We asked Candy McMudd what inspired her to write her children’s novel Throw Away Kitten. Here’s what she had to say.

I live in the country, but I never knew how many pet owners did the unthinkable: abandon boxes of kittens, puppies and kits (short for kittens, which is what baby rabbits are called) on the side of rural roads. That is, I didn’t know until I found a ‘lost’ kitten that had probably been dumped by its owner and told a friend about it.

She was surprised it was my first one. She’s had many boxes of baby animals dropped off near her driveway over the years. She said, “We own a farm. People think we want them. They think we can easily take care of them.”

A farm always has a few barn cats, but they don’t need more. They certainly don’t need boxes of rabbits and puppies.

If I didn’t know this was happening and I lived in the country, I was certain many others didn’t know either, so Throw Away Kitten was born. It can be read to young children and read by children with a grade one reading level. It has a happy ending, and I hope it inspires children to take responsibility for their pets, so generations to come will not abandon these animals on roadsides.