August Rescued Spotlight: Tuffy

Meows from Mudpie!

Over the last several months Mommy and Truffles have been telling you about Rescued: The Stories of 12 Cats, Through Their Eyes, an anthology of rescue cat stories compiled by Janiss Garza, who writes the Sparkle Cat blog. Each author featured in the book has nominated a cat rescue and was assigned a month to promote the book, with a third of the profits from that month going to their rescue.

August's spotlight is Tuffy, the muse for a series of cozy mysteries and star of his very own Facebook page. Mommy conducted our interview with Tuffy, but starting next month I'll be taking over! (Now I need to get Mommy to read all of the pawsome Rescued stories to me!)

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Melissa: Welcome Tuffy! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today! Could you start by introducing us to yourself and telling us what made your story such a good fit for the Rescued anthology?

Tuffy: Hi Melissa! And thanks so much for inviting me on. I was so sad to hear about Truffles. Please know we’re all thinking of you.

Hello readers! I’m Tuffy, a Maine coon cat. (Aren’t I handsome?) I live in Connecticut but have dreams of moving somewhere without snow. I was a stray who was hanging around the backyard of the empty house my humans eventually moved into. I really liked them right fro the start, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to move in completely and give up my freedom. These humans don’t like for cats to go outside, so it was a big decision for me! But, like all things in life, the universe has a way of helping you figure things out. A series of unfortunate events led me straight into the house eventually, and there I’ve been since 2008. You can read all about it in Rescued. It’s not been so bad, though. I always have my favorite kind of food, and along with having my own story in Rescued, I’m the cat muse for the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries about gourmet pet food. My alter ego, Nutty, is the original animal character in the books. It’s a pretty cool gig, even though I’m a bit reclusive and don’t go to signings. I have a stamp with my paw, though, that the human uses in lieu of my signature.

A key part of your story is your relationship with a cat named Lion. Please tell us about him and how he helped you.

Lion was the coolest cat on the block. My block, anyway. He was a gorgeous, long-haired buff guy who ruled the neighborhood. We hung out together for a long time—he was my partner in crime. Lion was feral, and he knew his way around the “mean streets.” He showed me the best places to hide from predators, the coolest trees to climb, the warmest porches to live under. He actually found my humans’ house first and checked it out, then had me come over when he gave his blessing. Unfortunately, when I went inside to live, Lion didn’t want to come. He’d been feral for too long, and even though he loved the humans and sometimes came over for a pet, he had no desire to be a house cat. But it was okay—he lived on his own terms. Lion will always be my best friend.

You have quite a fan base now as the star of your very own cozy mystery series! Give us the dish about your pawesome books!!!

I’m so glad you like the books! As I mentioned, my alter ego is Nutty. He’s a Maine coon (of course) and we share many of the same personality traits. In the book, Nutty is the genesis for the main character’s foray into the gourmet pet food business. Stan Connor, a corporate PR executive forced into very early retirement, rescued him and found out he had irritable bowel disease. She ended up making all his food, and then when she lost her job and moved to Frog Ledge, discovered that other cats and dogs were crazy for her concoctions too. And a business was born! We are currently working on the fifth book in the series, as-yet-unnamed. Murder Most Finicky, the fourth book, will be out in late December of this year. You can check out my fan page on Facebook, as well as Liz’s author page here:

The rescue you've chosen to receive your proceeds from the book this month is Friends of Feral Cheshire Cats. What important work do they do for homeless cats?

Friends of Feral Cheshire Cats (http://www.feralct.org/home.html)
is an organization near and dear to my own heart, since they take care of cats like Lion who aren’t lucky enough to have their own full-time humans. Kerry Bartoletti and the other ladies who run the group are dedicated and fabulous. Their main purpose is to administer a TNR (trap-neuter-return) program for cats in their area, by helping people humanely trap and vet feral cats. They also run a foster program for any friendly cats or kittens they come across in feral colonies or elsewhere. We love them!

What's life like for you today?

My life is pretty pawesome today, I must say. I have a certain image to keep up so I have to retain some level of indifference, but let’s be honest—I made a good choice. I have a nice house to live in with my own sunroom, a beautiful yard to observe from my many perches, birds to watch, cat and dog friends to play with, and humans who feed and hug me. Again, I can’t always admit how much I like the hugs, but I do! Shh, don’t tell….

And of course, it’s pretty darn cool to be a book star and to have my own story! I would say I’m a blessed kitty.

What would you like humans to learn from your story and what do you want your lasting legacy to be?

I would love it if more humans stopped to notice all the cats in need, especially the ferals. There are probably some in your neighborhood, and they could use food and water and some shelter. The rescuers and feeders simply can’t be in that many places at once, and it keeps them up at night to think of poor innocent cats out there with nothing to eat. So if you see a colony, or know of one, make a pledge to feed them. If you can’t do that, make a donation (money or food) to a rescue who does. Any small gesture is appreciated. C’mon, do it for Lion! Thanks, Tuffy

Photos courtesy of Liz Mugavero