HOW TO DOMESTICATE A HUMAN
Illustrated by Andrea Ferolla
Preface by Daria Bignardi
Giunti publisher
We live in a world infested by humans and altered to fit their image and likeness; life, for other species, is not easy at all.
But it is no coincidence that there have never been so many humans and, at the same time, so many cats on the planet. It’s time to face reality: maybe we’re the pets. And the cats are the ones who choose, domesticate, and educate us.
This short treatise, written from the point of view of a cat, describes our species from an alien and light-hearted point of view: extraordinarily skilled and intelligent primates who are often driven by incomprehensible reasons, most of all the obsession with things – or thingitis.
And it reveals the techniques that felines have always used to subjugate us, with the grace that is natural to them.
I grew up in a house where humans and cats had always lived together and I learned to love cats from a very young age. But love is too big and vague a word. Cats have bewitched, moved, amused, made me fall in love, conquered and unquestionably educated me.
My cat Bobo was a very sweet tabby cat who let me do everything to him, including driving him around in a doll’s stroller. He used to sleep with me, under the sheets, with his head leaning against the pillow, next to mine. Perhaps it was Bobo’s kindness that taught me something. I understood that, as he adapted for my happiness, I had to do the same. So, in addition to covering him in kisses – for my sake – I carefully licked his head, for his, or so I thought. Unfortunately, my tongue didn’t have the same raspy, dry touch feline tongues are known for, and Bobo’s head was always a bit muddy and we had to wait for it to normalize before going out in public. But Bobo was happy to let himself be licked. Dear Bobo – what a wonderful friend.
All the cats in my life – the family ones and those who sometimes stop by and then disappear, especially in the house in Monterosso al Mare, which is an area of heavy feline traffic – have taught me something.
And so this booklet, this manual for educating a human being, comes from my personal experience as a perfectly domesticated monkey. It spontaneously gushed from my fountain pen during the lockdown and settled on the pages of the notebook, taking shape quickly, day after day, as if it had just been waiting to come out. Then the computer followed, the revisions, the thoughts, the corrections; the work with Andrea Ferolla, who created the wonderful illustrations, and with Daria Bignardi, who wrote the preface and helped the book become a reality.
But the start was as natural as a cat jumping on the table during dinner.
