Cat Boy by Eric Walters (Red Cedar Club 2012)

Taylor and his new friend, Simon, were taking a short cut home across a junkyard when they came upon a colony of feral cats. While they were watching the group, three bullies arrived and began throwing rocks at the cats. Taylor tried to intervene and stop them, only to have the bullies focus their attention and rocks on the two friends. Luckily, Mr. Singh, the security guard, interrupted the altercation. It turned out that Mr. Singh was a cat lover. As they fed the cats bits of their leftover lunches, Taylor and Mr. Singh became friends. Eventually more of Taylor’s classmates became involved in feeding the cats.

Simon developed a bond with a cat he named Hunter. When Hunter got injured, Simon called upon a veterinarian who was part of a group taking care of feral cats. Simon and Hunter’s relationship deepened when Hunter, trapped in a cage, had to stay with Simon for a few days until his foot healed and the infection cleared up.  
Eventually Simon returned Hunter to the colony and it seemed like their lives had returned to normal.

Then one day, everything changed. Mr. Singh informed them that the yard had been sold, and the new owners had already begun clearing out the yard. He warned them that as soon as the cats were discovered the new owner would destroy them.

Taylor had two weeks to come up with a solution to save the cats.

This was a good book. I was engaged in the story right away and admit to having the odd tear in my eye as I too got caught up in the need to save the cats. I liked that the cultural demographics of Simon’s school and neighborhood is reminiscent of the multicultural community where I live and teach.

I finished this book wondering if there are any feral cat colonies around Vancouver, and if there are, where they might be found.