Hello Blackwater Friends,
Once again Flòraidh MacDonald Ford has agreed to take our questions for Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day. She joins us from her heated stool in Elizabeth’s home office. Please read our previous interviews with her here and here.
Good morning Flòraidh, and thank you for joining us again this year.
Good morning, and thank you for having me. We have a lot of catching up to do!
So we do; let’s get started. And this year we have some questions from your internet public as well.
(Rolls over, shows belly).
Current body count:
44. When I get to 50 our lawyer said he’d buy me a steak. It’s good to have a goal.
Caused any chaos this year?
I think that depends on how you define “chaos.” But a few events stick out. One morning I wanted mommy to get up so I leapt to the top of the dresser and knocked over a full vase of flowers. It was a mess! Another morning, she didn’t get up immediately when I meowed, so I jumped up and clawed her head and the pillow and then stood on her throat and howled. Now I have to spend the night in the basement.
Did you learn anything from this?
Me? No, but mommy should have learned that it could have all been avoided if she’d just get up at 4 a.m. Oh, there was also the time I knocked over a full glass of red wine onto white carpet… After engaging in several rounds of chemical warfare mommy had to borrow a steamer…
(Stretches long with tummy exposed. Pulls front feet up to resemble a bunny).
What do you think of your sisters, Sally and Lucy?
Well, they’re dogs. So far as dogs go, they’re alright. I like to bat their tails and sometimes I take a swipe at Lucy just because I can. Sally found me, so I try to be nice to her, but I love lying against the kitchen heat duct and making the door move and trapping her in the hall. I could do that all day! (Submitted by Kaaren Ford).
Do you know when Blackwater’s submissions will reopen?
Soon. I’m ready to roll on a few new books. And I’ve discovered I really like sitting on the keyboard of the computer! Almost as nice as my heated bed.
What’s the nicest thing you did this year?
I sent some food and treats I don’t like to less advantaged cats. I also picked out a new collar from Made By Cleo for a kitten who is soon to be welcomed into his new home. He looks like me, but fluffy. I even had it gift-wrapped! (Submitted by Samantha Stafford).
Do you have any advice for Elizabeth in the coming year?
Yes. Get up earlier. Don’t talk when I’m having laptime. Childless cat ladies are still the best but there’s always room for improvement and personal growth. (Submitted by Samantha Stafford).
What are you saying when you howl?
Is ann aìr a shon fhèin an ni an cat crònan.
Flora, to what do you owe your keen litter-rary sensibilities? Parental influence? Innate talent? And what is your favorite time of day to review manuscripts? Any “pet” peeves we authors should avoid? Thank you.
Thank you for this question. I think parental influence has a lot to do with it: the night Sally found me and I got to go home I flopped down on the manuscript of Ma Chère Maman. The Flounder and Ballad of Cherrystoke soon followed. I think being read to as a kitten made a big difference so now I can judge quality. I’m always on call for reviewing a manuscript: if the papers are out, I’m ready to flop (or not). I think it’s well-known that we don’t accept any manuscript in an animal is lost or killed. Avoid that and avoid comparing yourselves to Hemingway in the cover email, don’t send a manuscript with the tracking turned on, and use full sentences. And please, no dragons. (Submitted by Sheila McEntee).
Do you have any predictions for 2026?
I’d like to see some more submissions in our Recollections series, and I’d be especially keen on manuscripts related to Flora MacDonald or other women of her time and place. I hope I get even more time to snuggle and knock things over and eventually stop having to sleep in the basement.
If you were a book, which book would you be?
That’s a really hard question. I like a book to be long and engrossing enough that I can get a good snuggle in while reading it, but not so long that the book is too heavy to be held up, and it has to rest on me. I also really enjoy the Jenny and the Cat Clubseries by Esther Averill. (Submitted by Vivien Williams).
What’s your favourite bird?
I have two bird feeders in front of my house, so I spend a lot of time running from window to window to monitor. I like cardinals, and starlings are interesting too.
Do you believe in international law, or can a small country be taken by force?
Thank you for this question. Given historical precedents, especially from the eighteenth century, it’s how nations were built, but it doesn’t always work out. I can think of a few notable examples that ended in ignominious and crushing defeat for the invading force. But if I were an outside cat, I would want to annex the neighbour’s yard, and no one will tell me I can’t do it.
Do you always look grumpy or did something bad happen just now?
If you’re referring to the picture Flora et Florae in the post, mommy had just told me to stop eating that African violet and just because my name means flower doesn’t mean I can eat them. It’s an ongoing debate we have. And I win because that violet has my teeth marks on it now.
You like to brag about your “body count.” What is it you kill…and what do you do with the bodies?
Rodents, primarily. Bugs and lizards are also included in the total. I like to show mommy, but she doesn’t like that. Sometimes there’s a burial at sea. I’m also known as the Angel of Death. (Submitted by Samantha Stafford).
How do you really feel about living in Kentucky?
Um, well, I don’t get as carsick anymore, but otherwise it’s not that different routine-wise. I don’t see as many other animals from the windows, so it isn’t as interesting as West Virginia., and nothing compares to the Yurt. (Submitted by Jenny Totten). (Folds in half, licks behind).
Flora, do you go outside? And if you do, what are your activities there?
I’m a housecat but I love fresh air, so when the weather is suitable, I take the air in a large dog crate on the back porch. I sniff, meow, and sometimes my lizard friend stops by. (Submitted by Susan Weisser).
Do you prefer the English or the Gaelic spelling of your name?
Gaelic, but I answer to both.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Tha iongantas air a chat earball a bhi aìr.
(Launches self at Christmas tree scratching post trunk, chasing tail while going in a circle around it with her toy unicorn in her mouth).
I think we’ll leave it there! Until next year, Flòraidh~!
Leave a Reply