She rushed him to a vet and was told that the cost to fix his legs was RM6,000. Thanks to crowdfunding, William was able to undergo the surgery to insert steel metal plates into his bones so he could walk again.
According to Sherrina, William now lives like a prince with a British family who dotes on him. And this adorable orange tabby graces the first of many pages of her recently published desktop book called 258 Cat Inspirations.
FMT recently caught up with Sherrina, 50, who is also the owner of a video production house, to talk about this desktop book and the NGO she founded years ago called Pet Adoption Network Malaysia.
She tells FMT that the book honours the cats her NGO has rescued through the years as well as acknowledges all the people who selflessly donated so rescue work and neutering could be carried out.
“People are always donating money to us because they know we struggle financially in order to neuter and spay the cats we rescue. One of the things I dislike about rescue work though, is asking people for money,” Sherrina says.
She confesses that she originally wanted to limit the number of cat dedications in the desktop book to 101 but got caught up with the project and went all the way to 258 instead.
“I wanted to produce 365 cat inspirations actually,” she chuckles, but says she had no choice but to cap it off at 258 due to printing costs.
To finance the project, Sherrina dipped into her EPF savings. The rest of the cost was contributed by well-meaning friends who genuinely wanted to see her dream come to fruition.
“I wanted the money to go towards something significant and that book was the perfect purpose,” she says, adding that she had also planned another desktop book called 101 Dog Inspirations that had to be put on the back burner due to lack of funds.
“90% of the cats in the book are local rescued cats who have been re-homed. The other 10% are pure breed kitties whose photographs were sent to us.”
She said taking photographs of cats was a painstaking process as they aren’t the type to willingly pose for the camera. “You just have to sit quietly and wait with your camera on,” she added.
Each leaf of the desktop book features the photograph of one cat, its name, its owner’s name and at the base, an inspirational quote.
There are also quotes from prominent Malaysian figures such as human right advocates, Marina Mahathir and Ambiga Sreenevasan, the late novelist, KS Maniam, and the late film director, Yasmin Ahmad.
The book was released to the public on Dec 16, Sherrina says, gushing about how well received it was.
“We had a 65-year-old lady purchase the book and within an hour, she texted me saying how she was in the office but had not put the book down because it made her smile from ear to ear.”
Another person who tested positive for Covid-19, grabbed the book to read when in quarantine. “She told us it was the adorable pictures of the cats that helped pull her through those 14 days in quarantine.”
One of the more memorable rescues in the desktop book, Sherrina recalls, is Muppy Colvin, a stray kitty she found covered in filth.
Muppy was given a warm and loving home by Kylie and Ben Colvin. “They were driving each other absolutely crazy during the pandemic,” Sherrina says, adding that Muppy helped soften things up and filled the home with so much joy despite Kylie being allergic to cats.
Even Sherrina’s very own sweetheart, Mystycat is featured in the book. Mystycat was rescued 20 years ago in Bangsar. The handsome feline battled feline leukaemia for eight long years and eventually succumbed to old age in 2020.
“He was my soulmate and my rock, especially when I first got involved in rescue work,” she recalls.
Sherrina hopes the book filled with cheeky cat photos that she has been gathering through the years and motivational quotes will touch the hearts of more people as she feels many can benefit from it, from little kids as reading material to ageing parents to bring a smile to their faces.
You can purchase your very own copy of 258 Cat Inspirations on Shopee here at just RM39.90.