A ginger cat perched on his owner’s lap, tearing across Queensland’s mulga country by motorbike, is enough to make anyone do a double-take. Raised alongside working dogs, Mango the muster cat isn’t your average feline. This whiskered, four-legged influencer of the outback comes complete with his own Facebook page, loyal followers, and even fan mail.
“When I go to the mailbox, there’s packages for Mango. There’s ladies who even bake him his own treats. He gets tins of salmon, cat clothes, little shoes,” owner Beck Smith said. “Everyone loves Mango.”
Ms. Smith noted that Mango’s rise to fame happened almost by accident after she sent videos to friends of her and Mango surveying flood damage around their property earlier this year. “All they got out of it was, ‘Hang on, is that a cat on the bike with you?'” Ms. Smith said. It’s the duality of the outback; finding humor in harsh times.
“Having him there takes away the harshness of talking about the devastation … a lovely little fluffy cat with personality, it draws people in,” Ms. Smith said. “People are laughing at him and his antics, but then they are also seeing what we’re going through as well.”
Mango and Mental Health
Ms. Smith lives on and runs a 52,600-hectare station solo near Stonehenge, a tiny town about 90 minutes from Longreach in central west Queensland. During destructive flooding earlier this year, Ms. Smith estimated about 70 percent of her property went underwater. It’s been a domino effect since, not being able to muster or sell cattle, and the bills piling up.
“The days are never long enough, and you never get half the things you want done each day,” she explained. Rebuilding fences and purchasing the materials to do so has put Ms. Smith back at least $100,000. And it’s money that must be spent upfront before she can be reimbursed through government grants.
“That’s the issue … most people don’t have that money sitting there ready to go,” she said.
Posting videos to social media of Mango being “one of the dogs” helps Ms. Smith talk about life on the land after disaster. She said mental health was still a taboo topic in the bush.
“I used to be very embarrassed by my mental health journey and then I just got to the point where it’s part of my healing process to speak about it, and if one person can relate and will put their hand up for help, then I’ve paid it forward,” she said.
Women in Agriculture
Ms. Smith highlighted that mental health challenges are even more apparent if you are a woman in agriculture. “There’s a lot more women working in the agriculture industry now … but it’s still very much a man’s playground,” she said. “Whatever a man does, you have to do it twice as hard and tough than what they do.”
However, as Ms. Smith has grown older, these challenges worry her less, and life on the land has become second nature. Deep in the Mulga, with Mango by her side, she continues rebuilding after ruin.
“It’s just one of those things you’ve got to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” she concluded.
Resilience and Community Support
The story of Mango the muster cat is not just a tale of a quirky pet but a symbol of resilience and community spirit in the face of adversity. The attention Mango has drawn to the ongoing recovery efforts in Queensland highlights the power of unexpected narratives in bringing awareness to serious issues.
As communities across Queensland continue to rebuild, stories like Mango’s offer a glimpse of hope and humor amidst the challenges, reminding us of the strength found in unity and the unexpected allies that help us through tough times.
