Nine Lives at a Time

When bookstore owner Wendy Welch was swept into the world of cat rescue, she found friends and felines in unusual places. The rescue operation coalesced within a rural Appalachian county that faced challenges in financial support and substance misuse. A plucky band of volunteers founded a nonprofit by thinking outside the box--while scooping inside the boxes.

Appalachian Feline Friends associates soon found themselves learning to spell and treat coccidia; encountering members of the public who had great expectations; bottle-feeding orphaned infants; and figuring out how 300 cats per year could be spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and adopted. The antics and adventures of well-meaning, untrained do-gooders are by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. Cat lover or people watcher, these stories showcase human nature's finest moments.