GUEST BLOG: The Lockdown Day With Bryan Bruce 29: I Never Wanted A Cat

I never wanted a cat. I like dogs and I’d been thinking I might get another one to replace my old labrador that died a few years back. But then, last Spring, my neighbour (who rescues mistreated animals) came across while I was working in the garden.
“Have you seen a ginger cat?” she asked.
“No” I said “why?
“Oh I rescued her the other day from a place where her owner had died.Her name is Rose. She’s been badly mistreated and she’s disappeared ”
“OK I’ll let you know .”

Two days later, while working in the part of our property where it meets the bush line, I heard a faint “meow” and it was her. Rose.Thin, emaciated , terrified , ginger , and minus her tail.

So I got her some food and some milk and left it for her.

Big mistake.

You see, Rose decided I was her human and everyday she would timidly seek me out and meow until I would feed her.

It took her about 6 weeks to come up to the house to be fed and about as long to stop hiding from every woman that came anywhere near her. I’m not sure why but if she heard a female voice she’d take off and hide..

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Rose is sitting on the arm of my chair watching me and purring as I type this post.She is totally confident, relaxed and truth to tell she’s actually a bit bossy. She’s certainly not the scaredy cat I first encountered in the garden all those months ago.

Why am I bothering to tell you this?

Well, when I look at Rose I’m reminded that fear can be debilitating . It can paralyze you to the point where you can’t make even the most basic of decisions in life.

There’s going to be a bit of that coming up . Some people will face mental health issues as we enter the post – pandemic New Zealand economy. Not all of us will be keen to get up and at it once they let us out to play in the paddock again; some of us will be so fearful they might come to doubt if they even want to have a future at all.

We need to reach out to those folk – a smile, a word , do something practical to help in some small way to keep them on the planet, because this dark cloud will eventually pass.

Rose is proof that a bit of care and attention, a bit of nurturing , can solve a lot of anxiety problems.

As for our own national state of mind I think the words of Franklin D.Roosevelt are the one’s we should take to heart.

In the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, he addressed a huge and anxious crowd of American citizens worried about what the future may hold with the words ..

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself”.

It’s true.

No one wanted this pandemic or the economic difficulties that will stem from it.

But then, I never wanted a cat.
.
Stay safe.
Look after each other.
See you tomorrow.

Kia kaha

Bryan Bruce is one of NZs most respected documentary makers and public intellectuals who has tirelessly exposed NZs neoliberal economic settings as the main cause for social issues.