September 30, 2025 • 20 mins
Move over, self-help gurus—this week on Cattitude, Michelle Fern welcomes veteran writer John Riddle and his grandsons Alex and Gavin Podgorski to introduce their whiskered life coach, Mr. Dill Pickles. We’re celebrating Life Advice from Mr. Dill Pickles, a hilariously sassy new book (now on Amazon) delivering 30 bite-size lessons for living your best cat life—think “Nap like it’s your job,” “Only cuddle when it’s inconvenient,” and “The laser is never real… but chase it anyway.” Co-authored by Alex and Gavin with Pop-Pop’s polish from John, each tip comes with laugh-out-loud explanations and “cat fun facts.” You’ll even hear a rare proclamation from atop the fridge as Mr. Dill Pickles explains why sunbeams beat spreadsheets every time. If you love cats, comedy, and unapologetic feline wisdom, curl up, press play, and let Mr. Dill Pickles run your nine lives.
EPISODE NOTES: Life Advice from Mr. Dill Pickles
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EPISODE NOTES: Life Advice from Mr. Dill Pickles
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cattitude-the-1-cat-podcast--6666768/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He Live.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's Talk pets.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Hello, cat levers, Welcome to Catachud. I'm your show host,
nachelle Ferne. What a special show do I have for
you today? I have not one but three guests today
and we're going to talk about life advice from a
very special feeline. So stay tuned. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
You know the expression cats have nine lives? Well, what
if you can give them one more? But give them ten?
Movement is on a mission to help give cats an
extra life. How with spae and neoter Spain or nootering
cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and it
helps control free rollming cat populations too. Learn more about
(01:08):
the benefits of spee and neoter and meet Scooter the
neoter cat at Give them ten dot org. That's give
them ten dot org.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome John Riddle and
his grandsons Alex and Gavin. Welcome, gentlemen.
Speaker 6 (01:43):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I'm so excited to have you. So you, all three
of you wrote this clever little book called Life Advice
from mister Dill Pickles.
Speaker 6 (01:55):
Yes, it was a fun project to work on together.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
So, John, you're an author, you've written many many books, yes, right,
and you decided have you written a book with your
grandsons before?
Speaker 6 (02:06):
No, this is the first book I've written with my grandsons.
Some years ago, I wrote a book with my oldest daughter,
Bonnie when she was in college. So it's always fun
to write the books with people in your family. And
I'm so happy that the two of my grandsons said, hey,
we'll do the book with you, as long as our
cat can do.
Speaker 7 (02:22):
It as well.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Oh that was the thing. Okay, so as long as
the cat could do it. And is there an age
range for this book?
Speaker 6 (02:30):
Well, actually, if you can read and you'd like to laugh,
there's really no age limit. Or you've had people in
their young elementary school to their senior senior years and
they've sent us messages and emails and they just think
the book is just so outrageously funny.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Very funny and really cool. So you gave me a
little hint here. But is there a real mister Dill
Pickles who inspired books? Okay? So first, how did you
get the name Del Pickles or mister Dill Pickles? But
I didn't understand the mister but Dill pickles.
Speaker 7 (03:02):
Me and my brother like to eat pickles, and it's
one of our favorite foods.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
But you had to add the dill. You only like
the dill pickles. Yeah, no gurkins, no sweet bread and
butter pickles for you guys.
Speaker 6 (03:15):
Right right. And they thought mister Jill Pickles sound he
kind of glassy, so that one stuck.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yes, very classy. Not only do I love cats, but
I also love pickles. So tell us about the real
mister Dell Pickles.
Speaker 7 (03:28):
He really likes to play and he's very energetic, okay.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And what kind of a cat? Is he a certain
breed or just a mix? Was he rescue?
Speaker 6 (03:37):
He's a tux feedo cat, And once he got to
the house, he pretty much decided he was going to
be the king of the castle.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Like don't they all right? I have a tux too,
But yours has a better name minus Molly heres his
You know, mister Dell Pickles, which sounds very fancy. Does
he like pickles? He like to like dim He doesn't
really eat him, doesn't really eat him, okay, not up
his alle. Okay, So tell me what makes mister Dill
pickles qualified to give life advice. John, do you want
(04:05):
to take this one?
Speaker 6 (04:06):
Well, the kids want to add something first?
Speaker 7 (04:08):
Oh is Thredi pickle wolves that he is filled with
great wisdom and being a generous cat that he is,
he wanted to pass along some advice.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Okay, all right, very good? And then John, what did
you think of having, you know, mister dill Pickles give
life advice?
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Well, I figured, like you said, with all cats they
feel like they rule the ruse through the king of
the castle. So I figured misterill Pickles would certainly have
a lot to say about advice for cats and really
as humans for will if you read between the lines.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yep, I do, got it. Let's talk about some of
the more poignant pieces of advice that are in the book.
What would you say are some because you have several
y'all like you pegment which.
Speaker 7 (04:51):
Especially at their pam, they need to know you have thoughts. Okay,
and show love in weird ways. Headbuts burrang for presenting
a half dead mouse.
Speaker 6 (05:01):
They'll get it.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Oh, so you think that is one of the best
pieces of advice when the cat brings you a reward. Yes,
So I have to say the only thing my cat's
brought me was a lizard because I'm in South Florida,
and I'm okay with that. I don't know if I
would do so well with the border of rodent. Has
mister dol Pickles brought you either of those things?
Speaker 7 (05:22):
Not really yet. But he's still quite young.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Oh how old is he?
Speaker 7 (05:25):
He just turned a year a couple months ago.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Ah, so pretty much. It's kind of like a kitten still, John,
what is your favorite piece of advice in the book?
Speaker 6 (05:34):
Favor piece of advice is actually two of them. It's
number five, never come when cold and also at closed doors,
because what cat does not like to meal? I'll be
trying the door is closed.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
That is so true. Actually, my partner, I'll see him,
you know, we both work from home, and I'll see
him on the couch. What's happening done to the day? No,
Molly wanted me to come sit with her. Said, really,
you can't just ignore the me out. No, I cannot.
So so true. And you know I have to say
the advice number six star into the void and the
(06:10):
fact that you put the cat fun cat that cats
can see euv lights. I had another guest tell me
that they called it cat TV when cats just stare
at nothing like your couch cushion or the wall, just
glaze over staring like that.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
They do love to stare, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I think that's one of their specialties. Okay, how did
you come up with the cat fun packs?
Speaker 6 (06:33):
I figured, along with the advice from mister Jil Pickle,
there should be a fun fact. It's kind of semi
serious and sometime I'm serious, so we thought that would
be a nice mix. And based on reader feedback, they
liked both the funny advice from mister Jill Pickles and
the cat fundbacks.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah. I love both. I love both and so true.
I'm reading the Cat Fun Packs and I've been doing
cat Tea for eight years, so I've learned a lot
of facts about cats. Whatever I didn't know, I'm still,
you know, I'm learning as I go, but I've learned
so much. And yeah, all the cat fun facts were like, okay,
nod yep, I got that. I remember hearing that. Okay.
(07:10):
I don't think I heard from both the boys any more. Favorites,
Alex Gavin, do you have a favorite piece of advice?
Speaker 7 (07:17):
I like the cats love sunbathing because it helps them
stay warm, plus it's basically a spot treatment. Oh yes,
one of my favorites is cats prefer crinkly paper and
bottle caps over toys because chaos is priceless.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Oh yes, so true. Here's one of my favorites. I
can't find the chapter, but I remember it really Oh,
sleeping impossible shapes. You know people have had the saying
cats are liquid. Yes, I actually have a show on
that too. It's It's hard, this s broke book. That
brings a lot of memories, which also makes it great.
But I had a show like that too. And cats
(07:55):
just yeah, they just make themselves fit anywhere. So yes,
which is mind boggling and so true. All of a sudden,
you're looking down and have you, guys ever had mister
dill Pickles hide like in your closet and not realized
he'd got in there and went to look for something,
and the cat just jumped out at you.
Speaker 7 (08:13):
Yeah, he lost the hide in the bathroom, and whenever
someone walks by, he'll jump out at them.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I'll tell you another favorite, because this actually happened. Which
chapter is the one where the cat attacks your toes?
Speaker 6 (08:25):
Not sure it's a moment, but I do know that
when my wife and I were visiting their house in
North Carolina last year and we stayed overnight. Mister dill
Pickles is such a ninja cat. Because I tried to
close the bedroom door so he wouldn't get in, and
I don't know how he did it. Literally, within like
a half a second, he dared it in and I
didn't know it, and he's under the bed. All of
(08:47):
a sudden, I hear this cat noise in the middle
of the night. I realized he got in somehow.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
That's clever. He's definitely good to give advice. You mentioned
this in the book, but I can't recall the chapter
how cats like to attack things, especially toes, and they
seem to be you know, it's the middle of the
night or early morning or right when you're going to sleep,
and if you're moving around you see something moving under
the blanket, they're ready to attack and you know, hello,
(09:14):
it's my foot. Do not attack. But yep, they're very
interesting creatures. All right, we're going to take a short
break and we'll be right back.
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Speaker 3 (10:37):
Welcome back everyone. We're talking to the authors of life
Advice from mister Dill Pickles. We're talking to John Alex
and Gavin so gentlemen, we talked about this a little
bit in the first part. But what made you decide, Okay,
I'm going to write a book and we're going to
write it together. What was it? Did you get the cat?
(10:59):
It was app do you have, mister del Pickles, I'm sure.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
As you know. I'm the founder of I Love to
Write Day, which is a grassroots campaign I launched in
two thousand and two to have people of all ages
spend time writing every November fifteenth. I believe that everyone
should write a book, even a cat. And when my
oldest daughter, Bonnie was in college, we co wrote a
book called for God and Country. When there was a
chance to write a book with two of my grandsons
(11:22):
and mister Dill Pickles, I jumped right in and.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Boys, what lead you decide?
Speaker 7 (11:27):
I wanted to write the book. Video would be a
fun way, and I've alreadys wanted to write a book,
and I want it would be a cool idea. And
I've always loved writing, so I wanted to connect with
my public.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Well, I admire all of you. You know, it's on
my bucket list to write a book. I love to read,
so it's on my list, all right, let's talk about
some more about like advice with mister del Pickles. Do
you think the book that this is a little far
of a stretch in a sense, but maybe not. I
think that the one of the underlying messages for the
(11:59):
book is that it can help people understand cats better,
especially since you have the cat fun fact at the
end of very chapter. So do you think by helping
people understand cats better that it might help with cat adoption?
Speaker 7 (12:16):
I think it could help with cat adoption and showing
how funny and cute cats can be. I think it
could help people adopt cats.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
Let's face it, cats need love, people need love, So
it's win win for everyone, exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
You know what they say, You can't adopt one, you
have to adopt two at a time. So does mister
don't Pickles have a partner?
Speaker 6 (12:38):
Not yet?
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Well, you guys, not everybody can adopt two cats one.
So mine came. I had one, and then two came together,
and then another two came the other. But yeah, I
had five at one time, but two were like community
outdoor cats, five and two dogs a lot of fur
in the house. But I always think that there is
some truth to the fact that cats the joy. And
(13:01):
the wonder of cats is that you don't understand them
and that's what makes them so special. And I think
it's important to get that message out. And once people
get the message, then they're like, you know, I have
to look at it a different way because there's that
misconception that cats are like small dogs. So I think
your book can help people understand caps better and realize
(13:24):
how quirky they are and fun and you know, they
just have a lot of attitudes and their way of
doing things and it doesn't mean it's wrong. So that's
one of the messages I kind of got from your book.
Speaker 6 (13:35):
It's true cats do bring a lot of joy into
our lives, don't they.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
They sure do, and bizarre happenings too, So everybody from
you know, I have a very large listening audience for Catitude,
which I'm grateful for. Why should listeners read the book?
Why should listeners read life advice from mister Dell Pickles?
Speaker 6 (13:55):
Well, basically it's perfect for cat lovers, humor fans, and
anyone in death need of sarcastic life advice. Life Advice
from mister Dill Pickles reminds us that sometimes the best
way to face the world is with flaws out, tail
high and zero apologies.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
You know what that needs to be on a T
shirt and a coffee.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Bug or a bumper sticker. What's something sticker?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Something like that. Yes, that's a great way to put it.
So if you could give I know I asked a
question like this earlier, but if you could give a
person one piece of advice from the life advice from
mister Dill Pickles, what would you tell them might not
be your favorite, but one piece of advice from the
entire book.
Speaker 6 (14:36):
Oh, let's go. I'd have to narrow it down here
that you should understand that cats love to knock things over,
especially if it's important to you. But you shouldn't take
it personally because gravity is lifestyle choryes for cats. Is
they see something on the edge of a table or
a counter, they just want to jump up and push
it aside. So don't take it personally. But CAATs do
(14:56):
love to knock things over, as all cat lovers know.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Very good. So let's talk about the future. Is there
another book coming from mister Dill Pickles.
Speaker 6 (15:06):
Yes, yes, look for his next book on Amazon in
early November and it'll be titled a Cat's Guide to
Surviving the Holidays, a humorous yet insightful look at the
holiday season through the eyes of a wise, sassy tuxedo cat,
with lots of laughs and a sprinkle of advice about
cat safety around trees, lights, visitors, and more.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Oh, yes, that's important. So can you give us a
little any kind of little hints on though maybe one
of the things you'll be discussing in your book.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
We're going to be covering such things as lights, twinkle
and shock, while chewing wires is a bad idea, ornaments,
shiny spears of doom, they are too much fun, and
fake tree versus real tree, which tastes better. So we'll
be indressing a whole bunch of cat holiday fun facts
and laugh out loud shidbits.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Are you can have any recipes for the holidays for cats?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
Well, we're thinking about that. We've asked mister Dill Pickles
if he had any favorite recipes and he's kind of
looked at us and said, yeah, So I think that's
a positive answer.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yes, that's very positive. Is the holiday season we're talking?
Probably Christmas time? Thanksgiving time? Is that mister del Pickles's
favorite time year?
Speaker 6 (16:20):
Yes, it's his favorite once he gets through Halloween, and
he loves to dress up for Halloween. He's just ready
for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and he likes to ring in the
New Year with his little fancy hat on.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Okay, great, well we're close to Halloween now, so what's
he going to be for Halloween?
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Well, he's looking at maybe a baby Yoda costume, but
we're not really sure. He likes to change his mind
at the last minute.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Oh, typical cat. Like So, mister dill Pickles is a
tuxedo cat. Boys, if you were going to get a
playmate for him, say tomorrow, what type of cat would
mister Dill Pickles get along the best with.
Speaker 7 (16:55):
I don't know, maybe another tuxedo cat, so they're similar.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
So the colors, yeah, so just black and white, no ginger, no,
no orange cats.
Speaker 6 (17:05):
What about sphinx that would be a good Yeah. I
bet the sphinx cat will also run and write a
book as well.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
You know, Sphinx cats are a very high maintenance. I
almost adopted one, and then I didn't think my cat
crew would like it, and I was afraid he would
get hurt. I have very unusual cats, well in my mind,
but they're probably not you think you'd get along with
the sphinx.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
Maybe we'd have to read up on first just to
see what just what the likes and quirks are.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Right, Well, they're high maintenance, that's what I know of them. Gentlemen,
you've written a wonderful book. Where can people purchase it?
Speaker 6 (17:40):
Well, you can purchase life Advice from mister Dill Pickles
on Amazon, or you can visit the official website at
mister Dill picklesdcat dot com. And in a few weeks
mister Dill Pickles will have his own line of merchandise hats, mugs,
and pens.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Well, that's exciting. And his website again is mister Dill
Pickles the chat, Yes.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
Mister Dill picklescat dot com. And we'll send you a
some of the merchandise as soon as we had copies.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
If you get another cat, or you can name him,
I don't know, after another vegetable or condiment. Some people
think of pickles as a condiment, which is not it's
a vegetable.
Speaker 7 (18:17):
If we got a new cat, I would want to
name him cucumber.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Cucumber. Oh, so okay, so we're keeping in with the
Pickle family, Yes, yes, doll Pickles a memory of cucumber, which,
of course, so we're pickles. I'm rid on.
Speaker 7 (18:34):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
So gentlemen, it's been so much fun having you on
this show. Before we go, mister doll Pickles looks like
he is a very generous fellow. Does he do anything charitable?
Speaker 6 (18:45):
He'll be donating a part of the proceeds of his
monthly rotation from Amazon to cat rescue place, one in
North Carolina and one in Delaware.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
That's wonderful. Was mister dill Pickles from a rescue?
Speaker 7 (18:57):
We got mister Pickles from a friend who had kittens.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
So he's rescue. Yep, that's a rescue, so which they're
the best cats. Well, I want to thank you all
for coming on Cata Tude and telling us all about
life advice from mister dill Pickles.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Well, thank you for having us. We appreciate it very much.
And as mister Dill Pickles would like to leave with
one piece of advice, he says, live long and me ou,
I love it.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
That's another one that I would like on a T shirt.
Thank you so much to all my feline friends. I
hope you enjoyed the show. Be sure to check out
this book. It's it's a really cool little book and
you know holidays are coming up. It makes a great gift.
Life advice from mister Dill Pickles by John Riddle and
Alex and Gavin, and it's sold on Amazon. We will
(19:47):
have all the information up on this episode show page
as well, and the website is mister Dill picklesthecat dot com.
So thank you again so much for listening. Thank you
to my guest, yes Is, for coming on Catitude. Thank
you to my cat crew. That was very amusing as
I read the book and said, yep, that's Dennis, that's Charlotte,
(20:09):
Oh that's Mollie. You know, everything reminded me of my
cat crew. So thank you Dennis, Charlotte, Mollie, and of course,
thank you so much to my producer, Mark Winter for
working your magic and making every show sound amazing. Now remember,
use the attitude, have Catitude
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on PETLVE
radio dot com
He Live.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's Talk pets.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Hello, cat levers, Welcome to Catachud. I'm your show host,
nachelle Ferne. What a special show do I have for
you today? I have not one but three guests today
and we're going to talk about life advice from a
very special feeline. So stay tuned. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
You know the expression cats have nine lives? Well, what
if you can give them one more? But give them ten?
Movement is on a mission to help give cats an
extra life. How with spae and neoter Spain or nootering
cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and it
helps control free rollming cat populations too. Learn more about
(01:08):
the benefits of spee and neoter and meet Scooter the
neoter cat at Give them ten dot org. That's give
them ten dot org.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome John Riddle and
his grandsons Alex and Gavin. Welcome, gentlemen.
Speaker 6 (01:43):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I'm so excited to have you. So you, all three
of you wrote this clever little book called Life Advice
from mister Dill Pickles.
Speaker 6 (01:55):
Yes, it was a fun project to work on together.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
So, John, you're an author, you've written many many books, yes, right,
and you decided have you written a book with your
grandsons before?
Speaker 6 (02:06):
No, this is the first book I've written with my grandsons.
Some years ago, I wrote a book with my oldest daughter,
Bonnie when she was in college. So it's always fun
to write the books with people in your family. And
I'm so happy that the two of my grandsons said, hey,
we'll do the book with you, as long as our
cat can do.
Speaker 7 (02:22):
It as well.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Oh that was the thing. Okay, so as long as
the cat could do it. And is there an age
range for this book?
Speaker 6 (02:30):
Well, actually, if you can read and you'd like to laugh,
there's really no age limit. Or you've had people in
their young elementary school to their senior senior years and
they've sent us messages and emails and they just think
the book is just so outrageously funny.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Very funny and really cool. So you gave me a
little hint here. But is there a real mister Dill
Pickles who inspired books? Okay? So first, how did you
get the name Del Pickles or mister Dill Pickles? But
I didn't understand the mister but Dill pickles.
Speaker 7 (03:02):
Me and my brother like to eat pickles, and it's
one of our favorite foods.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
But you had to add the dill. You only like
the dill pickles. Yeah, no gurkins, no sweet bread and
butter pickles for you guys.
Speaker 6 (03:15):
Right right. And they thought mister Jill Pickles sound he
kind of glassy, so that one stuck.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yes, very classy. Not only do I love cats, but
I also love pickles. So tell us about the real
mister Dell Pickles.
Speaker 7 (03:28):
He really likes to play and he's very energetic, okay.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And what kind of a cat? Is he a certain
breed or just a mix? Was he rescue?
Speaker 6 (03:37):
He's a tux feedo cat, And once he got to
the house, he pretty much decided he was going to
be the king of the castle.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Like don't they all right? I have a tux too,
But yours has a better name minus Molly heres his
You know, mister Dell Pickles, which sounds very fancy. Does
he like pickles? He like to like dim He doesn't
really eat him, doesn't really eat him, okay, not up
his alle. Okay, So tell me what makes mister Dill
pickles qualified to give life advice. John, do you want
(04:05):
to take this one?
Speaker 6 (04:06):
Well, the kids want to add something first?
Speaker 7 (04:08):
Oh is Thredi pickle wolves that he is filled with
great wisdom and being a generous cat that he is,
he wanted to pass along some advice.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Okay, all right, very good? And then John, what did
you think of having, you know, mister dill Pickles give
life advice?
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Well, I figured, like you said, with all cats they
feel like they rule the ruse through the king of
the castle. So I figured misterill Pickles would certainly have
a lot to say about advice for cats and really
as humans for will if you read between the lines.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yep, I do, got it. Let's talk about some of
the more poignant pieces of advice that are in the book.
What would you say are some because you have several
y'all like you pegment which.
Speaker 7 (04:51):
Especially at their pam, they need to know you have thoughts. Okay,
and show love in weird ways. Headbuts burrang for presenting
a half dead mouse.
Speaker 6 (05:01):
They'll get it.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Oh, so you think that is one of the best
pieces of advice when the cat brings you a reward. Yes,
So I have to say the only thing my cat's
brought me was a lizard because I'm in South Florida,
and I'm okay with that. I don't know if I
would do so well with the border of rodent. Has
mister dol Pickles brought you either of those things?
Speaker 7 (05:22):
Not really yet. But he's still quite young.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Oh how old is he?
Speaker 7 (05:25):
He just turned a year a couple months ago.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Ah, so pretty much. It's kind of like a kitten still, John,
what is your favorite piece of advice in the book?
Speaker 6 (05:34):
Favor piece of advice is actually two of them. It's
number five, never come when cold and also at closed doors,
because what cat does not like to meal? I'll be
trying the door is closed.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
That is so true. Actually, my partner, I'll see him,
you know, we both work from home, and I'll see
him on the couch. What's happening done to the day? No,
Molly wanted me to come sit with her. Said, really,
you can't just ignore the me out. No, I cannot.
So so true. And you know I have to say
the advice number six star into the void and the
(06:10):
fact that you put the cat fun cat that cats
can see euv lights. I had another guest tell me
that they called it cat TV when cats just stare
at nothing like your couch cushion or the wall, just
glaze over staring like that.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
They do love to stare, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I think that's one of their specialties. Okay, how did
you come up with the cat fun packs?
Speaker 6 (06:33):
I figured, along with the advice from mister Jil Pickle,
there should be a fun fact. It's kind of semi
serious and sometime I'm serious, so we thought that would
be a nice mix. And based on reader feedback, they
liked both the funny advice from mister Jill Pickles and
the cat fundbacks.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah. I love both. I love both and so true.
I'm reading the Cat Fun Packs and I've been doing
cat Tea for eight years, so I've learned a lot
of facts about cats. Whatever I didn't know, I'm still,
you know, I'm learning as I go, but I've learned
so much. And yeah, all the cat fun facts were like, okay,
nod yep, I got that. I remember hearing that. Okay.
(07:10):
I don't think I heard from both the boys any more. Favorites,
Alex Gavin, do you have a favorite piece of advice?
Speaker 7 (07:17):
I like the cats love sunbathing because it helps them
stay warm, plus it's basically a spot treatment. Oh yes,
one of my favorites is cats prefer crinkly paper and
bottle caps over toys because chaos is priceless.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Oh yes, so true. Here's one of my favorites. I
can't find the chapter, but I remember it really Oh,
sleeping impossible shapes. You know people have had the saying
cats are liquid. Yes, I actually have a show on
that too. It's It's hard, this s broke book. That
brings a lot of memories, which also makes it great.
But I had a show like that too. And cats
(07:55):
just yeah, they just make themselves fit anywhere. So yes,
which is mind boggling and so true. All of a sudden,
you're looking down and have you, guys ever had mister
dill Pickles hide like in your closet and not realized
he'd got in there and went to look for something,
and the cat just jumped out at you.
Speaker 7 (08:13):
Yeah, he lost the hide in the bathroom, and whenever
someone walks by, he'll jump out at them.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I'll tell you another favorite, because this actually happened. Which
chapter is the one where the cat attacks your toes?
Speaker 6 (08:25):
Not sure it's a moment, but I do know that
when my wife and I were visiting their house in
North Carolina last year and we stayed overnight. Mister dill
Pickles is such a ninja cat. Because I tried to
close the bedroom door so he wouldn't get in, and
I don't know how he did it. Literally, within like
a half a second, he dared it in and I
didn't know it, and he's under the bed. All of
(08:47):
a sudden, I hear this cat noise in the middle
of the night. I realized he got in somehow.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
That's clever. He's definitely good to give advice. You mentioned
this in the book, but I can't recall the chapter
how cats like to attack things, especially toes, and they
seem to be you know, it's the middle of the
night or early morning or right when you're going to sleep,
and if you're moving around you see something moving under
the blanket, they're ready to attack and you know, hello,
(09:14):
it's my foot. Do not attack. But yep, they're very
interesting creatures. All right, we're going to take a short
break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
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Speaker 5 (10:20):
Let's talk past.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Let's done past on a pet Life Radio Petline.
Speaker 8 (10:24):
Radio pet Life Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Welcome back everyone. We're talking to the authors of life
Advice from mister Dill Pickles. We're talking to John Alex
and Gavin so gentlemen, we talked about this a little
bit in the first part. But what made you decide, Okay,
I'm going to write a book and we're going to
write it together. What was it? Did you get the cat?
(10:59):
It was app do you have, mister del Pickles, I'm sure.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
As you know. I'm the founder of I Love to
Write Day, which is a grassroots campaign I launched in
two thousand and two to have people of all ages
spend time writing every November fifteenth. I believe that everyone
should write a book, even a cat. And when my
oldest daughter, Bonnie was in college, we co wrote a
book called for God and Country. When there was a
chance to write a book with two of my grandsons
(11:22):
and mister Dill Pickles, I jumped right in and.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Boys, what lead you decide?
Speaker 7 (11:27):
I wanted to write the book. Video would be a
fun way, and I've alreadys wanted to write a book,
and I want it would be a cool idea. And
I've always loved writing, so I wanted to connect with
my public.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Well, I admire all of you. You know, it's on
my bucket list to write a book. I love to read,
so it's on my list, all right, let's talk about
some more about like advice with mister del Pickles. Do
you think the book that this is a little far
of a stretch in a sense, but maybe not. I
think that the one of the underlying messages for the
(11:59):
book is that it can help people understand cats better,
especially since you have the cat fun fact at the
end of very chapter. So do you think by helping
people understand cats better that it might help with cat adoption?
Speaker 7 (12:16):
I think it could help with cat adoption and showing
how funny and cute cats can be. I think it
could help people adopt cats.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
Let's face it, cats need love, people need love, So
it's win win for everyone, exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
You know what they say, You can't adopt one, you
have to adopt two at a time. So does mister
don't Pickles have a partner?
Speaker 6 (12:38):
Not yet?
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Well, you guys, not everybody can adopt two cats one.
So mine came. I had one, and then two came together,
and then another two came the other. But yeah, I
had five at one time, but two were like community
outdoor cats, five and two dogs a lot of fur
in the house. But I always think that there is
some truth to the fact that cats the joy. And
(13:01):
the wonder of cats is that you don't understand them
and that's what makes them so special. And I think
it's important to get that message out. And once people
get the message, then they're like, you know, I have
to look at it a different way because there's that
misconception that cats are like small dogs. So I think
your book can help people understand caps better and realize
(13:24):
how quirky they are and fun and you know, they
just have a lot of attitudes and their way of
doing things and it doesn't mean it's wrong. So that's
one of the messages I kind of got from your book.
Speaker 6 (13:35):
It's true cats do bring a lot of joy into
our lives, don't they.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
They sure do, and bizarre happenings too, So everybody from
you know, I have a very large listening audience for Catitude,
which I'm grateful for. Why should listeners read the book?
Why should listeners read life advice from mister Dell Pickles?
Speaker 6 (13:55):
Well, basically it's perfect for cat lovers, humor fans, and
anyone in death need of sarcastic life advice. Life Advice
from mister Dill Pickles reminds us that sometimes the best
way to face the world is with flaws out, tail
high and zero apologies.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
You know what that needs to be on a T
shirt and a coffee.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Bug or a bumper sticker. What's something sticker?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Something like that. Yes, that's a great way to put it.
So if you could give I know I asked a
question like this earlier, but if you could give a
person one piece of advice from the life advice from
mister Dill Pickles, what would you tell them might not
be your favorite, but one piece of advice from the
entire book.
Speaker 6 (14:36):
Oh, let's go. I'd have to narrow it down here
that you should understand that cats love to knock things over,
especially if it's important to you. But you shouldn't take
it personally because gravity is lifestyle choryes for cats. Is
they see something on the edge of a table or
a counter, they just want to jump up and push
it aside. So don't take it personally. But CAATs do
(14:56):
love to knock things over, as all cat lovers know.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Very good. So let's talk about the future. Is there
another book coming from mister Dill Pickles.
Speaker 6 (15:06):
Yes, yes, look for his next book on Amazon in
early November and it'll be titled a Cat's Guide to
Surviving the Holidays, a humorous yet insightful look at the
holiday season through the eyes of a wise, sassy tuxedo cat,
with lots of laughs and a sprinkle of advice about
cat safety around trees, lights, visitors, and more.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Oh, yes, that's important. So can you give us a
little any kind of little hints on though maybe one
of the things you'll be discussing in your book.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
We're going to be covering such things as lights, twinkle
and shock, while chewing wires is a bad idea, ornaments,
shiny spears of doom, they are too much fun, and
fake tree versus real tree, which tastes better. So we'll
be indressing a whole bunch of cat holiday fun facts
and laugh out loud shidbits.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Are you can have any recipes for the holidays for cats?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
Well, we're thinking about that. We've asked mister Dill Pickles
if he had any favorite recipes and he's kind of
looked at us and said, yeah, So I think that's
a positive answer.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yes, that's very positive. Is the holiday season we're talking?
Probably Christmas time? Thanksgiving time? Is that mister del Pickles's
favorite time year?
Speaker 6 (16:20):
Yes, it's his favorite once he gets through Halloween, and
he loves to dress up for Halloween. He's just ready
for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and he likes to ring in the
New Year with his little fancy hat on.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Okay, great, well we're close to Halloween now, so what's
he going to be for Halloween?
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Well, he's looking at maybe a baby Yoda costume, but
we're not really sure. He likes to change his mind
at the last minute.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Oh, typical cat. Like So, mister dill Pickles is a
tuxedo cat. Boys, if you were going to get a
playmate for him, say tomorrow, what type of cat would
mister Dill Pickles get along the best with.
Speaker 7 (16:55):
I don't know, maybe another tuxedo cat, so they're similar.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
So the colors, yeah, so just black and white, no ginger, no,
no orange cats.
Speaker 6 (17:05):
What about sphinx that would be a good Yeah. I
bet the sphinx cat will also run and write a
book as well.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
You know, Sphinx cats are a very high maintenance. I
almost adopted one, and then I didn't think my cat
crew would like it, and I was afraid he would
get hurt. I have very unusual cats, well in my mind,
but they're probably not you think you'd get along with
the sphinx.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
Maybe we'd have to read up on first just to
see what just what the likes and quirks are.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Right, Well, they're high maintenance, that's what I know of them. Gentlemen,
you've written a wonderful book. Where can people purchase it?
Speaker 6 (17:40):
Well, you can purchase life Advice from mister Dill Pickles
on Amazon, or you can visit the official website at
mister Dill picklesdcat dot com. And in a few weeks
mister Dill Pickles will have his own line of merchandise hats, mugs,
and pens.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Well, that's exciting. And his website again is mister Dill
Pickles the chat, Yes.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
Mister Dill picklescat dot com. And we'll send you a
some of the merchandise as soon as we had copies.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
If you get another cat, or you can name him,
I don't know, after another vegetable or condiment. Some people
think of pickles as a condiment, which is not it's
a vegetable.
Speaker 7 (18:17):
If we got a new cat, I would want to
name him cucumber.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Cucumber. Oh, so okay, so we're keeping in with the
Pickle family, Yes, yes, doll Pickles a memory of cucumber, which,
of course, so we're pickles. I'm rid on.
Speaker 7 (18:34):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
So gentlemen, it's been so much fun having you on
this show. Before we go, mister doll Pickles looks like
he is a very generous fellow. Does he do anything charitable?
Speaker 6 (18:45):
He'll be donating a part of the proceeds of his
monthly rotation from Amazon to cat rescue place, one in
North Carolina and one in Delaware.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
That's wonderful. Was mister dill Pickles from a rescue?
Speaker 7 (18:57):
We got mister Pickles from a friend who had kittens.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
So he's rescue. Yep, that's a rescue, so which they're
the best cats. Well, I want to thank you all
for coming on Cata Tude and telling us all about
life advice from mister dill Pickles.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Well, thank you for having us. We appreciate it very much.
And as mister Dill Pickles would like to leave with
one piece of advice, he says, live long and me ou,
I love it.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
That's another one that I would like on a T shirt.
Thank you so much to all my feline friends. I
hope you enjoyed the show. Be sure to check out
this book. It's it's a really cool little book and
you know holidays are coming up. It makes a great gift.
Life advice from mister Dill Pickles by John Riddle and
Alex and Gavin, and it's sold on Amazon. We will
(19:47):
have all the information up on this episode show page
as well, and the website is mister Dill picklesthecat dot com.
So thank you again so much for listening. Thank you
to my guest, yes Is, for coming on Catitude. Thank
you to my cat crew. That was very amusing as
I read the book and said, yep, that's Dennis, that's Charlotte,
(20:09):
Oh that's Mollie. You know, everything reminded me of my
cat crew. So thank you Dennis, Charlotte, Mollie, and of course,
thank you so much to my producer, Mark Winter for
working your magic and making every show sound amazing. Now remember,
use the attitude, have Catitude
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on PETLVE
radio dot com
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