Cats That Kept Him Going: How David Maeda's Cats Shaped His Story

Welcome And Meet David

Julie marty-Pearson 0:00

Welcome to a brand new episode of The Story of My Pet Podcast. I am your host, Julie Marty Pearson, and I am super excited to bring you this new episode. Thank you so much for being here and supporting the podcast. I hope you enjoy Hello my friend. Welcome to a new episode of the story of my PET podcast. I am happy to welcome a new guest to the podcast. David, thank you so much for being here. I welcome to the story of my pet.

David Maeda 0:34

Hi, Julie. Great to join you today. Really looking forward to our conversation.

Julie marty-Pearson 0:39

Me too. We get to talk about cats.

David Maeda 0:42

One of my favorite things.

Wanting Pets But Could Not

Julie marty-Pearson 0:44

It's so funny because as a podcaster it's really easy to get caught up in all the work and the posting and the duh, all the things. But for me, the best part of podcasting are my interviews. And then of course I often look forward even more to my pet interviews because who doesn't wanna spend some time talking about pets? So I'm very happy to have you here. David and I connected through, Pod Match, It's a great place for people to find guests, find podcasts to guest on, and it's also a great place for people like me to find guests to be on our podcast. We connected because of your love of cats and because of your connection to your cats. But before we go there, I will always love to ask, were you always a pet lover? Did you grow up with pets or was that something new for you?

David Maeda 1:35

So unfortunately when I was growing up, my two sisters were allergic to both cats and dogs, so we couldn't have it. So I, I always wanted a dog. Our neighbors had a boxer and I loved playing with Blitz, was his name. And so when I. I went to college and moved out on my own. I decided to get a cat'cause it was so much easier, obviously, to take care than a dog. And his name was Mr. Max. Max. Max and I spent many years together. Happy years together.

Julie marty-Pearson 2:05

What was Mr. Max like? What kind of cat was he?

David Maeda 2:08

He was a gray tabby cat. First night I brought him home. He was lying on my chest and my t-shirt started to get wet and I thought, which end is he leaking out of? Turned out thankfully, he was a drooling kit. He used to drill when he pured.

Julie marty-Pearson 2:25

I'm sure as a first time pet owner you were like, oh, no, what was that? I, one of my cats it was my second cat ever, Cosmo. He was a per, he always wanted to be on my chest or my lap, and as soon as I start petting him there came the drool. So I totally know exactly what you're talking about. only cat, only cat lovers. Get that drool is a good thing.

David Maeda 2:53

Yes, definitely.

Julie marty-Pearson 2:56

So, it sounds like Mr. Max was really kind of your intro into being a pet parent, but also. You realizing a connection to cats?

David Maeda 3:06

So one I loved to write and one of my jobs was I used to write a column for a local music store. And obviously I was supposed to write about music things, but often Mr. Max would appear in my column and as told by some of the people that read those columns that their favorite columns was when I wrote about Mr. Max because it was very clear that was love of mine.

Julie marty-Pearson 3:28

Oh, I love that.

David Maeda 3:31

Yep. People love to talk about their pets, believe me.

Julie marty-Pearson 3:34

From there, you ended up with multiple cats. So what, at what point did you decide to get either Mr or Max a friend, or maybe longer down the line, you wanted to get more than one cat? How was that kind of for you?

David Maeda 3:48

So when it was actually when Max, Mr. Max passed away. I was devastated, like I'm sure most all pet owners are. I thought there's no way I can get another cat. This is just way too hard. I'd come home and I'm not, I was used to Max greeting me and he wasn't there anymore. So I thought, this is way too hard. I don't want another cat. And, then I actually, met someone who scolded me for that. Because she said, you obviously can give cats good homes, and so it's really selfish of you not to get another cat, which is an interesting take. But yeah, I thought about it and I thought the only way this is gonna work is if I get two cats that way when one of them passes away. And so I eventually, there are two cats in a foster home together. One of them was a three-legged cat that was found in a park, a trap in a park until he lost his leg. But he bonded with the other cat in the house. And so they really wanted the two of them to be adopted together. So I settled on adopting them. I named them. Well, I kept the three legged cat's name was Thompson, and I kept that because it was kind of an interesting name. And then, yeah, I actually, Diego came as Diego, but I added Asan, so I'm Japanese and Japanese son is Mr. So it's Mr. Diego. Diego son and two. Oh, I love that. Two, two of them played together. They slept together. They got along really well. And so my theory kind of had a hole in it.'cause I thought when one of them passes away, the other one's gonna be as devastated as me. And so that's when I ended up getting a third cat. And his name is Theo. And Theo was really a sweet cat. Theo passed away two years ago. Diego passed away in 2020 in Thompson passed away in 2018. but that's how I ended up with multiple cats. And I currently still live with three cats.

Julie marty-Pearson 5:41

Wow. I think we should call that the cat multiplication. A Yeah. You know, you always hear people say cat distribution system'cause kittens just kind of show up for people sometimes.

When One More Cat Makes Sense

David Maeda 5:52

Well, Don, I mean there's another flaw theory too, because when I brought Theo in, because Thompson Diego had bonded so much. It kind of felt like he was the auto not, he tried really hard and eventually Thompson accepted him, but Diego never really, never did, never did.

Julie marty-Pearson 6:08

He's okay kid, but you're not my friend.

David Maeda 6:10

you're too, you're too peppy kid. So I thought, well, maybe I should get a fourth kid so Theo can bond And then that's when I realized that's how people end up with 75 cats.

Julie marty-Pearson 6:21

I just, I, and part of my laughter is because I've been there, there's always a reason for another cat. Yeah. Whenever we can. I started with 1, 2, 3. We got up to four at one point. It's great to adopt them in pairs because then they always have a friend. They always have someone to hang out with and play with when you're not able to give them time, you know, during the workday or whatever it may be. So it sounds like that. Adopting as a pair really was a great thing for you to do.

David Maeda 6:50

Absolutely. So, like two of my current cats came from the same litter, Norma and Alias. and the foster mom and dad home really wanted to find someone that would adopt two of them together.'cause they bonded from the start and they still just spend all their time together. They real, really are close.

Julie marty-Pearson 7:08

Yeah. you know, I, I fostered a litter of six a couple years ago. I. I toyed with keeping a second. We adopted one of them, our pumpkin, and there are times, and I'm glad I did it because it really has allowed her to shine as a star, as the youngest. But there are also times where I go, gosh, I wish I had a young cat for you to run around. So let's talk about your current cats. Who are your current Beeline friends?

David Maeda 7:32

So the two that are, from the same litter. The Bo male is Alias and there's a story behind that name. And then Norma was named by the daughter of the Foster home, and I, she's a white cat, so Norma Jean, I. Fits very well.

Julie marty-Pearson 7:48

Oh my gosh, I love that. Oh, I always love hearing the story behind names.

Current Cats And Naming Stories

David Maeda 7:53

So the story behind Alias is the daughter had named him Billy and I always, I, all my cats up to this point had been male cats and I always thought if I got a female cat, I'd name her Billy after Billy Holiday. I'm a big music lover. Um, I can

Julie marty-Pearson 8:08

tell. And so I love that

David Maeda 8:10

When I adopted the two of them, it seems strange to keep calling. The male cat Billy, or renamed the female cat Billy.

Julie marty-Pearson 8:18

right.

David Maeda 8:18

I decided not to keep the name Billy. I'm a big Bob Dylan fan. 52nd time I'm gonna see Bob Dylan. But anyways, he was in a movie called Pat Garrett and Billy the kid with Chris Christon and his character's name, the movie was Alias and it was. A joke because I figured if I called. Alias. Alias. And if I wanted to call him any other name, I could call him another name.

Julie marty-Pearson 8:43

you.

David Maeda 8:43

Yeah.

Julie marty-Pearson 8:44

And our pets always end up with 10 different names. Right. We always come up with different nicknames. Yep. But I love that.

David Maeda 8:50

Yes.

Julie marty-Pearson 8:51

That's amazing. I love that.

David Maeda 8:53

I would love to talk about.

Julie marty-Pearson 8:55

So at one point. You wrote a book.

David Maeda 9:00

Yep.

Julie marty-Pearson 9:01

And in that book, you have a whole chapter about your cats. Can you talk a little bit about how that came to be and why you included them?

David Maeda 9:10

Sure. So it's a memoir So my career was in government. I finished my career as a director of elections for the state of Minnesota. So much of my career was running elections in the state.

Julie marty-Pearson 9:20

wow.

David Maeda 9:21

Which became,

Julie marty-Pearson 9:21

that must have been an interesting,

David Maeda 9:23

became a very stressful job the last few years.

Julie marty-Pearson 9:26

Oh my gosh, yes.

David Maeda 9:28

So that was really the focus behind the book. And then I realized my life was more than my career. And so I, I included different aspects of my life. I've suffered from depression most of my life. So there's a chapter about my struggle with mental health issues, and then there's a chapter about my childhood. There's a chapter about important relationship in my life, but I really wanted to write about my cats. I mean, starting from Mr. Max, just, I wanted to write about. How, one of the things I've learned being a cat person is each of them has their own personality and so we, I found a way to have special time with each one, especially when I, well obviously Max was by himself, right? In the multiple cat household. I. Make sure I spent time with each chat cat individually. So a lot of the book is how I develop relationships with Diego Lasan, Thompson, and Theo.

Julie marty-Pearson 12:17

I love that. I can't wait to read it because I think I love. I'm just thinking I love that because you know, you hear human parents talk about that, right? When they have multiple kids or whatever, that they, you know, they have dates or spend special event time bonding with each one individually. And it's so true with when you have multiple pets, no matter what it is, you still wanna connect with each of them di personally one-on-one. Yep. And every. I do believe people who've either never had cats or you know, called themselves dog people. I'm an animal person first of all, but cat people know. Cats have very distinct personality. Yeah. Mine. You know, they meow differently. They talk to you differently. They move differently. They like to be pet in different places. So how was writing that chapter in your book? How did that feel? Was it a way to kind of process and memorialize them, but also kind of, you know, just share your experience?

David Maeda 13:18

Absolutely. It was a way to memorialize them. It was really, so when I was writing that chapter, Theo was pretty sick, and I knew Theo was not gonna last. He passed away shortly after he finished writing the book. Mm-hmm. but it was really hard because I, so I started. The chapter of, I went in Chronological or Order, and so I wrote about Max Verse and it was really both a celebration of his life, but also remembering how painful it was when he passed away. And same with Da Thompson and Diego. It was just real, it, I loved being able to write about each of them individually, but again, it covered their arc of their entire lives in, in the painful way. We're, we're all gonna die. It's gonna be a painful way.

Depression, Stress, And Staying Alive

Julie marty-Pearson 14:04

I mean, it is true. You know what I've kind of learned is that grief is something everyone is dealing with you. You don't see it, you don't know it, and it also looks different for each of us, but. Like you said, it's inevitable. We're all gonna grieve someone something, some pet, some soul, right? It's, and with our pets, we know we only get them for a limited period of time, which is very hard if you really focus on that. I always say, and I've used this with people who've also lost people, is grief is hard and it sucks sometimes and you don't wanna do go through it, but the grief. The feelings of grief doesn't means you had the love. Right. And I try to remind myself of that because it's like, I don't feel this way because of something bad. I feel this way of something great and good that I got to be a part of. So it sounds like writing the book really helped you kind of go through that too.

David Maeda 15:00

Well, it was interesting. I deliberately sequenced the book. So the chapter about depressions really. Heavy, obviously. And so I deliberately sequence the book to put the cat chapter after the depression chapter, thinking it'd be lighthearted and more fun. But honestly, when I reread the book, the cat chapter is one that always makes me cry. I mean, it always just tugs my heart.

Julie marty-Pearson 15:23

You know, it's so funny on social media, obviously I follow a lot of pet people and pets. Actually years ago, before I was ever in podcasting my for, I started an Instagram from one of my cats and I connected with so many people that way. But because of that, there's constantly posts or things popping up, it's, oh, so and so passed, or we lost them, and then I feel like I'm helping them grieve. And you know, you see it or you read a story and you just get emotional. So I'm sure for you, reading your own, going back to that and revisiting those feelings must have been really heavy for you.

David Maeda 15:59

Yeah, it definitely was. I mean, obviously with a memoir you wanna dig deep on what you're writing about, so it real, most of the chapter's fun. I mean, I had a great relationship with all my cats, and so it was fun writing about some of the fun things we did. But yeah, it was hard to write.

Julie marty-Pearson 16:16

Yeah, it's hard. But I've found going through that process, whether you write it or say it or speak it, it is healing. It is a great way to feel and also talking about them when they're gone is also a way to kind of feel connected to them too, right?

David Maeda 16:30

Definitely. Yep.

Julie marty-Pearson 16:31

You've mentioned part of the book and, you know, part of your story is your mental health battles through your life. And it's oftentimes that kind of comes up when I speak to people about pets because oftentimes our pets are, are part of that, right? Whether we realize it at the time or not, how were your cats or have your cats been and continue to be a help to you in that way?

David Maeda 16:56

So Max, I'll use as an example. When I got Max, I was suffering pretty bad depression, and within a few years, he definitely had helped me because first of all, it was the first time I, I was responsible for helping keep another, being alive, being Max. But I mean, just the time we would. He was the claws, so he couldn't go outside. So I used to take him for walks on a leash and people in our neighborhood just found that hysterical, I used to smoke a pipe at the time, so I'd smoke my pipe and walk my cat at the same time.

Julie marty-Pearson 17:30

So, oh, I love that visual image.

David Maeda 17:33

Probably the le least depressed I've ever been was the time I spent with Max. Hmm. And then the three, Diego Thompson and Theo, it's really dark to say, but I don't think I'd be a alive without them. It really dawned on me who would take care of them if I, if I wasn't around. And not only who would take care of them, there's knowing in the world, somebody's gonna take in all three of them, so they'd probably be divided, and I didn't want them divided. I adopted a cat in December of 23. His name is Kenta. He is a big, fluffy gray hair, medium haired for medium haired gray cat. He's really fluffy. He's really big. I, he'll probably make an appearance there's,'cause he loves to sit in my lap. But so again, I'm a, such I've had. A lot of stress from my job, a lot of anxiety from my job. So it's been a difficult few years, but again, I have three cats I have to take care of which right get gets my focus on something outside of myself. And again, I, I don't, especially alias and norm, I don't want split up if something were to happen to me.

Julie marty-Pearson 18:40

Right. So several things from that. I would say, first of all, I appreciate you being so open and talking about it. It's not always easy for us to talk about. But I can only imagine the anxiety and stress you felt from being in an, in a job that was elections on my world, I can't even imagine. So I could see how that was a tough time, but also, you know, you felt like your cats really helped, kept you going and. I understand it. There have been times in my life like, what am I doing? But there's someone there that needs you. There's someone there to comfort you and say, Hey, we gotta get outta bed. We gotta do this.

David Maeda 19:17

Right.

Julie marty-Pearson 19:18

And I think. That's why it's so hard when we lose them because they're such a ingrained part of our everyday life and they help us in ways that we don't even realize sometimes until they're gone. So I, I really get what you're saying and it, and it's really beautiful that you can speak about it in that way.

David Maeda 19:37

Well, another story in 2020, obviously it was a difficult year for all of us, but it was very difficult to try to figure out how we were gonna run a, election during a pandemic. And so, sure I was work and since we were working from home, I would work all night. And it was really at that point I had Theo in Diego. Diego was getting pretty sick during that that year. but it was really, really helpful to have the two of them around. It really. Again, refocused my attention onto something other than this is way too much. But then unfortunately Diego died in September that year, and that was like the last straw for me for that entire years. This is all too much.

Julie marty-Pearson 20:19

We can't take it anymore.

David Maeda 20:20

day after he died, I didn't get out of bed and pour a theo thought what the, not only was Diego gone, but the food guy's not gonna move anymore. And so I realized I needed to,

Julie marty-Pearson 20:31

something's wrong with the food machine.

David Maeda 20:34

I realized ire really needed to get, get, keep going because Theo needed me at that point.

Shelters, Volunteering, And Cat Cafes

Julie marty-Pearson 20:42

Sometimes our pets are there to remind us like, it's okay, but also we gotta keep going. Like, I need you. You need me. You know, we're here to get through it. But what you mentioned also in, you know, in terms of struggling and realizing you had to be here for them to take care of them. That is something I learned a lot more about when I volunteered is that people don't realize so many pets end up in shelters because their person has passed or gotten sick and is in the hospital, and people don't realize how many pets who've never been in a shelter who've been in a home their whole lives. End up in those situations where they could be euthanized or they could be living their, the last of their life out in a shelter and nobody wants that. So it's such an important thing to be aware of, even though it's hard for us, we're like, no, somebody has to be able to take care of them. Right. So I can see where that stress came from for you.

David Maeda 21:36

Yeah. That's really sad. I mean, you have a pet that has a nice home and a nice routine, and then they end up in a shelter that's just. Heartbreaking.

Julie marty-Pearson 21:45

Yeah. There, you know, I worked for a little while doing, helping with their dog adoption events that were out in communities for my one of my shelters and. Several times, but one of the times we had taken one with us'cause we thought, well maybe if we get him outta the shelter, they'll, the dog would relax a little.'cause it was very stressed out, very anxious, very afraid. It, we realized that doing that and reading through the paperwork that their person had passed and they'd ended up in the shelter. I had to take the dog outta the cage, put him on my lap, and just let him sit there and just eventually over hours, I felt him start to meld into me, right? Because. Obviously he was used to that, so it's such a sad thing, but maybe someone hearing us talk about it right now will realize I've gotta go ask so-and-so to be the one to take care of my pets if something happens to me, because it is as easy as that. But we just wanna make sure our pets are always taking care of. It's such an important thing to think about.

David Maeda 22:43

Absolutely.

Julie marty-Pearson 22:45

So one of the rescues you mentioned to me, you, it's called Feline Rescue. What can you tell me about that? Obviously Cat Rescue organization.

David Maeda 22:55

So Feline Rescue is, was the shelter I, I adopted Diego and Thompson from. Okay. it's here in St. Paul, Minnesota. It's really the only cat shelter I've actually been in. The other cats Norman and Alias, I, field came from Feline She Rescue as well, so three of them. But three current cats did not come from there. So it's the only shelter I've actually ever been in, and I actually think as I retire, I might volunteer because it was. I enjoy my experience visiting cat shelters.

Links, Book, And Closing Thanks

Julie marty-Pearson 23:25

And you know, it's something I talk about on the podcast all the time, volunteering your time, even an hour or two a week or something. People don't realize how much of a help that is for shelters because they're understaffed and overwhelmed. And that's how I started. The first time I volunteered at my shelter, I worked in their cat room and I cleaned out all the cat. Cages. But what people don't realize is, oh, I don't wanna do that. You get to snuggle them. You gotta get them outta the cage to clean it. And you know, you get to interact with cats who are stuck in cages all day long. they can't be free roaming in shelters unless it's a very different kind of rescue. And just that interaction, you can open up to them, they can feel comfort, and you get to enjoy petting cats.

David Maeda 24:14

We actually, we have a very unique it's a, it's called Cats Meow. It's very close to my house here is a coffee shop, but they work with oh two different shelters to hopefully get cats adopted. I've only been there once, but it was really interesting to me because they have a room where all the cats are in and

Julie marty-Pearson 24:32

yes,

David Maeda 24:32

They're very, all very social, which

Julie marty-Pearson 24:35

yeah, I've seen a lot of that on social when people talk about it, that there are. And I love that idea because people who love cats are gonna love sitting and drinking their coffee and petting cats. Yep. But it socializes them. It, you know, gets people seeing them. I can imagine you're in their coffee, you see one, you're like, I gotta tell so and so. This is the perfect cat for them, you know? So I love that and I'm sure places like that need help, need volunteers too, especially if they're connected to shelters. I've heard of a few, I'm gonna have to look that up. I know there was one rescue I followed at one point. It was the rescue itself that created the cafe, so it was a part of their rescue organization and then that helped them bring in money while also socializing and showing people the cats that were available.

David Maeda 25:20

Yeah, I think it's a great idea.

Julie marty-Pearson 25:21

Yeah. I mean for cat lovers it's like win-win. Yeah. David, I really appreciate. I'm so glad we met. I'm so glad we connected. There's the power of pod match. I will have to tell Alex that. He'll love it. I really appreciate you coming on and I know even though Katz is not the focus of what your job was or even your book, it's such an important part of who you are and your story, so I'm really happy we connected and I got to hear a little bit more of that with you.

David Maeda 25:53

Well, thank you. I've really enjoyed this.

Julie marty-Pearson 25:55

And I will put all the links. We will, I will put the link to Feline Rescue that David mentioned where he adopted some of his cats as well as the links to David on social. And so you can go get his memoir. I am going to be reading that'cause I have a feeling it's gonna be a very entertaining book. But also I really appreciate, as someone who my education and histories in psychology, I. Understand mental health from that side, but as someone who has also dealt with depression and anxiety to this day, I know how hard it is to talk about it. And so I really just wanna say thank you for being open here with us, but also for sharing that in your book, because I'm sure someone has read it or will read it, that it will help them too.

David Maeda 26:41

One of the reasons I wrote. About my depression was I really wanted to get past the stigma about people suffering from mental health. I think we shouldn't feel ashamed talking about it.

Julie marty-Pearson 26:52

Absolutely. I think there's a stigma for everyone, but I'm sure even more so for men to talk about it too.

David Maeda 26:58

Yes, absolutely.

Julie marty-Pearson 27:00

And the more cats the merrier. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Story of My Pet podcast. I appreciate you listening and supporting the podcast. And if you haven't already, wherever you are listening to this episode, make sure you hit follow or subscribe and leave us a rating or review. All of that helps the podcast grow and get to even more listeners and help us. Educate and advocate for animals in need around the world. If you haven't done so already, make sure to check out our new YouTube channel story of my pet podcast. Again, hit the subscribe button, give us some likes and comments on our videos, and that will help the podcast grow on its on YouTube. Thank you so much for being here and much love to you and your pets.