Twas the night before Christmas Eve when all through the house…my phone rang! It was FixNation’s fearless leader, Karn Myers, asking, “Do you have any kittens?” As a foster parent for Cats at the Studios, a local cat rescue group, I responded, “Sure, I always have kittens. Why? What’s up?”
“Oh, you know, nothing much other than Jay Leno wants to do a Christmas party on the 25th…in two days…and he wants to help cats in the process!” I was not quite sure what this meant but because I trust Karn and am a big Leno fan, I said, “We’re in.” The excitement was in the air, and it wasn’t just because of the holidays.
At four o’clock on Christmas Day, Karn, several people from Cats at the Studios, representatives from Found Animals Foundation, Luxe Paws, and I met at FixNation with about twenty adorable, adoptable kittens. We were already having fun, company alone! Next we caravanned over to Jay’s to set up at his incredible, immaculate automobile museum and garage. This is where the party would be happening. We decorated the place to the nines, and Jay set up a large playpen with astro turf and tall walls in order to allow all the kittens to romp safely. It was like our very own Kitten Bowl! As Jay’s guests arrived for the party, they were corralled inside to play and hold these lucky kitties.
Among the crew were two little, ten-week old, dark Tortoiseshell kittens that were born outside as community cats. After Cats at the Studios rescued them from life on the street and gave them lots of TLC, they had become two sweet lovebugs.
Unbeknownst to them, two of Leno’s guests, Melanie and George Swift, mentioned to Jay long before the party that they were thinking of adding a kitten to their family. So it was no surprise to find Meanie sitting on the floor in the playpen with half a dozen kittens in her lap for most of the evening. She had taken a shine to one of the pretty dark Torties named Pickles. Pickles obviously felt the same way about Melanie because she laid claim to Melanie’s lap all night.
However, Pickles was bonded to her identical sister, Pokey (who was across the corral chasing her own tail!), so Melanie and George decided that the two sisters should stay together and both become members of their family. The Swifts are savvy cat people with a long history of caring for their felines, and they were the ideal adopters to provide Pickles and Pokey with a loving home. It was a very special adoption on a very special evening. Big thanks to Karn for including us in the festivities, and to Jay Leno for bringing the Swifts and the girls together!
Cats at the Studios is a nonprofit rescue organization comprised entirely of volunteer dedicated to nurturing, neutering and spaying, and finding homes for abandoned cats and kittens. Cats Inc. was founded in 1984 by employees of Warner Bros Studio to address the challenges of the cats living on the lot. After thirty years, the non-profit has expanded its efforts beyond the studio gates to help all cats in need in Los Angeles.
