Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
When people asks: But, how does it feel to be a cat?
It feels like I just want to ask them: How does it feel to be a human?
When I put on my suit it feels like I'm whole again.
This is completly myself
Many people identify themselves willingly with animals
but there are those who takes it further than that
Much further...
It's about people who think that they are spiritually related to animals
Or people who are sure that they're more animal than human
They call themselves "Furries"
Tonight we will meet some of them in "Outsiders"
Nathalie says, that her animalspirit is a white snowleopard
Nathalies dream is, to dare showing herself in the town with an animal-suit on
So people can meet her true character
Nicolas lives in Oberhausen, Germany and works as a programmer
But every weekend, he become Keenora, the blue-purple wolf
Even since she was a little kid, Pao has always been sure of that she is actually a cat
Her biggest wish is living somewhere that she can be entirely accepted for who she is
And Kwisa's second personality is a wolf, Sascha
Nicolas lives near Düsseldorf in Germany
During the week, he has got a normal job as a computer programmer
But on the weekends he does something completely different...
Nicolas doesn't gladly talk alot about his secret life in front of his colleagues
His friends gave him the advice to keep it as a secret
So he don't get into trouble
But even if Nicolas has owned the blue-purple wolfsuit for only the last few years
His animal personality has been there since he was very young
When Nicolas comes home, he changes his identity, and become the blue-purple wolf, Keenora
He's wearing his suit as often as he can
even when he's alone and does everyday stuff like taking out the trash or watching TV
Being a "Furry" means that you've an inner wish to look like an furry animal
And Nicolas waited a long time before he said anything about this to his family
He was unsure of how they would react on his odd activity
Nicolas goes to bed early tonight
Because tomorrow he will meet some friends who also are so called "Furries"
and they will go out in the town in their animalsuits
He only can be himself in his fursuit
But as wolf, he also have the risk of harassments from others...
When I go outside
people give me all kind of comments
From "Oh, how cute!" or "Oh, how funny!"
Or people who yell at me... People who act mean to me... They call me bad
Why can't they just accept me for who I am?
They don't even know me!
Even if they ask me questions, they never try to know me
When people ask "But... how does it feel to be cat?"
It feels like I just want to ask them "How does it feel to be a human?"
For Pao, it's about something much more than just dress like an animal
Pao is convinced that she's more cat than human
What she misses most on her human body are ears and a tail
I feel mostly like some kind of big feline
I use to call myself a panther-animal
Just to describe that I'm not exactly a panther but I'm somekind of panther-animal
I've ears because it feels like they actually should be there
If I look at my shadow when it's in front of me, and there aren't any ears, it feels like it's not mine
My ears just have to be there
I've a purring sound when I'm happy and feel well, which is a little higher, like...
And I've a purring sound, also when I'm happy, but it's more purry, like...
It'd be very nice if they could correct speciefied body-parts, instead of just *** or something
So they could make ears and tails that work...
Nathalie lives in Örebro
For her whole life, she felt a strong spiritual relation to animals
especially Wolves and Tigers
Big felines and Wolves, it's the same thing there, it's a part of me
I've probably been a wolf in my previous life
I'm myself, I'm a Wolf and a Tiger, it's not visible but it is there
A part of me
For a long time, Nathalie thought that she was alone feeling like she did
When she found the Furry culture, she knew that it was where she belongs to
Nathalie drawn and finally swen her fursuit, herself
For the last 10 months, her white snow leopard has evolved to a ready fursuit
Right now just a few details are missing
She knows exactly what kind of suit it is that inspires her most
I prefer the more realistic fursuits, they just attract me more
then it shall be a Wolf or a big feline
those kinds attract me most
Are you going to help me sew, too?
No, exactly.
Nathalie believes in reincarnation
and is totally convinced that she will reborn in the shape of an animal in her next life
I believe in reincarnation, that you'll be reborned and became something else
And in my case, because I've my own mixed faith, I've more faith that I'll become some kind of animal
Even since Nathalie was young, she had an unusually strong connection to animals
No one has taught me to feel like this
It has just been that way...
After all these years it just got more and more
I love animals
Animals do not judge you
Animals lives in the present not in the past
Humans e.x. do have rules, specific time schedules for everything. And you have to follow
When you have to get up? When you have to go to bed?
When does you meeting begin? When does your work begin?
That so called "Furry culture" is a relatively unknown culture
In Sweden it's just a few people who call themselves a "Furry"
And Nathalie feels alone...
I haven't found anyone from Örebro who is a Furry
It feels like I'm the only one
Nathalie hangs out with other Furries on the Internet
Through the virtual world "Second Life"
Here she has created a virtual animal identity
You're living your second life that you don't have in the reality
For an example you can't wear a fursuit every day, being outside and such
Here can you be yourself 24/7
My character is pretty lively, dances alot, talks to others...
Just generally having fun
It's my Furry
The reason why I'm having "Second Life" is mostly that I don't have so many Furries nearby, who I could meet
This is the closest way to get in contact with other Furries
Even if I sit in front of a computer screen
After 10 months of hard work, Nathalie's fursuit is ready
It's now time for her to become the white snowleopard for the very first time
Then I will put this on and go outside
After the break:
Pao searches for something to eat
And Nathalie has her coming out as a snowleopard
Keenora and his friends scare the people in the town
And the furry Kwisa shows his huge collection of stuffed animals
Tonight are we talking about Furries
People who has a spiritual connection to animals
Or even think they are more animal than human
I feel better when I dress up in fur and sometimes leather and I like to have ears and a tail
because it makes me feel complete
And for me, thats what it's about
It's not unusual that people reacts negative when Pao acts like a cat
And when she tries to look as close to a cat as possible
I dress like I want to
I meow when I'm outside
I hiss and growl...
I show a lot that I'm not one of them
They see that I've ears, they see that I've a tail
But they don't know who I am
Also when Pao was young, the animals gave her some kind of save feeling
And her identity as cat always has been there
I was Pao even then, I knew that it was something I had to do
I slept in trees alot of times
I spent a lot of time outside
I liked to sneak around and hunt
I can remember that I've always really loved animals
Animals were very very interesting
I always had some affinity to them
I am very very happy on that picture
And I can understand why
It was where I belonged
I didn't belong to humans
As cat, Pao is an omnivore
But meat often stays at the top of the list
I'm searching for meat, I can buy, which is not that expensive
All this meat is very expensive
I'm looking...
I like meat, in all thinkable, possible ways
It's... I really do like it
Almost raw meat
Pao is a kind of unusual Furry, becuase she feel more like an animal than a human
But, for her is the fellowship in the Furry culture a sanctuary
Where she really can be herself
Even if I can see myself as a Furry or not
So the Furries have much more tolerance for me, when I'm making strange noises
When I sleep in a tree
and sometimes bite
There is no one trading insults because of my ears
It's saturday morning, and Nicolas meets his friends
They will do a so called "Outing"
When they go out in a town with their fursuits
They're changing here so no one else can see them
The fursuit has it's own personality
And showing the human inside would break the illusion, which is unimaginable
When Nicolas is in Keenora, he's a playful blue-purple wolf
For Nicolas the fursuit is way more than just a way to dress up
It gives him a possibility to express his true personality among regular people
When I put on the whole suit it feels like I'm entirly myself
Its not just a part of me, it is myself
Nathalie just suited up in her finished suit
And shall finally go out and show herself as the white snowleopard she deeply inside feel like
I don't know how I should explain it, but I feel very nervous and
people will stare at me... But I hope people will like it, of course...
It's gonna be fun
To finally come out and show who I am
Nathalie is impatient
She goes out on the balcony to see if there's anyone nearby who she can show herself for
I am an animal
I expect that people will be happy
Is that a dog?
And maybe a little terrified
Is that a real dog? Woooow! A Wolf?
An animal with earrings
A girl
Nathalie gets more attention than she has expected
And have to run back and hide inside the port
She's just seconds to faint of exhaustion
I almost fainted
Someone pulled the tail really hard, and I was like "***"
It was a pretty firmly pull, like "guugh"
It was fun but... I have to be careful
I am actually a part snowleopard and you don't mess around with me how you want
Kwisa lives a seemingly normal life a bit outside of Amsterdam, Holland
He works for rental of technique within the Dutch TV
Kwisa meets a lot of customers at his job
But his inner wish of having a real tail, stays with him
Kwisa is on his way back from work
He's 36 years old and lives still in his mothers house
In the old boy's room in the attic, he has got his big collection of stuffed animals in piles on the floor
He call himself "Kwisa", named after his favorite dolphine at the local zoo
Except for dolphines, Kwisa is also deeply fascinated of Wolves
It was at a hiking trip in Canada that his admiration for the wild animals got stronger and stronger
When Kwisa got the opportunity to meet real Wolves very closely
He suddenly knew who I was
And that meeting was the start of Kwisa's life as a "Furry"
He shows his love for the Wolves, and his own wish to belong to them, by wearing a tail
In the Furry culture you meet a lot of people, who have a strong connection to animals
And the Furry culture has gave Kwisa a brand new life
After the break:
Nicolas suffers from a disease but Keenora keeps him alive
Pao eats, just like other cats, on the floor
And Kwisa goes to the biggest Furry festival in europe
Tonight are we talking about Furries
Humans who feel a special connection to animals
In Pao's apartment there aren't any chairs
And just like a cat, Pao prefers to sit on the floor
Dreda?
I've salted and peppered a little, but shall I still bring the salt and pepper to you?
Pao lives a cat-life together with her female partner, Dreda, in an apartment outside Stockholm
Meat!
That's your meat
I've had a female partner and a male partner
I met my female at the same time as I met my male, in Stockholm the first time
So I've known her for more than 5 years
Dreda don't feel, unlike Pao, like an animal
That's why she eats with knife and fork instead
Me and my partner
We live togheter
We're sitting in the cough, and...
Sometimes I snuggle her...
And sometimes we wrestle...
It's often just boring everyday stuff
Right now I'm pretty happy that I don't have fur
The more safe Pao feel, the more cat she becomes
I don't work so well togheter with other cats
Then I get totally nuts, because... I'm also cat
Or some kind of feline...
I can't have other cats so close to me because I need my own territory
If we've to be at the same place for a longer time
like if I've to guard a friends cat, or something
It use to look like that the cat is sitting in a corner and looks at me
And thinks that I'm inconvenient because I'm on its territory
And I'm sitting in another corner and think that the cat is inconvenient because I've to take care of it
Even if Pao is a cat, she has two rat colonies in her flat
That cats and rats don't work well togheter is a myth, says Pao
Cats and rats works very well togheter, if they just can familiarize themselves
If you just start early with learning them to show respect for each other
Rats are often very intelligent, like cats
So you can make them understand that they shouldn't fight with each other
I like animals who accept and like me, but I don't like animals who are dependent on me
So I prefer animals when they are animals
When they can be...
When they can be just like they have to be
Through poetry can Pao express her experience of being different
She writes a poem for Outsiders, in a try to discribe her own situation
"I'm a feline and I walk my own path.
But still, I would like to show you if you dare to see.
The birds summer-song in the dawn.
The hedgehogs tags, the smell from moss after rain.
Come and listen to the birds, the wolves, the grasshoppers.
Find me then, be with me then, sing with me then."
Pao has difficulties to live as a cat among humans
And loves to when she can move out to the nature
I wish I can live in a small cabin far out in the forest, one day
With a couple of chickens, some sheeps...
Near a lake which I can get some fish from
And trees which I can climb and hide in
If I'm lucky, the medical science has come so far that I can have ears and a tail
I'll still mentally be the same Pao
I'll just be a little gray on the nose
Nicolas has a boyfriend
Cody
He's also a Furry and they met at a party a couple of years ago
For Nicolas the life as a Furry is crucial for his own health
Since 10 years, he has a severe kind of diabetes
Together with his friends, Kwisa will go to europes biggest Furry festival, Eurofurence
Kwisa has a strong passion for wolves
six years ago, he bought his first fursuit in the shape of a wolf
And after he took the suit on, he became Sascha
Kwisa has used the suit many times, and it starts to get well worn
Kwisa puts Sascha in his box and is visiting one of his Furry-friends
In Outsiders after the break:
The snowleopard Nathalie embarks in the central Örebro
Keenora and his wolf-friends are partying around in the city
And Kwisa is dreaming of meeting the big love
Tonight are we talking about "Furries"
Humans who are spiritually connected to animals
Or even feel more like an animal than a human
Nathalie prepares for her first outing as the white snowleopard
And now is it for real
This time she will show up in central Örebro
Nathalies mother is helping her with the last details
My family haven't reacted that bad on this
It was more like they didn't expect anything else
I'm a little weird, so... I'm myself
They've supported me through everything
I'm very thankful that my mother is there for me
And my stepfather has been there for me, and my siblings think that what I do is good
It feels... nervously, warm
It isn't actually like I'm wearing something
It's almost like it's getting solid
No one knows who is hiding behind the mask
How nice! What a good looking teeth you've got. It looks dangerous!
It's some kind of magic
It become something completly different when you can't see the person inside
You get to know your character
The feeling was... very twisted by nervousity, warmness, love and...
I really empathize with my character, when I'm wearing it
When I put on my second me...
I'm entirly myself
Nicolas and his friends are looking at pictures from the last years
Europes biggest event for Furries, Eurofurence
It's the 17th year in a row that the festival is held
And there are thousands of Furries from all over the world
to have a great time together
Here's everything that belongs to the Furry culture
Art, Fursuits, movies, Furry-Partys and a big loveful fellowship
Nicolas and his friends likes to hang out at the bars
And tonight they will party as wolves
And a big part of the fun is to see the reactions from other guests
Kwisa arrives at the Furry friends, Martin and Vincent, to have his suit repaired before the festival
Outsiders wanted to follow to the festival
But the management of Eurofurence said absolutely no
to protect the participants from the media
And even if it's not about sex for Kwisa
So is his lack of love still strong