遇見一只貓，在人生最低谷

Interviewer 1： He’s James Bowen， and he’s here with his mate Bob today. James， it’s an amazing story. Once homeless recovering heroin addict...I mean， big time， and you met Bob at a really， really dark time in...in your life. But there’s no cat like Bob， James. Tell us why.

Interviewer 2： It’s an extraordinary cat.

James： He is just， he is an absolutely extraordinary cat. He’s just so intelligent. I’ve never...I’ve had cats all my life， and I’ve never known one to be as smart as this little man， he just can smell something on my sofa. And he start’d following me around after I nursed him back to health. It was a stray， and I found him， and he’d been injured， and I nursed him with 1）antibiotics I got from the 2）RSPCA. Tried to find out where he lived， but I couldn’t.

Interviewer 2： He had no collar or anything.

James： No， nothing like that， no 3）microchip. I mean I’ve had him microchipped since， obviously， but he was there， and I took him in after taking an interest， because nobody seemed to know who he belonged to， and after...after he was better I tried sending him on his way， but he kept following me about， and so...

Interviewer 2： Tell us where you were at in your life at this time， ’cause you’d had a pretty rough time， hadn’t you？

James： Yeah， I was on a 4）methadone program at the time， and I was just getting my life back together， and I’d just moved into a supported housing program， having slept rough in many “5）bed and breakfasts” and 6）hostels， and slowly moving back up the ladder.

Interviewer 2： So you were kind of getting there slowly.

James： Absolutely， yeah. I was getting there， and then he gave me， I would actually say the support and love that I needed， and...

Interviewer 2： So do you think， you know， he...he found， you found each other at the right time？

James： Oh， absolutely， yes. He needed me， that’s for sure， and I don’t think I knew it then， but I definitely needed the love that he gave me， that’s for sure. Bob was always by my side. You know， he sits by my feet when I’m 7）busking or selling papers...

Interviewer 2： And he...he hangs ’round your neck sometimes. James： When we’re walking along and he doesn’t want to walk， he sits ’round my shoulders like a scarf.

Interviewer 2： And...and...and how much， you know， did that make your busking life more profitable， having a cat？ James： Oh， yeah， it made my life a lot easier. I...I can’t deny it， you know， because he loves...he loves the attention， you know， he loves to be the centre of attention. He likes to perform and do his little tricks and things like that.

Interviewer 2： And he’s a bit of a “babe magnet” as well， isn’t he？

James： Oh， yes. He’s definitely， he definitely attracts the ladies.

Interviewer 1： But tell...and the...and the whole thing about the day that you knew it was love or friendship. You found him， and he was...he was injured， he was bad...

James： Yes. After I nursed him back to health， I did， like， go， “Go on， on your way，” and he wasn’t having a bar of it. He just kept following me about. He decided that he was gonna live with me， and cats adopt people， people don’t adopt cats.

Interviewer 2： Do you think it’s， like， you’re saying you were at a bad time in your life. Was it then because you had to care for him， that gave you a...

James： Oh， Absolutely！

Interviewer 2： ...kind of sense of purpose that you’d found too 8）patronizing.

James： ...gave me...you got it...you got it right on the... right on the bar there. You know， he gave me reason. He gave me unconditional love， and in return I took care of him， and all he ever asks is a love， a bit of a 9）stroke and a few biscuits， and that’s...

采訪者甲：他叫詹姆斯·鮑文，今天他帶著伙伴鮑勃來到這里。詹姆斯，這是個很奇妙的故事。一個曾經無家可歸、掙扎著想過上正常生活的癮君子……我的意思是，當時你的毒癮很大，你是在人生中一個無比黑暗的時刻遇見了鮑勃。但鮑勃可不是一只普通的貓，詹姆斯，跟我們說一下他的特別之處吧。

采訪者乙：這是一只非同尋常的貓。

詹姆斯：沒錯，他絕對是一只非凡的貓咪。他真的非常聰明。我從沒……我這輩子養過很多貓，但從沒見過像這只小家伙一樣機靈的貓，他連我沙發上的東西都聞得出來。他在我的照料下恢復健康之后，我去哪里他就跟到哪里。他是只流浪貓，我發現他的時候他受了傷，我從防止虐待動物協會那里拿了些抗生素來給他用。我想找出他原來的住處，但找不到。

采訪者乙：他沒有項圈之類的吧。

詹姆斯：沒有，什么都沒有，也沒有芯片。當然了，從那之后我就給他植入了芯片。當時他就在那里，我來了興趣，就把他帶進了屋里，因為貌似沒有人知道他的主人是誰，然后……他的傷好點了之后，我想把他送走，但他老是跟著我，所以……

采訪者乙：說一下你當時的生活是什么情況吧，因為你那時剛經歷了一段很艱難的時期，對吧？

詹姆斯：是的，我當時正在接受美沙酮戒毒療法，在努力讓生活步入正軌。將就著住了很多簡易旅館和招待所之后，我那時剛剛搬進了廉租房，正慢慢地回歸到正常的社會生活中。

采訪者乙：就是說你當時正慢慢地做回一個正常人。