Inspirational Cats

You meet a lot of interesting people in L.A. The other day I met a man who is a dog whisperer and activist for the Humane Society. We ended up talking for hours after a party at the local library. In the course of that exchange he shared a number of stories including a poem he recited from memory and I later found on the Internet.

The poem is called Pangur Ban. It's about an inspirational cat companion, obviously a subject I can relate to in a big way. My little Himalayan Kira is seven months old now and has completely stolen my heart. She, like all animals I have ever owned, has her own unique personality. In story we refer to the stand-outs as "characters".

Pangur Ban was written by an anonymous Irish Benedictine monk somewhere around the 8th century in the margin of a manuscript. It's the perfect poem for writers who love cats and, as far as I know, it's in the public domain.

Pangur Ban

I and Pangur Ban my cat,
Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill will,
He too plies his simple skill.

Tis a merry thing to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur's way;
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our tasks we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

Is it enough to build a script on? Probably not but it is inspirational and it wouldn't be the first poem (or collection of poems) to be the basis for dramatic story development. T.S. Eliot's collection of poems about cats, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats became the long-running hit Broadway Musical CATS.

Here are a couple of animated shorts that pretty much capture "catessence". Love this guy's work. Check out animator director Simon Tofield's website.





All you development gurus out there, this could be the next Garfield. Simon Tofield's first book is coming out October 1.