Storytelling Lessons from My Cat from Hell
I love My Cat from Hell. My cats want me to make it clear that they are not from hell. Lola and Samson are good cats who are not at all threatening me with their sharp claws at this moment. Instead I am referring to the TV show, My Cat from Hell on the Animal Planet.
This show is my Law and Order: SVU. If I start watching an episode, I am compelled to watch the entire story. It could be way past my bed time, and if I flip this show on even for a moment. I just have to watch to the end. I NEED to find out what is going to happen. God forbid if there is a late night marathon on – I'll never get to bed.
I had to ask myself why am I such a sucker for this show? Sure. I love cats, but this show gets me every dang time.
It's not about the cats – it's about the story. This show does an incredible job of creating an experience for their viewers. My Cat from Hell demonstrates best in kitty class principles of storytelling.
Quirky, Cool Narrator
The story is woven together by a truly unique narrator, Jackson Galaxy. He is fully tatted, has a rock-a-billy fashion sense, and
carries a guitar case full of cat toys. Dude stands out, and he is fun to watch. He has so much compassion towards the cats and their owners that you just like this guy. He brings a unique perspective to the show as the narrator and through him we learn a lot about cat psychology (and sometimes far more about human psychology). As a speaker how can you use your unique assets to stand out?
Compelling Characters
The depth of the characters development of the felines in this show amazes me. You would think that it was just about a cat with behavior problems. Each cat has a backstory. Last night I watched a show about Gracie, this poor kitty was returned to the animal shelter TWICE. Kitty had abandonment issues that caused her bad behavior. This thoughtful backstory makes Gracie a really well developed character that the audience identifies with and more importantly roots for. We want to see Gracie improve so she can stay in her forever home. What thoughtful details can you put into your next story to make a character come alive?
Catty Conflict
There is always drama in this show and something is at risk. One of my favorite episodes was about a cat named Pump. Pump was 23 years old and was in danger of losing his home because he was always up in his owner's business – her energy practitioner business. Jackson made it clear that Pump wouldn't survive being re-homed, so the #1 goal was to get Pump and the energy practitioner to peacefully co-exist.
It was a life and death situation. Would Pump live out his days in his forever home? Or would he be kicked out? What was going to happen? The conflict and drama of this story had me hooked. I had to watch until the end to finish the story. (You can find out here what happened to Pump…I know you want to).
It surprises me how much we can learn about compelling storytelling from My Cat from Hell. Telling a story from a unique point of view with well developed characters that has a conflict that needs resolution can sucker any audience into the speaking experience. It reminds speakers not to just give a speech but to create an experience that your audience won't soon forget!
You know that the “energy healer” dumped the cat immediately after the show and had never intended to keep him, right? So it might make a good story, but a “story” is all that it ever was.
Well the bums me out – because it was such a good story and I was invested in that cat. Guess that “healer” was more of a publicity whore, eh?
I WATCHED CAT FROM HELL , PUMP WAS A LOVELY CAT THAT WANTED LOVE AND COMFORT, I COULD SEE THAT WOMEN “SO CALLED HEALER” DIDN’T WANT THE CAT, AFTER ALL HER PRETENDING CRAP AT THE END OF THE SHOW SHE WAS ASKED IF SHE WANTED TO KEEP “PUMP” I KNEW WHEN SHE HESITATED SHE WAS A FAKE !!!! HAS PUMP PASSED ON I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW PLEASE, MANY THANKS ;( x x