As Maarten Reesink, teacher animal studies at the University of Amsterdam, was a cat, then he was probably in the third of his nine lives. He was born in 1963. His second life began when he got a cat for the first time at the age of six. And his third life when he discovered the field animal studies existed. At least, that’s what it sounds like when he talks about it: as if he has been reborn twice. And both rebirths now include a book.
Reesink published four years ago Animal and humana Dutch introduction to his field, and now it is Planet kitty just published, about the relationships between people and all kinds of felines, especially domestic cats, through the centuries. Reesink describes the rivalry between early humans and felines, the popularity of cats on the Internet, and various forms of love and hate between humans and cats in between. And all kinds of attempts to understand each other; Reesink participates in research at NL Lab into human-cat interactions.
He also explains how the domestic cat (a descendant of the African wild cat), humans and domestic cats out of Africa) not only took the step to start living together with people, but also took the step to start living together at all. “Dogs have always been social animals,” says Reesink. “Cats have had to adapt twice.”
Cats came, about ten thousand years ago, for the mice that wanted to eat our grain. From the 19th century onwards they even stayed indoors because we gave them food and were able to pet them (just to put it bluntly). And they traditionally belonged to women, because cats reproduce very quickly, so they have come to symbolize fertility, and because mother cats defend their young so fiercely.
I realized: this is what I have always been looking for, this is what I want
The book starts with your biography based on your eight cats. You now live with Ritsel (15), the first was Flodder.
“Yes, my younger sister was so shocked by a cat on the street that my mother thought she should bring one into the house. In the not so good neighborhood in Breda where we lived, there was a hungry kitten wandering around at the time. She probably wouldn’t have survived if we hadn’t adopted her. That changed everything for me! A year later my mother took us to see the lions in Artis for the first time, and then I knew what I wanted to become: lion keeper. All big Flodders! But my parents didn’t think that was a good idea after high school.”
Set too low?
“You apparently didn’t do that. So I thought: I’m going to study biology. But it turned out not to be about animals but about cells. I thought: if I can’t learn to understand animals, let’s try to understand people.”
Long story short: he went to the University of Amsterdam, got his propaedeutic diploma in political science and graduated in communication sciences, with a thesis on gossip magazines. He then became a lecturer at the UvA, in the then new field media studiesand specialized in the also new phenomenon of reality TV, which quickly earned him a permanent position. “But that was all in a previous life. I quickly got tired of it.”
How did you come to animal stuthats justifiably?
“In 2005, a student wanted to write a thesis about nature documentaries. There probably isn’t much information about that, I thought. But within half an hour I found dozens of articles and books. A little later I understood why. In the 1990s, a new field had emerged in England and America: human animal studiesin short animal studiesabout all aspects of human-animal relations. For me it was love at first sight. I remember exactly where I was and what the weather was like. I realized: this is what I have always been looking for, this is what I want.
“I started reading everything about it and three years later I started taking classes animal studies to give. First in media studies. Everyone was laughing when I suggested it, but luckily someone Googled it and said: wait, I’m getting 40 million hits, maybe he’s serious. I still lecture there, about everything from the animals in Disney to David Attenborough’s documentaries and cat videos on the internet. Later I also started lecturing at the Institute for Disciplinary Studies, but very broadly: from the domestication of animals in history to animal rights and animals in everyday life.”
After this, I want to write one more book: about applying AI to what goes on in animals
You are really a cat person, but there are no major differences in character from dog people, you write. One of the clearest differences is that cat people vote more left on average. It is ironic that Geert Wilders is the only Dutch politician to show that he loves cats.
“Wilders should look at it from the perspective of his cat, Noortje. Our Christian tradition has been very opposed to cats. In 1233 there was even an encyclical against cats: cats were devils and the Pope had to exterminate them. The result was that the bubonic plague broke out because the black rat was no longer combated. If there is one faith that has always been positive about cats, it is Islam. The Prophet Mohammed loved cats.”
What will you do now that this book is finished?
“After this, I want to write one more book: about applying AI to what goes on in animals. Research groups all over the world are working on that. It is estimated that in fifteen years we will have a Google Translate for animal language. Well, when I read that I rolled out of my chair and Ritsel rolled along with me. During lectures I always ask if someone has a kitten or puppy, and then I say: if this prediction comes true, you will be able to get your cat or dog at the end of start asking questions about his life.”
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