As we get ready to say goodbye to 2018, take a look back at a few of the two-and four-legged luminaries who used their star wattage to shine a spotlight on cats in need this past year, whether by taking part in campaigns or by promoting the option of pet adoption by welcoming a rescue cat into their heart and home.
Cats Adopted by Celebrities
A tiny tabby kitten dubbed Queen Peanut found herself in the arms of an “Angel” when singer Sarah McLachlan adopted her from the Canadian rescue, foster and adoption network Ladybird Animal Sanctuary.
After waiting in the wings for two and a half years, Magnum the cat landed a coveted role in the life of British actor Harry Reid when the former Eastenders star paid a visit to The Mayhew Animal Home in London.
Actress Drew Barrymore, who shared screen time with a tabby cat in the 80s horror flick Cat’s Eye, is now sharing her life with three tabbies! Shortly after the new year the star took to social media to share the happy news with fans, stating that the monikers for her meowing menagerie are Lucky, Peach and Fern.
A photo session with a homeless rescue kitten was all it took for Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive guard AJ Cann to picture the tiny tabby in his life. Posing for photographer Leo Howard Lubow’s camera, Scarlett and her new doting Dad joined the line up of animal-loving luminaries who have taken part in the Show Your Soft Side campaign.
Famous Friends of Felines Help Cats in Need
Emmy Award winner Katherine Heigl not only stepped into a new role on the TBS series Suits in 2018, the actress also continued the real life role for which she is so well-suited– that of an animal advocate. The co-founder of The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation helped to promote Cat’s Pride’s “Litter for Good” program, striving to reach the goal of five million pounds of cat litter donations in 2018, and a total of 20 million pounds by 2020.
For years Mayim Bialik has tickled our collective funny bone as neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on the hit CBS series The Big Bang Theory, but this past summer the star touched our hearts as well as she helped to promote kitten fostering. A proud multi-pet parent (who adopted a cat with special needs in 2017). the actress partnered with the ASPCA for its Meow for Now campaign.
“Fostering kittens is not only fun, but it’s also a vital step in giving cats too young to survive in animal shelters a second chance to find loving homes.” the actress stated. “I’ve experienced the positive impact of fostering with my own two cats. A dedicated foster saved their lives by caring for them until they were healthy and old enough to be adopted and join my family.”
Mayim Bialik also used her star wattage to shine a spotlight on the adorable adoptables at Best Friends Animal Society when she paid a visit to the Kanab, Utah sanctuary.
One hundred and fifty adoptable cats from overcrowded L.A. shelters were literally in seventh heaven this summer thanks to My Cat from Hell star Jackson Galaxy! The Animal Planet personality/Jackson Galaxy Project founder joined with Wings of Rescue and Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles of the initial flight of Operation Homeward Bound, which carried the kitties to the safety of shelters in Washington State.
Birthdays are traditionally a time to receive presents, but when actress Hunter King (The Young & The Restless, Life in Pieces) celebrated her 25th year on Earth she decided to spend the day giving kittens in need at Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles the gift of her time:
Hollywood’s Montalban Theater was “The Room Where It Happened” as a plethora of high-profile pals to those who purr performed the mewsical comedy spoof Hamilton’s Cats at Kitty Bungalow’s annual fundraising event.
The cast of cat lovers who helped to set the stage for a better tomorrow for L.A.’s cats in need included Emily Deschanel (Bones), Wendi McClendon Covey (The Goldbergs), Bethany Joy Lenz (Dexter, One Tree Hill), Nicole Sullivan (Black-ish), Tyler Hilton (One Tree Hill),Brendan Robinson (Pretty Little Liars), Fred Willard, Rumor Willis, Elaine Hendrix and Hal Sparks.
Adding a dash of humor and a light sprinkling of sentimentality, Sue Perkins— a former presenter on The Great British Baking Show— created the perfect recipe for successful videos as she narrated the series of clips which shine a light on the adorable adoptables at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Purrforming kitty ditties as he helps paws causes, Moshow the Cat Rapper met fans at several events in 2018, including Pop Cats (which raised funds for eight rescue organizations in the Austin, Texas area) and SnowCats Cat Convention, where all of the proceeds from a meet and greet helped Denver, Colorado’s cats in need. Moshow’s posse of purring machines also acted as muses for their famous father’s rap for Slide cat litter, with the music video helping to generate a $10,000 donation from Arm & Hammer to Mac’s Fund, which offers financial assistance to rescue organizations in the Philadelphia area.
Encouraging potential pet parents to get in the game and choose the option of adoption, stars of the sports world struck poses of the recently unleashed book Dogs Cats Sports with either four-legged members of their own home team or companion animals who would love to be a MVP (Most Valuable Pet!) in the life of a forever pet parent.
Among the animal-loving athletes who appear in the book are the Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer (who also co- wrote the book’s forward), Bradley Beal and John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Ryan Kerrigan of the Washington Redskins, John Carlson of the Washington Capitals and Natasha Cloud of the Washington Mystics. Helping cats and dogs in need turn the page to a new chapter in their lives, all of the proceeds from the sale of Dogs Cats Sports benefits Humane Rescue Alliance.
Famous Felines Help Cats in Need
Since the start of her rise to social media superstar, Lil BUB has helped to raise more than $500,000 for cats and dogs in need, with the world’s most popular interplanetary purring machine continuing to appear at meet and greets from coast to coast and selling meow-chandise in order to raise funds for Lil BUB’s Big Fund.
Fashion-forward felines took their couture cues from the flapper era at the famed cat-friendly Algonquin Hotel‘s annual purr-ty, which raised more than $10,000 for The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, a non-profit which helps more than 150 shelters and rescue organizations in an effort to make New York City a no-kill city!
A menagerie of mewdels (many of them rescue cats!) gave new meaning to the word “catwalk” as they wowed the crowd in Jazz Age-inspired attire created by celebrity pet fashion designer Ada Nieves.
The happening with heart marked the debut of Hamlet, the hotel’s most recent DirectFur of Guest Communications. Once part of a feral cat colony, the orange tabby received a new lease on life thanks to the rescue organization Bideawee.
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