Dorchester's celebrity cat Susie to star in new book

Members of learning disability charity People’s First Dorset - Kerry Martin, William Parmiter and Emily Burr- all from Dorchester, have written a picture book about the county town's beloved feline.

Susie has become a popular feline figure in the town for almost a year, going as she pleases into shops on Trinity Street and South Street, whilst capturing the imagination of others.

Susie the cat has become a celebrity in Dorchester (Image: Karen King)

The group teamed up with local artist the Raggy Rat, also known as Catherine Owen, who has provided the illustrations for the book, titled; Not Lost, Susie the Dorchester cat. She has created postcards of Susie which has helped raise money for Feral Cat Care.

Money raised from the book will go back into supporting the charity, which has confessed it has had a ‘difficult year’ financially.

• READ MORE: The Dorchester cat: Song written for Susie the cat

The group of authors discussing the book (Image: Raggy Rat) Laura Kerr, manager of People’s First, has been providing support for the budding authors through the charity and said that the idea came about in December when Susie ended up on the doorstep of her top floor flat in a secure apartment block in Dorchester.

She said: “I called the vet and when I said her name was Susie, the vet replied ‘you have Susie’ and then I did some research and saw she had a Facebook page.

“We met to do a column for the Echo the next day, and it was the big topic of conversation so we wrote about it and thought could we write a book.”

William, Emily and Kerry signing the contract with illustrator Catherine Owen (Image: Raggy Rat) The team of authors say they have overcome a number of their own personal barriers to get the project under way, from creating their first Whatsapp groups for discussing ideas to the creative process that goes into the manufacturing of a book.

William, who has been writing with People’s First for the past 10 years, said: “There’s been a lot of preparation and a lot of meetings."

• READ MORE: Our View column: People First Dorset and Susie

Kerry, who has been writing with People’s First for the last five years, said: “We’re happy and proud to be part of this, and it’s given us the confidence to do more.

“People have been recognising us from this already. We are people and not just people who have a learning disability- we can write a book too.”

Kerry said that writing a weekly column for the Echo as part of the People’s First team has given them the confidence to complete the project. She said: “Completing our column gave us the confidence to write, and then we met Cat who had the skills in illustrating.”

Kerry, William and Emily of People's First Dorset (Image: People's First Dorset) When asked what advice Kerry would give to people with a learning disability who are looking take on a mammoth challenge such as writing a book, she said: “Try, try, even if you’re scared, keep speaking up, talking, and give it a try. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

William echoed these sentiments, saying: “Give it a try because you never know what you can do, until you do it.”

• READ MORE: Dorchester: Feral Cat Care thank Raggy Rat for Suzy postcard

Asked what their favourite thing about Susie is, Kerry said: “She goes everywhere and seeing her just sets you up for the day.” William added: “She never fails to surprise and goes into different shops everyday.”

Book illustrator Raggy Rat (Image: Raggy Rat) Illustrator Catherine, said: “I don’t think this book would have been as sweet or as meaningful without People First, the group has been amazing and I consider them all friends.

“We’re hoping that the book will appeal to everyone, not just children. In the book there is information on the charities, what to do if you find a cat and a bit about the creators. We wanted the book to be accessible with learning disabilities in mind.

“One of the most enjoyable parts was going out with the group in Dorchester to take photos of the town."

 Susie’s owner, Jenny Graves, commented: “I think it is amazing. It makes me proud to live in Dorchester. It is lovely that Susie has helped facilitate this amazing community project.”

The book is available for pre-order from £9.99 at www.raggyrat.com and will be published by independent publishers, Blue Poppy Publishing.