WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:23.760
<v Speaker 1>This is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk pets.

2
00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:27.160
<v Speaker 2>Hello, feline friends, Welcome to Katatude. I'm your show host,

3
00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:30.960
<v Speaker 2>Michelle Burn and today I have an amazing author who's

4
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.880
<v Speaker 2>going to share her book with us, and I am

5
00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:36.920
<v Speaker 2>just very excited to have her on. It's a memoir

6
00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.200
<v Speaker 2>and I think all of us with cats can relate

7
00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:41.920
<v Speaker 2>to this book. We'll be right back.

8
00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:47.840
<v Speaker 3>Cats may have nine lives, but what if we could

9
00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:50.880
<v Speaker 3>give them one more? That's the mission behind that Give

10
00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:55.320
<v Speaker 3>Them Ten movement from spee and neuter to adoption, fostering

11
00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:59.359
<v Speaker 3>and helping community cats thrive. Give Them Ten is working

12
00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.640
<v Speaker 3>to give cat the chance at at healthier future. Together

13
00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.519
<v Speaker 3>we can help give cats the life they deserve. Learn more.

14
00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:11.799
<v Speaker 3>Meet Scooter the Neoter Cat, and join the movement at

15
00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:13.719
<v Speaker 3>Give Them ten dot org.

16
00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:30.879
<v Speaker 4>Let's talk pets on Petlifradio dot com.

17
00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.480
<v Speaker 2>Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Louise Watts. She

18
00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:38.640
<v Speaker 2>is the author of Slow Blink, a memoir. Louise, welcome

19
00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:39.400
<v Speaker 2>the cautitude.

20
00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.040
<v Speaker 5>Thanks so much, Michelle. That was a lovely introduction.

21
00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.640
<v Speaker 2>Well, it's lovely to have you. I love your accent,

22
00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:48.799
<v Speaker 2>so you're worldly. So we were talking a bit before

23
00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.239
<v Speaker 2>the show, you're Australian, you're based in Portugal, you've lived

24
00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.599
<v Speaker 2>in the US. Do you find cats different in places

25
00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:57.519
<v Speaker 2>you've lived or they're pretty much all the same.

26
00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.760
<v Speaker 5>You know, here in Portugal, well, particularly Lisbon where I live,

27
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:06.319
<v Speaker 5>you never see them on the streets. They're indoors. And

28
00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:08.960
<v Speaker 5>probably the reason they're not on the streets so because

29
00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.840
<v Speaker 5>the streets are crazy, the traffic is crazy, the streets

30
00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:16.400
<v Speaker 5>are tiny and windy and cobblestones, so you know, presumably

31
00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:20.159
<v Speaker 5>people keep them indoors because they're safest. Whereas in the US,

32
00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:23.560
<v Speaker 5>of course they lived in Colorado, cats were indoor, outdoor

33
00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:28.919
<v Speaker 5>in the winter, mostly indoor. In Australia it's quite different

34
00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:36.719
<v Speaker 5>now because cats have decimated our bird life and Australians

35
00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:40.759
<v Speaker 5>are very into their environment now wildlife and now flora

36
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:45.159
<v Speaker 5>and faunath So there are rules now about keeping your

37
00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:48.280
<v Speaker 5>cats indoors, and if they're outdoors, they need to wear

38
00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.520
<v Speaker 5>a bell around their neck so that they alert the

39
00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:55.159
<v Speaker 5>birds that they're coming, which you know, I think I

40
00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:55.919
<v Speaker 5>think is a good thing.

41
00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:59.520
<v Speaker 2>You need to love that a goosebumps didn't know Australia

42
00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:04.199
<v Speaker 2>are so just did something. I think they stopped declining

43
00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.919
<v Speaker 2>nationwide or they did something nationwide, but I can't recall

44
00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:08.520
<v Speaker 2>what it is.

45
00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.759
<v Speaker 5>You mean regarding cats.

46
00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:12.520
<v Speaker 2>Yes, you know, I don't know.

47
00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.599
<v Speaker 5>Michelle, but the one thing I'm very aware of is

48
00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:19.319
<v Speaker 5>the bells around next and the preference is that you

49
00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:20.639
<v Speaker 5>keep your cats in doors.

50
00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:23.960
<v Speaker 2>I agree. I agree. I live in a warm climate

51
00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:26.919
<v Speaker 2>and my cats are indoors. They have a cadio, but

52
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.800
<v Speaker 2>they could decide if they want to go in or out.

53
00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:33.319
<v Speaker 2>In some areas that's more rural, yeah, they could be outside.

54
00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:37.400
<v Speaker 2>But mostly I say keep them indoors. Okay, Yeah, so

55
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.360
<v Speaker 2>let's talk about slow blink. Okay, first, I'm so curious

56
00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:48.400
<v Speaker 2>what made you decide to write the memoir? What inspired you?

57
00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:51.879
<v Speaker 5>It sat with me for thirty five years, this story

58
00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:55.560
<v Speaker 5>because it happened when I was probably around thirty I'm

59
00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:59.039
<v Speaker 5>sixty six now, when I was nearly married, living in

60
00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:04.879
<v Speaker 5>Boulder and color and this stray cat lived on the

61
00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:09.319
<v Speaker 5>premises of the townhouse complex where we lived. And the

62
00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:12.000
<v Speaker 5>story really happened over the course of about a year,

63
00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:17.360
<v Speaker 5>and it was quite extraordinary for me. And I'll fast

64
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:22.600
<v Speaker 5>forward and say that it was quite magical, mystical, otherworldly.

65
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:25.920
<v Speaker 5>Several of the experiences I had with this, with this

66
00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:31.079
<v Speaker 5>feral cat, so much so that when I shared some

67
00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:34.879
<v Speaker 5>of the things that had happened, people didn't believe me.

68
00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:39.279
<v Speaker 5>And when people don't believe you about mystical experiences that

69
00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:41.920
<v Speaker 5>you have, you tend to sort of shut down or

70
00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.639
<v Speaker 5>keep quiet about it, particularly back then that was nineteen

71
00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:49.800
<v Speaker 5>the late eighties, I think the late eighties, and as

72
00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.000
<v Speaker 5>a young person, as a thirty year old, perhaps I

73
00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.839
<v Speaker 5>still didn't have the kind of all the voice that

74
00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:58.720
<v Speaker 5>I have now, and so I just shuddered away. I

75
00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:01.800
<v Speaker 5>put the story away, the whole experience away. I did

76
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:06.040
<v Speaker 5>actually initially write it on little Q cards, because that's

77
00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.240
<v Speaker 5>sort of what you did in those days as a writer.

78
00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.480
<v Speaker 5>If you had ideas, you journaled them or you put

79
00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.600
<v Speaker 5>them on que cards. And I kept those que cards

80
00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.759
<v Speaker 5>for years, even moving countries, and then finally at some

81
00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:21.240
<v Speaker 5>point I let them go. I let those que cards go,

82
00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:27.120
<v Speaker 5>but the story never left me. And I moved apartments

83
00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.759
<v Speaker 5>two and a half years ago. I used to live

84
00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:32.279
<v Speaker 5>out on the coast, and I decided, well, I'm going

85
00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:35.879
<v Speaker 5>to move into Lisbon and have a city experience. And

86
00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.360
<v Speaker 5>when I did that, I wasn't particularly comfortable in the

87
00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.800
<v Speaker 5>apartment in which I moved to. So I thought, I

88
00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.519
<v Speaker 5>really have to get into a creative project. I've got

89
00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:48.839
<v Speaker 5>to do some writing because that's what I tend to do.

90
00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:53.720
<v Speaker 5>And the story came back to me. And as happens,

91
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:59.639
<v Speaker 5>I think sometimes just synchronous events occur and you feel compelled,

92
00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:03.879
<v Speaker 5>you pull off and experience perhaps that you put away

93
00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:08.279
<v Speaker 5>and do something with it. And that's what happened. Was

94
00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:12.920
<v Speaker 5>actually a movie I saw. It was the twenty twenty

95
00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:18.199
<v Speaker 5>five animated movie that won the Academy Award called Flow,

96
00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:22.959
<v Speaker 5>and it was about a black cat that goes through

97
00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:28.560
<v Speaker 5>some pretty harrowing experiences and because of its cross species

98
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:34.480
<v Speaker 5>connections with other animals, it manages to survive a cataclysm.

99
00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:39.160
<v Speaker 5>And it was almost like I was seeing Archie, this

100
00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:42.360
<v Speaker 5>stray cat that had come into my life thirty five

101
00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.480
<v Speaker 5>years ago, on the big screen. And so that was

102
00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.519
<v Speaker 5>the synchronous event. Yeah. I came out of the movie

103
00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:52.000
<v Speaker 5>theater thinking it's time to write the story. So I

104
00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.199
<v Speaker 5>just sat down and I wrote it in about six months.

105
00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.920
<v Speaker 2>That is quite a story about your story. Wow. Yeah,

106
00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.079
<v Speaker 2>I think times have changed. I don't know if times

107
00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:04.360
<v Speaker 2>have changed. I'm one of these people that I think

108
00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:08.480
<v Speaker 2>things happen sometimes that are unexplainable and coming from I

109
00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.600
<v Speaker 2>have my definitely have my left brain experience because I

110
00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:16.439
<v Speaker 2>have two business degrees, so you am. You know, in

111
00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.480
<v Speaker 2>grad school we actually had a class about a shaman

112
00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:24.079
<v Speaker 2>and crystals because you need to sometimes think differently than

113
00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.399
<v Speaker 2>you do. You know, you have to think open your mind,

114
00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:30.319
<v Speaker 2>and I think that's one thing cats do to us.

115
00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.959
<v Speaker 2>They make us open our mind. We don't have a choice.

116
00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.560
<v Speaker 2>With dogs, you don't have to be I don't think

117
00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:38.000
<v Speaker 2>and I'm a dog person too, I'm both. But you know,

118
00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:41.160
<v Speaker 2>dogs friendly pet on the nothing's gonna happen. Cats you

119
00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:45.000
<v Speaker 2>have to know them, yes, have that understanding with them.

120
00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:48.360
<v Speaker 2>You have to get them. Tell us about the straight

121
00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.959
<v Speaker 2>black cat that is the hero of the story.

122
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.800
<v Speaker 5>Okay, Well, as I said, he appeared in the town

123
00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:59.480
<v Speaker 5>home complex where my husband and I lived, and he

124
00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.439
<v Speaker 5>was probably about two years old at this point. He

125
00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:06.639
<v Speaker 5>was in pretty good condition. He was living out of

126
00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:10.560
<v Speaker 5>the dumpster. Boss him and when I would come home

127
00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.959
<v Speaker 5>from work, I would approach her and approach him. He

128
00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:17.279
<v Speaker 5>wasn't He was very skittish, so he would sort of

129
00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:21.240
<v Speaker 5>run off, but I would always just say Hi kitty,

130
00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:25.279
<v Speaker 5>and I was always curious about where he was from.

131
00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:30.120
<v Speaker 5>Perhaps he lived close by, but increasingly I was aware

132
00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:34.440
<v Speaker 5>that he was always around the dumpster in the town

133
00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:38.480
<v Speaker 5>home complex. But there was a day when I was

134
00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:43.360
<v Speaker 5>upstairs working from home, and we had a balcony that

135
00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:48.399
<v Speaker 5>was abutting the upstairs one of the upstairs bedrooms, and

136
00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:52.480
<v Speaker 5>I was just at my desk, working away, and suddenly

137
00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:56.799
<v Speaker 5>there he was staring at me through the sliding glass door,

138
00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:00.080
<v Speaker 5>and I stared back at him, and we had this

139
00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:04.960
<v Speaker 5>moment where I realized he was just as curious about

140
00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.480
<v Speaker 5>me as I was about him. He was watching me,

141
00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:10.879
<v Speaker 5>and you know, I felt that he had sensed where

142
00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.879
<v Speaker 5>I was in the apartment because he had to climb

143
00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.200
<v Speaker 5>an apple tree in our front yard to get up

144
00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:21.000
<v Speaker 5>and jump over the balcony railing to be able to

145
00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:25.120
<v Speaker 5>stare in that glass door. And this was the this

146
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.120
<v Speaker 5>was our first kind of close encounter. So that was

147
00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.399
<v Speaker 5>the beginning. That was the beginning of something.

148
00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.000
<v Speaker 2>Yes, and that's that's unusual for a feral cat. Having

149
00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:40.039
<v Speaker 2>had two very unusual Let's talk about the title. So

150
00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:44.159
<v Speaker 2>the title slow Blink has a special meaning. Can you

151
00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:47.960
<v Speaker 2>share that with our audience? Because not everybody knows about

152
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:49.679
<v Speaker 2>cats and blinking.

153
00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:53.759
<v Speaker 5>Really really well. That's interesting because back then I didn't either.

154
00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.840
<v Speaker 5>Of course, there was no internet, but I was very

155
00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:02.720
<v Speaker 5>aware that this cat would communicate with me lea slow blinks. So,

156
00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:06.639
<v Speaker 5>for instance, I was very chatty with him always in

157
00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:09.919
<v Speaker 5>order to try and you know, filled some kind of

158
00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:13.399
<v Speaker 5>friendship with him. He still wouldn't let me get close,

159
00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:16.039
<v Speaker 5>so I would sort of just talk to him.

160
00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:19.559
<v Speaker 2>Did you know that cats? And I've heard this a

161
00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:21.799
<v Speaker 2>few times, so if I'm wrong, someone will send me

162
00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:25.879
<v Speaker 2>an email. But I've heard numerous places that when cats

163
00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.320
<v Speaker 2>me out, it's not so much for other cats, it's

164
00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:33.039
<v Speaker 2>for the humans. Yes, yes, so when you stay talking

165
00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:35.360
<v Speaker 2>to your cat, I said, yeah, it makes perfect sense,

166
00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.879
<v Speaker 2>because that's how they don't really mew for other cats.

167
00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.440
<v Speaker 2>It's for I mean, maybe in fights or something, but

168
00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:42.960
<v Speaker 2>that'll be more of a yal, But mostly when they're

169
00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.879
<v Speaker 2>mewing or telling us doing something, that's to tell us

170
00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.960
<v Speaker 2>do something for me whatever they're you know, willing to

171
00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:49.879
<v Speaker 2>figure out what they're doing.

172
00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:53.399
<v Speaker 5>Yes, And I've actually since learned. Actually writing the book,

173
00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:56.600
<v Speaker 5>I did a little bit more research about feline communication

174
00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:00.960
<v Speaker 5>and feral cats don't me ow. They don't tend to

175
00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:05.679
<v Speaker 5>me out. They learn it from people. So you know,

176
00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:08.960
<v Speaker 5>once they become more domesticated, if you like, perhaps they're

177
00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:12.159
<v Speaker 5>spending more time with us and we're communicating with them

178
00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.039
<v Speaker 5>and talking. That is one of the ways they begin

179
00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.720
<v Speaker 5>to communicate with us. They meow, and of course they

180
00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:21.720
<v Speaker 5>do tell us in their meowing what it is that

181
00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:25.519
<v Speaker 5>they want. But the slow blink is similar. And again

182
00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.639
<v Speaker 5>I didn't know that this was part of feline communication

183
00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:33.919
<v Speaker 5>back then, but when I would chat away to Archie,

184
00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:37.879
<v Speaker 5>he would perhaps sit and he would just do this

185
00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:40.440
<v Speaker 5>very slow blink was almost as though it was a

186
00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:44.240
<v Speaker 5>blink in slow motion, and it was always so endearing.

187
00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:48.960
<v Speaker 5>It was just so sweet. And I've since learned that

188
00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:57.039
<v Speaker 5>feline behaviorist animal behaviorists understand this slow blinking as the

189
00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:02.000
<v Speaker 5>cat's way or their gesture of showing the trust and love.

190
00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:03.840
<v Speaker 5>So that's just so beautiful.

191
00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:06.120
<v Speaker 2>Yes, I think it is too. When I first found

192
00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:09.919
<v Speaker 2>that out. My most stoic cat is Molly, so I

193
00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:14.519
<v Speaker 2>would look at her and tried doing blinks. Sometimes she

194
00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:16.960
<v Speaker 2>all blink back. It depends on the mood. It's worth

195
00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:19.799
<v Speaker 2>getting better we know each other. After ten years a

196
00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:23.279
<v Speaker 2>little better than we used to. Let's talk about also, now,

197
00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:27.440
<v Speaker 2>this barrel cat is black. I had shows on black cats,

198
00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:31.240
<v Speaker 2>several shows. I've heard about the Black Velvet Club, which

199
00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:33.960
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if that's just for dogs. When I adopted,

200
00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.799
<v Speaker 2>I saw there was a picture of a dog. But

201
00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:38.559
<v Speaker 2>that's for dogs, I believe, and cats, for some reason,

202
00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:41.559
<v Speaker 2>they're not adopted as much. Everyone that I've adopted. All

203
00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:45.759
<v Speaker 2>my dogs were black with markings. And Molly's tuxedo, well

204
00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.519
<v Speaker 2>she adopted us. What do you think is interesting about

205
00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:55.039
<v Speaker 2>this era of mystique or sometimes you know, there's a

206
00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:58.240
<v Speaker 2>lot of superstitions about black cats. Did that, you know,

207
00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.120
<v Speaker 2>deter you or have any Did you have any part

208
00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:04.159
<v Speaker 2>about that when you were, you know, communicating with their

209
00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:04.840
<v Speaker 2>barrel cat?

210
00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:08.159
<v Speaker 5>No, not at all. I thought he was absolutely beautiful

211
00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:13.399
<v Speaker 5>because his coat was just raven black and he had

212
00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:16.399
<v Speaker 5>just exquisite green eyes. There's a picture of him on

213
00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.799
<v Speaker 5>the front cover. He's looking a little bit annoyed with

214
00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:21.720
<v Speaker 5>me because I was up close trying to take a

215
00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.039
<v Speaker 5>photo of him. But this superstition around black cats I

216
00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:28.200
<v Speaker 5>do find disturbing, and I do wonder if it's because

217
00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:33.000
<v Speaker 5>we associate the color black with the dark, with the night, danger,

218
00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:38.159
<v Speaker 5>the unknown, perhaps what lies beneath the surface of life,

219
00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:42.320
<v Speaker 5>and so perhaps it's association with the deep or the

220
00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:48.159
<v Speaker 5>mysterious parts of life and our existence simply yeah that

221
00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:53.399
<v Speaker 5>we can't see or fully rationalize that that causes or

222
00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:59.240
<v Speaker 5>generates some kind of mystique around them around black cats.

223
00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:03.559
<v Speaker 5>From a cultural perspective, sort of alluded to that too.

224
00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.759
<v Speaker 5>The black hats have been associated with the supernatural across

225
00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:13.879
<v Speaker 5>many cultures. In ancient Egypt, they were revered and harming

226
00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:17.759
<v Speaker 5>one was illegal. Killing a cat was punishable by death. Unbelieve.

227
00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.759
<v Speaker 5>In the Celtic tradition, the black cat arriving at your

228
00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:25.759
<v Speaker 5>home was a sign of prosperity. But in medieval Europe,

229
00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:29.679
<v Speaker 5>for instance, they became associated with witchcraft and the occult.

230
00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:33.600
<v Speaker 5>And I think that's one that particularly has infiltrated our

231
00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:37.799
<v Speaker 5>I don't know our psyche as somewhat damaging.

232
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:40.919
<v Speaker 2>In fact, I absolutely agree we need to take a

233
00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:42.639
<v Speaker 2>short break and we'll be right back.

234
00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:49.200
<v Speaker 5>Talk to the par hid Amy Suing.

235
00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:50.360
<v Speaker 2>Hi, I'm Jeane Lynch.

236
00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:51.240
<v Speaker 1>This is Mandy Boyne.

237
00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:51.399
<v Speaker 5>Hi.

238
00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:53.440
<v Speaker 3>There is Caturine Pagel.

239
00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.720
<v Speaker 1>There's only one nation that gives you the Scoop on

240
00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.279
<v Speaker 1>Wagging Tongues, Antails and Who's Walking Hill in Rent and

241
00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:04.360
<v Speaker 1>tencil down on pet Life Radio, The tail Wagger, Let's

242
00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:04.919
<v Speaker 1>Talk Past.

243
00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:08.200
<v Speaker 2>Let's at Life Radio, Wetline Radio.

244
00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:20.559
<v Speaker 6>At life Radio dot com.

245
00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:23.759
<v Speaker 2>Welcome back everyone. We're talking to Louise Watts. She is

246
00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:27.720
<v Speaker 2>the author of Slow Blink, a memoir. So, Louise, I

247
00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:31.320
<v Speaker 2>want to ask you about this. Your book is about

248
00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.039
<v Speaker 2>several things. I mean, it's about loss, it's about grief.

249
00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:37.000
<v Speaker 2>It's about loving something that you can't keep. I mean

250
00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.320
<v Speaker 2>a lot of people have experienced this, and I know

251
00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.000
<v Speaker 2>it's two different things. Grief, well maybe intertwine a little,

252
00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.600
<v Speaker 2>and then loving something you can keep. What do you

253
00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:49.320
<v Speaker 2>hope readers take away from your story that relates to

254
00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:51.120
<v Speaker 2>those feelings.

255
00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:54.759
<v Speaker 5>Well, I think one of the things that I kind

256
00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:59.039
<v Speaker 5>of conclude the book with is this designed that love

257
00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:03.960
<v Speaker 5>doesn't end when letting go begins. It simply changes form.

258
00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.960
<v Speaker 5>And the grief is not linear. It doesn't follow a

259
00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.639
<v Speaker 5>tidy arc from loss to acceptance. It circles back, as

260
00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:15.799
<v Speaker 5>in my case, it ambushes you years later, and it

261
00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.600
<v Speaker 5>hides inside other losses, which I think I sort of

262
00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:21.720
<v Speaker 5>try and weave that through this story. You know, writing

263
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.559
<v Speaker 5>Slow Blink thirty five years after Archie died, taught me

264
00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:30.879
<v Speaker 5>that grief has its own timing and that unprocessed grief

265
00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:36.639
<v Speaker 5>waits until we're ready to process it to meet it. Also,

266
00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:40.480
<v Speaker 5>animals give us permission to grieve. There's still a cultural

267
00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:44.240
<v Speaker 5>tendency to minimize the loss of an animal. It was

268
00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.600
<v Speaker 5>just a cat, which I know some people have thought

269
00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.399
<v Speaker 5>when I have shared something of archie story with them,

270
00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:54.399
<v Speaker 5>and this kind of really feels or leaves you feeling

271
00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:59.720
<v Speaker 5>isolated in your grief. And I hope Slow Blink gives

272
00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:03.440
<v Speaker 5>read permission to take their grief seriously and to honor

273
00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.319
<v Speaker 5>the depth of what they felt the connection they had

274
00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.359
<v Speaker 5>with their kiddy, because the bond was real and the

275
00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.759
<v Speaker 5>loss is real. So I suppose I hope readers take

276
00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:20.880
<v Speaker 5>away that your grief for your cat is not small,

277
00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:26.480
<v Speaker 5>it's not embarrassing. It's the resonance of something profound that

278
00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:31.759
<v Speaker 5>happened between two creatures some very different worlds who sound

279
00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:32.200
<v Speaker 5>each other.

280
00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:34.599
<v Speaker 2>That's an amazing way to put it. That's how I

281
00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:39.759
<v Speaker 2>got amazing. Now, did you adopt other cats after Archie?

282
00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:44.200
<v Speaker 5>You know, Michelle, I didn't. This also might sound I

283
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:48.519
<v Speaker 5>don't know odd or not bizarre, but I loved him

284
00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:52.799
<v Speaker 5>so much, so profoundly, that when I lost him, I

285
00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:56.519
<v Speaker 5>thought I could never never have another cat. The pain

286
00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:01.519
<v Speaker 5>was just too great, and he was soul and so unusual,

287
00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:07.039
<v Speaker 5>and the experience was so otherworldly. I felt it surpassed

288
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.680
<v Speaker 5>what I could ever give another cat. Now something is shifting.

289
00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:15.279
<v Speaker 5>I mean, thirty five years later, a lot has happened,

290
00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:17.880
<v Speaker 5>and I still have a sense that our chie is

291
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:21.839
<v Speaker 5>around me, and I do think one day, yes, I'll

292
00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:24.599
<v Speaker 5>open my heart to another cat, because every now and

293
00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:28.680
<v Speaker 5>then I encounter friends cats and I just love them

294
00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:32.000
<v Speaker 5>so much. I think, Oh, I think I'm almost ready

295
00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:32.680
<v Speaker 5>for another one.

296
00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.359
<v Speaker 2>Well, we each have our time, you know, we we do.

297
00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:38.160
<v Speaker 2>We do some people, you know, we need to adopt

298
00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.400
<v Speaker 2>right away. Some people just can never do another. That's

299
00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.039
<v Speaker 2>their cats, all made for life. Yeah, I don't know.

300
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.160
<v Speaker 2>Mine find me, So I don't know what to say

301
00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:48.000
<v Speaker 2>about that one.

302
00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.319
<v Speaker 5>Well, they do. I think that's one of the mysterious

303
00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:52.880
<v Speaker 5>things about cats is that they find us.

304
00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:55.440
<v Speaker 2>Why do you think they do that? Is it food?

305
00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:55.799
<v Speaker 1>Like?

306
00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:57.880
<v Speaker 2>How do the cats? I live in a warm climate,

307
00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:01.559
<v Speaker 2>so there are sometimes other cats and so forth. I

308
00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:04.359
<v Speaker 2>wonder how they know this is the house that will

309
00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:06.799
<v Speaker 2>feed you when there's just a we do have a

310
00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.240
<v Speaker 2>water fountain outside just for cats. Is that the giveaway?

311
00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:11.680
<v Speaker 2>Do they just know who to go to?

312
00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:14.440
<v Speaker 5>No? I think that there might be something to that,

313
00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:17.519
<v Speaker 5>and of course the rational side of me always feels like, oh,

314
00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:21.519
<v Speaker 5>they're very much food driven. And as I understand it,

315
00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:26.200
<v Speaker 5>cats came out of Africa, that domestic cats are still

316
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:30.200
<v Speaker 5>genetically are very much connected to wild cats of Africa,

317
00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:36.960
<v Speaker 5>and as communities and civilizations encroached on their space, they

318
00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.680
<v Speaker 5>sort of lived at the periphery, and of course living

319
00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:45.880
<v Speaker 5>on the periphery of villages, towns, cities that had access

320
00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.240
<v Speaker 5>to food. So it may well have been very food driven.

321
00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.759
<v Speaker 5>But of course, as all your listeners will know who

322
00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:57.839
<v Speaker 5>have cats, they're very independent and they have maintained that

323
00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:01.359
<v Speaker 5>sort of I don't know, African war wildness about them,

324
00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:05.599
<v Speaker 5>that African wild cap quality about them in their independence,

325
00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:09.119
<v Speaker 5>and so yes, perhaps there's an element of them being

326
00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:14.119
<v Speaker 5>food driven. But I think also over eons they've learned

327
00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:19.240
<v Speaker 5>that human companionship probably offers them more than food, and

328
00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:21.759
<v Speaker 5>I don't know what that is because there's something very

329
00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.839
<v Speaker 5>unknowable about cats again, and coming back to this idea,

330
00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:27.720
<v Speaker 5>there's something quite mysterious about them. I seem to sort

331
00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:31.960
<v Speaker 5>of observe and watch us, but from a very detached place,

332
00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:35.279
<v Speaker 5>unless they're ready to be stroked or comforted.

333
00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:38.920
<v Speaker 2>Yes, in a way, I think that's smart, their way

334
00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.519
<v Speaker 2>of saying, leave me alone when they want you, I'll

335
00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:45.599
<v Speaker 2>let me know, let you know, I'll know exactly. That's

336
00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:48.559
<v Speaker 2>actually smart. Too bad that you're humans. We can really

337
00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:52.920
<v Speaker 2>do that sometimes. So what do you hope that readers

338
00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:56.240
<v Speaker 2>when they read Slow Blink take away from your book?

339
00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:59.960
<v Speaker 5>I really do think it's as simple as love person,

340
00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:05.200
<v Speaker 5>even when we must let go, there's solace in this

341
00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:12.880
<v Speaker 5>persistence of having loved. However fleeting and how ever inexplicable

342
00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.960
<v Speaker 5>that connection is. It doesn't die with with the body.

343
00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:21.200
<v Speaker 5>It continues, and so in times of loss, I think

344
00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.319
<v Speaker 5>we can draw on that, and I think that that's

345
00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:26.960
<v Speaker 5>what I wish for for readers of Slow Blink.

346
00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:30.720
<v Speaker 2>And what would you tell readers that read your book

347
00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:35.079
<v Speaker 2>and listening to you thinking about adopting a cat? You

348
00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:38.200
<v Speaker 2>know some people can hear how you know about you know,

349
00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.200
<v Speaker 2>with everything, there's joy and grief, there's there's happy. You

350
00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:45.319
<v Speaker 2>know there's contrasts. So for somebody reading and listening to

351
00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:47.559
<v Speaker 2>you saying, oh, I want to adopt a cat, but

352
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:50.720
<v Speaker 2>it'll be hard if something happens, or you know, what

353
00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:54.119
<v Speaker 2>would you say to those listeners, Oh gosh.

354
00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:57.559
<v Speaker 5>I think if you're drawn to caring for an animal,

355
00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:02.160
<v Speaker 5>go to a shelter, visit with the cats, see if

356
00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:04.759
<v Speaker 5>there's a particular cat that you're drawn to that's drawn

357
00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.480
<v Speaker 5>to you. I think, make genuine inquiries at the shelter

358
00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:13.119
<v Speaker 5>about what's involved in caring for a shelter cat, because

359
00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:16.599
<v Speaker 5>oftentimes I can be traumatized. They might have been abandoned,

360
00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:20.279
<v Speaker 5>they might have been abused, and there's a responsibility in

361
00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:25.519
<v Speaker 5>caring for a cap from a shelter. And I think, personally,

362
00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:28.720
<v Speaker 5>this is just my personal feeling that it's important that

363
00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:32.559
<v Speaker 5>we understand the responsibility of care, and so I think

364
00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:37.319
<v Speaker 5>just make inquiries. Open your heart and make inquiries. Go

365
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.039
<v Speaker 5>to a shelter and investigate.

366
00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.640
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Luis. Where can our listeners find

367
00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:45.559
<v Speaker 2>your book Slow Blink a memoir?

368
00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:48.599
<v Speaker 5>It is on Amazon That is actually the only place

369
00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.160
<v Speaker 5>that it's available for purchase. So you would just go

370
00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:57.440
<v Speaker 5>to Amazon and put in slow Blink a memoir by

371
00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:01.799
<v Speaker 5>Louise Ross, and it's all so available long kindle. So

372
00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:05.680
<v Speaker 5>that's the soft cover, all the paperback and the kindle version.

373
00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:09.319
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thank you so much again for coming on Catitude

374
00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:12.680
<v Speaker 2>and sharing your story with us and telling us more

375
00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:14.400
<v Speaker 2>about Slow Blink a Memoir.

376
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:15.960
<v Speaker 5>Thank you so much, Michelle.

377
00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:19.319
<v Speaker 2>I hope everyone enjoyed the book again. It is called

378
00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:23.759
<v Speaker 2>slow Blink, a Memoir by Louise Ross. Thank you for

379
00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:26.480
<v Speaker 2>listening to our show today. I want to thank my

380
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:30.880
<v Speaker 2>cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Mollie who I've had slow

381
00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:33.279
<v Speaker 2>blinks with all of them at one time or another,

382
00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:38.319
<v Speaker 2>mostly Dennis and Mollie. Thank you to my listeners of Catatude,

383
00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:42.240
<v Speaker 2>I appreciate you so much again. Thanks to my guest,

384
00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:46.359
<v Speaker 2>the author Louise Ross. Thank you, of course to my

385
00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:49.720
<v Speaker 2>amazing producer Mark Winter for all you do. He works

386
00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:54.440
<v Speaker 2>his magic and makes every shallow sound amazing. And always remember,

387
00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:57.319
<v Speaker 2>lose the attitude, have Catitude.

388
00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:03.079
<v Speaker 4>Let's talk best every week on demand only on petlive

389
00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:20.240
<v Speaker 4>radio dot com