Blues for the Cat
© 2000-2007 Kiboud Maulana
(written, played, arranged and mixed
by Kiboud Maulana)

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Kiboud's cat Bobby  disappeared a year ago, while he was on holiday in Bali. When he came back to find him gone he was heartbroken. Bobby's disappearance prompted him to write a song, "Blues for the Cat", which will now  be the first of a series dedicated to animals and birds, the musician's first love. Living in Indonesia, the home of the orang-utan, the tiger, the rhinoceros and some of the world's rarest birds, Kiboud is conscious of an urgent need both to  protect endangered species and also to treat all animals better.

Q: What was so great about Bobby?
KM: The cat was incredibly musical. When I was playing my guitar, rehearsing for a blues concert, he would jump in my guitar case and listen for  hours. He had very acute hearing. If he heard me tuning the guitar or testing my accessories he would be there straight away, even if he was visiting his girlfriend  next door.

Q: Did he have an unusual personality?
KM. Yes, a distinct character. I found it easy to communicate with him. His voice was like the wah wah pedal, especially when he appeared early in the morning demanding his breakfast. When his girlfriend  had kittens he would bring them over to my place to feed them. I liked it that he was so responsible, even though it cost me. Of course he was very smart, he knew how to get what he wanted!

To me animals talk to each other in a way which relates to music. It's hard to explain, but if  you get to know an animal well, you can tell what he wants from the tone of his voice. It's a bit like a baby. Sound is their method of communication. I think that for most of his life, when I played music, my cat thought I was talking to him. In a way, I was.