CWA Blog Post – Who Are the Cat Writers’ Association: Allison Hunter-Frederick

by Mollie Hunt

Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? is a series of interviews with CWA members, but not your usual who, what, and where discussion. I like to ask a different set of questions and am always amazed by the answers. I hope you are, too.

Our guest today on Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? is Allison Hunter-Frederick. Allison is a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and Trainer. She is also a mother of three furkids and several revolving foster cats, host mom to international exchange students, and the wife of a supportive husband.

Part 1:

About My Craft:

Ever since I can remember, I have been writing and have wanted to be a novelist. I used to carry around notebooks where I wrote stories. I wish I still had them! In elementary school, I contributed stories to our school’s newspaper and wrote fanfiction before I knew what that was. I also entered all kinds of story-writing contests, even when I had no chance to win. 

In junior high, I added poems and essays to my writing output and wrote my first unpublished novel. My writing output at the time was influenced by Lucy Maud Montgomery. All of this was fun. I never really looked at any submission guidelines. 

That changed in my twenties when I became serious about wanting to be published. A few of my articles were published but none of my stories, so I stopped writing for a while. In my thirties I tried again, and I had a few fantasy stories published. Then, for eight years, I wrote reviews of children’s books before writing my second unpublished novel. 

I found my true calling in writing when I began to write about animals. I maintained a pet blog for a while, and I still write articles for various local and online national pet publications. Writing is how I express myself and share my knowledge.

How cats inspire my creativity:

Cats inspire what I write and who I am. While researching articles, I realized that behavior was a top reason cats were surrendered to shelters, so I started a cat behavior consulting business. As part of my business, I prepare handouts for my clients and cat care handbooks for our local shelter. 

On a personal level, I keep daily notebooks about the lives of my cats. If I’m ever feeling down or stuck for words, a person just has to ask me about cats, and then I won’t shut up! 

Cats also encourage me to take breaks. They’ll walk over my keyboard to tell me it’s time to stop working, or they’ll curl up in my lap to tell me that rest is good for the soul. Once I’ve taken a break, I feel re-energized and ready to advocate again for cats through my business and my writing.

What I Enjoy About Belonging to CWA:

My favorite part about belonging to the CWA is being part of a group of fellow cat writers. I enjoy seeing their news, questions, and posts. I also like how members support one another through their ups and downs. Members celebrate each other when they’re published but also express condolences during times of loss. One day I hope to chat with members on the CWA Zoom Chats!

Part 2:

Mollie: Did you grow up with cats?

Allison: I grew up with dogs. Gasp! My earliest memories of cats are that they were standoffish and prone to bite if I petted them for too long. Oh, the advice I could now give my younger self!

Mollie: When did you get your first cat?

Allison: I’m glad you asked! In 2006, a stray cat showed up in the yard of my rental house and changed my life. My future husband had allergies, so we planned for me to feed her outside in my garage. We also took her around to local vets and shelters to see if anyone owned her. No one claimed her. 

As winter approached, we decided to bring her inside but to restrict her to one room of the house. Over the year that followed, my future husband washed his hands faithfully but didn’t show signs of allergies. We decided to allow the cat to have the run of the house. Before this, however, I told her that she had to be nice to my guinea pigs and to my future husband’s dog.

She agreed, and soon Lucy became my best friend. She shadowed me everywhere in my rental house and stayed up to comfort me during storms. She also saw me through many changes in my life, including marriage, a move to a new town, and a switch in jobs. I believe that she was my angel cat, sent to me by God, and that’s why my future husband stopped having allergies around her.

When I lost her in 2015 to chronic kidney failure, I couldn’t imagine my life without cats. I began volunteering in animal shelters, writing about cats, and fostering kittens (and sometimes their mothers). I even started a business to help cat owners with behavior issues. Everything I do now for cats is because of her!

Mollie: If you were a cat, what would you be like?

Allison: One of the reasons I like cats is that their personalities fit my lifestyle. Cats are a mix of independent and dependent. Similarly, there are times when I want to do my own thing, and there are times when I want to be with others. 

Cats are also a mix of active and restful. Similarly, there are times when I’m busy, busy, busy, but I also like to relax. I don’t think any of this would change if I were a cat.

Mollie: Do your cats get along with each other?

Allison: Yes and no. Once upon a time, our three cats got along. Occasionally, our youngest would play too hard with our oldest cat, and the two would squabble. Other times, they disagreed over who should have a certain resource. For the most part, though, they all got along. 

Unfortunately, a few years ago our oldest had to spend a few days at the vet and then a few days on bed rest in a room by herself. This didn’t sit well with our youngest, who didn’t recognize her afterward because of all the strange smells. In addition, when we reintroduced our cats, the health of our oldest wasn’t up to par. All of these issues caused a rift between our cats that we’re still trying to resolve. 

In the middle of all this, we fostered an adult cat who took a shine to our youngest. The two of them now tolerate each other, and we think they might one day become friends!

Please give us the names and short descriptions of your cats.

* CINDER: We adopted Cinder from a nearby animal shelter when she was one year old. Cinder was at a shelter that would take in pets that needed temporary housing due to a domestic abuse situation. After a year, Cinder’s owner had not reclaimed her, and she became available for adoption.

Cinder hasn’t had an easy life. She lost all of her teeth due to stomatitis, two years ago she was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disorder, and this spring she was diagnosed with pancreatitis.

Cinder loves to “hunt” her favorite plush mice, “eat” grass outside (she can’t actually eat it since she has no teeth), and she loves her friend Bootsie.

* BOOTSIE: We adopted Bootsie at age three from our local community cats program. She took time to adjust to a home and to our cat Cinder. Now the two are a bonded pair. Although Bootsie remains skittish and doesn’t like to be picked up, she loves her lap time. She enjoys training, treats, and her friend Cinder. I’m training her to accept medication.

* RAINY: We adopted Rainy as a kitten. We intended just to foster her, but she fit in well with our other pets and was super cute. To meet her energy needs, I trained her to do agility and as a certified therapy cat. Rainy liked our toy poodle, whom we lost at the age of seventeen, and would share peanut butter with him on a spoon. She still loves agility and cat therapy, along with treats and laps.

* HALLOW: We fostered Hallow at age two. She had been returned to the shelter twice for being too shy, and our mission was to socialize. We had recently helped socialize a feral cat within a few months using treats, so we naively thought we could achieve the same results even quicker with Hallow. The problem was that Hallow wasn’t interested in treats. I finally won her over with toys. By then, she and my youngest had become intrigued with one another. Long story short, she’s our long-term foster!

You can find Allison Hunter-Frederick on her website, Allison Helps Cats.

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