A Feline Roamer: Jaed Coffin - The Moth

Summary

The Moth Podcast Episode Summary: "A Feline Roamer" by Jade Coffin

Introduction

In the November 9, 2018 episode of The Moth titled "A Feline Roamer," storyteller Jade Coffin shares a heartfelt and humorous tale about his family's journey with their beloved cat, Poppins. Hosted by Dan Kennedy, this episode delves into themes of responsibility, loss, and the transformative power of unexpected relationships. Jade's narrative not only entertains but also offers profound insights into parenthood and the bonds we form with our pets.

Story Overview

The Arrival of Poppins

Jade Coffin begins his story with the significant life event of expecting his second child. Amidst the excitement and chaos of preparing for a new family member, his five-year-old daughter expresses a desire to adopt a cat. Despite Jade's initial reservations—stemming from his childhood experiences in Thailand, where cats often roam feral—he concedes to the decision, understanding its importance for the family.

"Apparently, Poppins is that she was found on the side of the road in a plastic storage bin that had been duct taped shut." (04:20)

Poppins, a sleek black kitten, is introduced to the family with her playful nature and independent spirit.

Adapting to Parenthood with Poppins

As Poppins settles into the household, Jade discovers the challenges of integrating a cat into their lives, especially with a newborn on the way. He humorously describes his role as the "cat box man," responsible for maintaining the litter box despite his lack of enthusiasm for cats.

"Apparently pregnant women cannot be around cat litter. I didn't know that they can't. And my daughter's only five, so I am like cat litter guy." (07:10)

Poppins' adventurous spirit becomes evident as she frequently escapes outdoors, often climbing trees and getting stuck. Jade, leveraging his mountaineering skills, turns these rescues into neighborhood spectacles, embracing his newfound role as the family's hero.

A Tragic Turn

The narrative takes a somber turn when, during the birth of his second child, Poppins injures her leg in a cedar tree. Balancing the demands of a newborn and her injured state, Jade rushes Poppins to an emergency animal hospital, grappling with the high costs and the strain it places on his family.

"I've never really been through this before, but I need to know, can you save my daughter's cat for $700? And I say, and if you can't, I need to know, do you have any other black cats?" (11:30)

Despite his efforts, Poppins' condition worsens, leading to her eventual passing. The loss deeply affects Jade and his family, especially his young daughter, who dreams of Poppins every night.

Honoring Poppins

In the wake of Poppins' death, Jade channels his grief into creating a personalized coffin, meticulously crafting it with a heart-shaped hole. This act symbolizes his desire to honor Poppins' free spirit and ensure she remains unconfined even in death.

"I cut into the lid a hole in the shape of a heart that I make sure is just big enough for Poppins to crawl out of." (14:50)

Themes and Insights

Jade Coffin's story resonates on multiple levels:

Responsibility and Commitment: Adopting a pet introduces new responsibilities, especially when unexpected life events, like the arrival of a new baby, occur simultaneously.
Balancing Priorities: Jade's struggle to balance the needs of his family and Poppins highlights the challenges many face in managing multiple roles.
Grief and Tribute: The creation of Poppins' coffin serves as a poignant tribute, illustrating how individuals cope with loss and honor their loved ones.
Transformation Through Love: Despite initial reluctance, Jade's relationship with Poppins transforms him into a dedicated and affectionate pet owner, demonstrating how love can change perspectives.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

Jade Coffin on Poppins' Resilience:

"Poppins runs outside and gets stuck in this really tall cedar tree in our backyard." (08:45)
Jade Reflecting on Fatherhood:

"It's all you, dad. And you know, I get it." (12:15)
Jade on Building the Coffin:

"I start building Poppins this very elaborate coffin. And the last thing I do is I build a lid for the coffin... just big enough for Poppins to crawl out of." (14:30)

Conclusion

Jade Coffin's "A Feline Roamer" is a touching narrative that blends humor with heartfelt emotion. Through his story, listeners are reminded of the profound impact pets can have on our lives and the enduring bonds that transcend their physical presence. Jade's ability to find humor and meaning amidst tragedy offers a compelling testament to resilience and the enduring power of love.

About the Storyteller

Jade Coffin is a writer from New Brunswick, Maine, who teaches at the University of New Hampshire. He authored A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants, detailing his life as a Buddhist monk, and Roughhouse Friday, chronicling his unique experiences, including winning the middleweight title of a barroom boxing show in Alaska.

Final Thoughts

For those moved by Jade's story, The Moth encourages sharing personal narratives, fostering a community where every story matters. Whether it's through adopting a new pet or sharing your own life experiences, stories like Jade's remind us of our shared humanity and the connections that bind us.

Transcript

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Dan Kennedy (2:01)

You're listening to the Moth Podcast. I'm Dan Kennedy. Welcome back to another episode. This week we have just one story for you. So here at the Moth, we produce about 4, 40 main stage shows every year all over the world. And out of the five stories that are in each show, we try to make sure one or two of them are local. Which basically means that, you know, obviously the storyteller lives in that city or nearby. Or sometimes maybe their story just takes place in the city where we're doing the show. So last year we held a main stage event in Portland, Maine, and the story you're about to hear is told by a nearby Maynard, which we learned that's what you call people from Maine. It turns out the theme of the night was into the Wild. Here's Jade Coffin live at the mall.

Jade Coffin (2:52)

So my wife is like three or four months pregnant with our Second child when my five year old daughter decides that she wants to get a cat. So, you know, my wife grew up with cats, so right away she's all about it. I am not really a cat guy. You know, as a boy, I spent a lot of time in my mom's village in Thailand. And you know, in Thailand, cats kind of run feral in the streets. So to me, having a cat in our house was a little bit like living with a possum or a raccoon. But I knew this was one of those really important family decisions where my opinion would matter about zero. And so sort of as a consolation prize, my wife says, well, maybe you'd feel better about having this cat around if you got to choose the color. Right? So instantly I'm thinking, I don't give a damn if the cat has fur that's like American flat, flag fur, whatever, you know? And then I get this idea. I think I want a black cat. Because to me, black cats are not bad luck. Black cats are ninjas. Yes, yes. And if they're ninjas, they're probably Asian. And if they're Asian, they might even have a little bit of Thai blood. Right? So a few days later, my wife and daughter come home from the animal shelter, and they've got this big box in their arms, and the box has got holes in it. My daughter's got this big smile on her face. She says, daddy, right? And then she puts the box on the floor and opens the lid, and out comes this little black kitten. And my daughter's already got a name picked out for the cat. It's Poppins. As in Mary. Right. So apparently this is the dirt on Poppins is that she was found on the side of the road in a plastic storage bin that had been duct taped shut. I know. Horrible. And the minute my daughter walked into the animal shelter, Poppin ran right into her arms. Okay? So over the next, you know, six or seven weeks, I start to learn a lot about what my role is going to be in Poppin's life. So apparently this might be news. Apparently. Apparently pregnant women cannot be around cat litter. I didn't know that they can't. And my daughter's only five, so I am like cat litter guy. Okay? Cat box man. The other thing is that Poppins really likes to be outside. So every time we open the door, Poppins runs outside. And more often than not, she will climb a tree and get stuck, like, 30ft up in trees. Okay. And so I actually like the whole tree part because before I became a dad, I was really into mountaineering and climbing and doing dangerous things on ropes. So this gave me an opportunity to sort of dust off my gear, you know, and go up after Poppins on these rescue missions as like the dad hero of our neighborhood, you know. To me it was like my weekly, like, X Games for domestic males, you know, and usually there's like a little crowd of neighborhood kids, like, cheering me on and, you know, and forlorn dads, like, resenting me. And anyway, so you know, that April, my wife, goes into labor. We have this beautiful baby, another girl. And the morning we get home, you know, we've been gone for like three days. We open the door and what happens? Poppins runs outside and gets stuck in this really tall cedar tree in our backyard. And I'm thinking, Poppins, like, not, not a good time, Poppins, not a good time. We got the baby at home, you know, I haven't slept in three days, but you gotta do what you gotta do. So I go into my shop, get my rope out, and I'm not even halfway to the tree when I hear this horrible sound. And it's the sound of my daughter screaming and the sound of Poppins meowing as she rips through like 40ft of cedar branches. And I look up just in time to see her hit the ground and land on all fours and pause and then just kind of slump over and I run up to, to kind of comfort Poppins and she takes off in the other direction, but she doesn't get very far because she's kind of dragging her broken leg behind her. All right, back inside, my wife is nursing our newborn in one arm and consoling our 5 year old in the other. And she gives me this very familiar look, you know, and the look just says, this is all you, dad. It's all you, dad. And I get it. So I get down on one knee and I take my daughter's little tear soaked face in my hands and I say, sweetheart, Daddy is gonna fix this. I promise. I'm making this all better. My daughter nods dutifully. My wife just rolls her eyes, you know, and a few minutes later, I'm hammering down the highway in my truck. Poppins is in the passenger seat and she's like panting in pain. And we are headed 30 miles south to Portland to the emergency animal hospital, right? We would have gone to the local vet, but it's a Saturday, so we're headed to the 18 times more expensive emergency animal hospital, right? And what am I doing? I'm looking at Poppins and You know, I'm feeling things, but what I'm really doing is I'm running the numbers. You know, I'm like, we got hospital bills. We got this new baby. I'm supposed to be taking time off from work to be at home. And I'm thinking, I just. I don't know what I can really part with to make this happen, you know? So by the time we get to the emergency animal hospital, I got two questions for the vet. And, you know, I say, I've never really been through this before, but I need to know, can you save my daughter's cat for $700? And I say, and if you can't, I need to know, do you have any other black cats? So, like, six. Six hours later, and like, nine issues of Cat Fancy later, I'm, like, driving north again. It's, like, midnight, and Poppins is in the passenger seat, and she's got these. She's all doped up on pain meds, and she's got this big, gnarly cast on her leg, and I got a whole handful of painkillers for kittens. So my job for the next six weeks is basically to make sure that Poppins doesn't run around too much and re. Injure her leg. So I build this really elaborate cage out of old baby gates and duct tape and rope, all right? And Poppins, she just hates being inside this cage, right? It's heartbreaking. And she gets really depressed, and she starts sleeping in her litter box. Now, at this point, my wife is getting up, you know, nine, ten times a night to nurse the baby. And I find myself, you know, waking up, too, but kind of like tiptoeing downstairs just to sort of check up on Poppins, you know? And at that point, you know, I'm tired and it's late, and I start talking to Poppins. I say, poppins, you know, I get it. I used to have a lot of freedom, too, Poppins. I get it. And, you know, Poppins, she's telling me she's not telling me anything, but by then, I can intuit kind of her deeper or deeper feelings, you know? So six weeks pass, and miraculously, Poppins leg heals good as new, all right? And this is when I get this bright idea. I say, you know, maybe this cat's true nature is to roam. Maybe she's born to run, you know? And so one morning, I just. I open the door and I say, you know what, Poppins? Go free. Be an outdoor cat, Poppins. You earned it. But. And pretty soon, things are Going great, right? Every night when I come home from work, I'm the guy. I'm calling out Poppins, Poppins. And little Poppins just comes bounding across the backyard and, like, runs into my arms, right? It gets to the point where I can't leave our house without Poppins kind of like jogging behind me like a little puppy through our neighborhood. It even gets to the point where I decide that I'm gonna start bringing Poppins to my office with me, and she can, like, sleep on my feet while I write books, you know. And then, and then I get this bright idea. Well, you know, maybe I'll just kind of carry her around in this, like, little man purse satchel accessory, right? So not only have I become this cat guy, but I've kind of transformed myself into this medieval beastmaster type figure. Like, roaming around our neighborhood with a cat in a little, like, leather, like, thing pouch. It's great. Really important time in my life. And then one night, Poppins doesn't come home. And I think, that's okay. Poppins met another kitten. All right. It's all right. So I leave a bowl of food out for Poppins on our front porch. Two nights go by, the bowl is still full. Three nights go by, the bowl is still full. I start to get worried. The next day at work, my wife gives me a call, and she is crying. Apparently, Animal Control found a little black kitten in our neighborhood. And really the only solace they can offer us is that it seems as though Poppins died the minute she was run over. So I get home from work that night, and my wife meets me at the door, and she's crying, and she tells me that Animal control has dropped off Poppins body. And so somehow we break the news to my daughter, and she erupts into tears. And that night, as she would for the next three months, my little girl falls asleep with a framed picture of Poppins in her arms. And when I get downstairs before my wife goes to bed, she gives me that look again. And it's that look that says, this is all you, dad. And you know, I'm Buddhist, and I consider giving my little Thai cat an open air cremation. But this is a suburban neighborhood in Brunswick, Maine. And I clean her up a little bit. I kind of have a moment with Poppins, and I start crying. And then I do something that I do whenever I have a lot of feelings that I just can't really make sense of. I start to build something. So out of some old cedar boards, I start building Poppins this very elaborate coffin. And I'm at it for like six hours, and it's like two in the morning. And the last thing I do is I build a lid for the coffin. And before I screw it down, I cut into the lid a hole in the shape of a heart that I make sure is just big enough for Poppins to crawl out of. And I don't know where kittens go when they die, but wherever Poppins is headed, I just want her to know that she's not trapped inside another box. Thank you.