A Union County man has written a children’s book about a beloved stray cat that lives at the Carteret Marina.

The cat has been lovingly named “Marina Cat” because of where she lives. People have tried to take her in over the year – they gave her shots and got her fixed. But she shopped eating and rejected life as a house cat.

Carteret resident Jason Van Woeart had a summer job as a dock attendant when he noticed Marina Cat hanging around.

“And now she has tons of human friends who feed her. I’m one of them,” Van Woeart says.

Woeart says that he soon noticed other animals coming to eat the cat food that he put out – raccoons, rabbits, possums, foxes and birds. And at a time when people seem to be so divided, Marina Cat's laid-back accepting attitude about having her food stolen inspired Van Woert to write a children's book about her, which was just released this month. It is titled “The Adventures of Marina Cat – Who Ate My Food?”

“It's all these different animals, so it would also teach children to share and it would also give me an opportunity to reflect on the town I live in and how diverse we are, and how it's important to accept people and that inclusion and that sharing is important,” Van Woeart says. “I just felt like it was something the world needed. Especially right now.”

Woeart says that he will donate 25% of the proceeds from the book sales to animal charities. The book can be found on Amazon.com.