A true friend to animals

I've been truly blessed to have met some compassionate animal lovers recently since writing about my son's cat Piggy. Many people have such great stories to share of their pet rescue tales. In keeping with inspirational stories on my blog, I'd like to introduce author and animal lover Kristen Mott and her two furry feline companions. Listen as they tell us something in their own words.

ODIE

My name is Odie, I’m an orange and white boy cat and I live on a small farm with my best friend Bandit, two horses, our girl, and her family. 

One cold winter night when I was just a tiny kitten, I lost my family. I was scared and alone and I happened to find a horse barn. I snuck in and fell asleep in a pile of hay. The next morning, my girl and Bandit found me and I knew that I had a forever home. I always thought that my girl saved me from life as a stray, but she tells me that I’m the one who saved her. I inspired her to follow her dream of writing and publishing children’s books. After all, the name Odie means inspiration. 

My favorite activities include climbing trees, pouncing on grasshoppers, and hunting in tall grass. I also like to take naps on the porch with Bandit. My girl says that I am always finding trouble, but I’m not really sure what that means. I’m just so happy to have a forever home with my girl and my animal friends.You can read my story in my girl’s first book Odie the Stray Kitten.  

BANDIT 

Hi, I’m Bandit. I’m sure that Odie already told you a little about me and where I live. Odie is much younger than I am, but we are still best friends. I have lived on this farm for a long time, even before our girl lived here. 

I have lived a tough life. I was once a loved house cat but have also suffered through life in an animal shelter and as a stray before finding my forever home here on the farm. My experiences have left me with some scars and made me wise beyond my years, and I know that I will never leave this farm. I have a forever home here with my girl and my best friend Odie. 

My favorite activities include eating, hunting for rodents, eating, protecting my barn from intruders, sleeping on the porch, and eating. Odie and I wait on the porch for our girl every morning. We walk down to the barn and she feeds us breakfast. Then we start the day’s adventures. You can read all about my life in my girl’s second book Odie’s Best Friend. That’s the title because that’s exactly what I am. 

OUR GIRL 

I’m Kristen Mott, children’s book author, wife, mother, animal caretaker and animal welfare advocate. I believe that children’s books are the only genre that can be enjoyed for multiple lifetimes. You enjoy these books as a child, then inevitably come back to the same stories and read them to your own children years later. 

I’m very proud of the work that I have done with the first two books in the Odie the Stray Kitten Series. Odie the Stray Kitten received the 2014 Children’s Literary Classics’ Seal of Approval, it won a 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Award as well as a 2014 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention. Odie’s Best Friend was just released this year and has received multiple five star reviews. The third and final book in the series should be available in 2015. 

I am the girl in my stories, though I never mention myself by name. I live on the farm where I care for my family, our horses, and of course, Odie and Bandit. The animals inspire me. I feel that they often write the stories for me, I just edit them for children. I strive for my writing to encourage children to read, to write their own stories, and to have compassion for animals. 

Odie the Stray Kitten and Odie's Best Friend are both available on Amazon.com and other online retailers. They are also available in all ebook formats. Keep up with my books and events on my author website (www.kristenmott.com), my blog (www.animalstoriesforchildren.blogspot.com) or connect with me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/odiethestraykitten).