every picture of me as a little kid shows me holding or trying to hold at least one cat. Grey, white, black, calico, it never mattered. If there was a cat in the vicinity, I wanted it. All these years later, nothing has really changed. You should see my house. Yes, I guess you could call it a cathouse, in a way. I have cat pictures, figurines, potholders, magnets, wall decorations, you name it. There’s a cat calendar on the wall in the dental office where I work. Lucky for me, my boss is a cat person, too. I even have some stuffed animals around my house that are cats. Okay, more than some. A lot. My husband gets me stuffed cats instead of flowers for my birthday and anniversary. Hey, at least the stuffed animals won’t be wilted in three or four days! So you see, cats truly are my passion.

We have two fat, spoiled cats, Maxwell and Roxy, who live with us inside. They sit on our laps when we read or are using our computers. They follow us around. Everywhere. It can be a tiny bit disconcerting to step out of the shower and have both cats sitting there, staring. It makes me a little self-conscious wondering what they think of me. A couple of times, I’d even swear they giggled. Now that sure makes a girl rethink her diet.

Several wild ones live in our shed. I put out food for them, and often set a live-trap to catch them. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve hauled into the vet’s office to be neutered or spayed. We live out in the country, and people find it amusing to dump their cats and kittens here. My husband thinks people have just heard about the crazy cat lady at the end of the road, and dump them by her shed. Well, yeah, okay.

My newest book release, “Better Than Catnip” is about a woman who runs a stray cat shelter. Hmmm. I’m sensing a theme here. She cares for, feeds, live-traps, and has neutered any and all cats who cross her path. This story is also a romance. Roxy, the heroine, meets Max, the hero. (Yes, they’re named after my cats. I just couldn’t resist!) Max’s son Derek must work at the shelter for community service after he gets in a fight at school. The main problem? Derek is terrified of cats.

Max and Roxy try to get to know each other better, but it’s hard when the man’s son is deathly afraid of anything feline, you know? How will they resolve their problem? Will they be able to help Derek over his fear, so they can be together?

Check out “Better Than Catnip” to answer those questions.