My dad is the king of strange sayings. But those strange sayings are always paired with a bit of wisdom.
“There’s more than one way to skin a cat” simply means there’s more than one way to achieve a goal. So if one method isn’t getting results, change your method.
This couldn’t be truer for private investigators as we work through our cases. At least it’s been very true for me.
I’ve been working on a recent adoption search that’s been a bear. My client came to me with very basic information regarding his adoption. He has been told his birth mother was 18 years old when she birthed him and was possibly from the Manitoba, Canada area. That’s it.
I started with the hospital where my client was born over 50 years ago. No dice.
Since there is more than one way to skin a cat, I turned to DNA.
After some DNA testing, I began working through his DNA matches on two different platforms. It took a bit of finagling and some assistance from public records and Facebook, but I narrowed his biological father to a group of three brothers. The outcome is still pending.
As for my client’s biological mother, I have turned from hospital records to DNA to public records to Facebook to interviews and now I’m onto using historical records to build out some family trees.
When I come to a dead end in my searches, I just choose a different method and start again. I do that as many times as I have to in order to find the information I’m seeking. Because… there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
I used to teach fourth graders. I can’t tell you how many times my students taught me how to arrive at the correct answer using a different method than I would have chosen. Sometimes, they blew me away with their methods and caused me to change my own because theirs made better sense, streamlined the process, or was simply easier or faster.
I like having options in my job as an investigator. The process keeps me on my toes and often gets the creative juices flowing when it takes a little more digging and brainstorming to get the information I need. No two cases are exactly alike. My skills are sharpened on the daily.
So next time you’re stuck, remember, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Don’t give up. The answer might be right around the corner.