Interview with Fellow Writer, Pet Lover

I recently had a fun-filled, pet-focused interview with Kristen King, freelance writer and owner of two cats, two mastiffs and a pug! She blogs about her pets and other aspects of her twentysomething life in rural Virginia at KristenKing.com. At InkthinkerBlog.com, Kristen shares her knowledge of the writing biz with freelance writers and editors.

Here’s our discussion. I hope you enjoy it. Please keep the fun going in comments too.

Me: Some people think that working from home is a walk in the park with few distractions. You and I know better! I’ve found that my cat Choco can be rather demanding and difficult when he feels that I should be playing with him instead of working.

How do you deal with pet distractions affecting your work schedule?

Kristen: I’m a Grade-A procrastinator, so it’s really easy for me to get off track if I allow myself to get distracted. And let’s face it: Sometimes playing with the pets is way more fun than what I need to be doing! But through some trial and error, I’ve found a routine that works for both me and my animals. Unless someone is choking or on fire, I don’t do too much with the pups during the work day. But they know that 5 o’clock is time to play! They look forward to this time together in the afternoons once all my work is finished, and so do I. It’s a great way for all of us to burn off some energy and have a good time.

The biggest issues I have with any of the animals is that they want to be petted or held while I’m trying to concentrate. The pug is allowed in my lap when I’m typing sometimes. She promptly falls asleep. The big dogs will knock my mouse and keyboard around while gunning for affection, but I can generally distract them with a toy or get them to lie down under my desk so I can pet them with my feet. The cats do have tendency to pace back and forth in front of my computer screen and chase the cursor, but some snuggles in my lap while I work usually solves that problem.

There have been times where one of the animals was sick or had an injury and I needed to handle it right away. For instance, Murphy the English mastiff once ate a bottle of Xanax, and Ty the bullmastiff ripped out a stitch after knee surgery and bled all over my office. In those situations, my babies come first. I’ve called or emailed clients on the way to the vet before to let them know that I was having an emergency, and I’ll do it again when I need to. They always understand. And fortunately, it really doesn’t happen very often.

Me: You talked about Dog Disasters recently. What’s your most crazy experience with your dogs?

Kristen: Oh my word, Peggy, there are so many. I made Dog Disasters (subcategories: Mastiff Mayhem and Pug Pandemonium) a regular feature on my blog after I realized that it was going to be a regular feature in my life. A partial list of the things my dogs have eaten or destroyed: a down comforter, a feather throw pillow, a 10-lb bag of flour, a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, two phones, several remote controls, a wallet, the right shoe from four pairs of shoes and the left shoe from a fifth pair (all mine), several of my husband’s shirts, a 2.5-box of chocolates, two pans of brownies, a baguette from Panera, a raw sweet potato, so many unattended plates of food that I’ve lost count… The list goes on and on.

I think the funniest mess they ever made, which narrowly beats out the 10 lbs of flour, is the day that I came back from being gone less than an hour and discovered that they had shredded the new phone book and found a picture of themselves that we had wrapped as a gift, unwrapped it, and completely decimated the frame. The picture was unharmed.

Me: Do you ever have cat disasters too?

Kristen: Most of our cat disasters involve the kitties’ getting stuck in weird places. For instance, Zoe the Lynx point Siamese, has gotten trapped inside slightly open dresser drawers when we closed them without realizing she was asleep inside. When we first got her, Zoe also managed to climb to the top shelf of our coat closet and got stuck for several hours. I found her shaking and mewing, unsure of how to get down. But I think the funniest thing that ever happened to any of our cats was when Julius, our 1-year-old orange tabby who was killed by a car this past spring, fell off my husband’s desk and got stuck between the desk and the wall for a good hour or so. It took me ages to figure out where the yowling was coming from, and a good 10 minutes to drag the massive desk out far enough for him to escape.

Me: Have you played around with the idea of adding fish or birds to your pet mix?!?

Kristen: I had a bird growing up but it was just not a good match. And every fish I ever had died rather quickly. I think I’m more into mammals. And, you know, pets that are unlikely to be eaten by my other pets.

Me: Several writers have noted that cats make the best pets for writers. Some even refer to their cats as a muse. How do you feel about that? Do you believe that one pet is better suited to writers than another?

Kristen: Cats are great pets for writers, but I really am partial to my dogs. They don’t sprawl across my hands while I’m typing or bite me when I try to push them off my desk. The dogs are far more forgiving and great for taking a high-energy break when your brain is just fried. I think cats are better for readers because there is nothing like curling up with a great book and a purring cat in your lap.

Me: I personally think pet owners should be able to deduct pet food and vet expenses from their taxes. Do you think that will ever happen?

Kristen: I agree with you. Pets are like kids. They’re totally dependent on their owners for care. And since I go through 60-70 lbs of dog food every month and have some pretty insane vet bills due to Murphy’s food allergies and neurological issues, it would be a big help to be able to deduct at least a portion of what we spend! Murphy in particular is a costly canine. He is constantly fighting rashes and ear infections, and requires lots of care. The other animals are fairly routine, but with 5 pets even routine visits add up fast. And you can’t really plan for emergencies and the unexpected, like when Ty blew out his knee and required reconstructive surgery, or when Pickles tested positive for Lyme disease and required a long round of heavy-duty antibiotics. Pets are just plain expensive!

Me: On a more serious note, (perhaps?) what are your goals for your blogs?

Kristen: KristenKing.com is a new-ish venture, borne out of combining my pet blog, Meow/Bark/Blog, and my personal blog, Sass Pants, into a single site. It’s truly a personal blog, and I approach my posts there like a magazine column. I share funny and poignant personal experiences, comment on the world around me, and explore concepts that fascinate me. In some ways, it’s very much like a journal but with the consciousness that it’s available for public consumption. Ideally, I’d like to continue posting more frequently and with a voice that’s increasingly true to myself. It’s important to me to talk about the things women in their late 20s are dealing with as they transition into “real” adulthood, because a lot of the challenges this group often faces go undiscussed.

Over at InkthinkerBlog.com, I focus specifically on freelance writing/editing and small business issues. The main goal there is to educate freelancers and the folks who hire them while growing my business. I hope to make Inkthinker a truly go-to resource for the ins and outs of being a freelance writer. At the moment, I’m performing a bit of an audit on my professional web presence to figure out what’s working, what’s not, and what I need to tweak to better support my brand. That sounds kind of boring, I know, but there’s a lot of excitement involved because I’m figuring out what’s next!

(Image via Peggy Rowland)