Cat Scratch Fever

Meow Mix is creating a "reality" television show called Meow Mix House in which 10 cats will be contestants to become Feline Vice President of Research and Development for Meow Mix.

From the press release(!):

"Ten felines from shelters all over the country will be selected to compete in the inaugural edition of The Meow Mix House. The cats will travel to New York City and live together in a specially-designed house. These cat-testants, selected from geographically and culturally diverse backgrounds, will share a kitty crib that will rival any loft ever featured on the Real World. Thanks to webcams equipped in every room in the house, peeping tomcats with internet access will be able to view all the action in real time—and find out just what cats do all day when their owners aren’t around."

I guess the culturally diverse aspect explains why the cat from Miami, named Cisco, is "street smart" and "has been around the block a few times." (Obviously, he's a partially reformed Cuban cat gang member.)

Of course, there's a good cause behind this whole show, to touch my heart and ensure that I beg FMC for a third cat at some point over the summer: "Cats from shelters or rescue groups in ten cities have been selected to compete in the inaugural show. They include Touched by an Animal (Chicago); Operation Kindness (Dallas); Houston Humane Society (Houston); Kitten Rescue (Los Angeles); Nashville Humane Association (Nashville); The Cat Network (Miami); ASPCA (New York); P.A.L.S. (Philadelphia); Cat Adoption Team (Portland, OR); and the St. Charles Humane Association (St. Louis). Working with local animal shelters, Meow Mix will pre-select a family in each city to adopt the cats after their tenure in the house ends."

Belle, pictured above, is one of the so-called "cat-estants" and actually looks almost exactly like Spike. Hmm, suddenly I see a future in show business for our cat...