Mandy Moore, Self-Proclaimed 'Cat Person,' Shares Exactly How To Introduce Your Baby to Your Cat

You might know Mandy Moore from her pop star days ("Candy" still slaps so hard), her many ages on This Is Us, or for being a princess. Mandy Moore is also, in her words, a “fervent cat lover. It's very real.”

So real (also a bop) that she took her cat to a pet psychic when he was clearly upset. She told Ellen back in 2016 about how her cat asked for a name change to Figaro, "because he loves to sing." Since then, he has lived up to his namesake and started performing with Moore during quarantine.

Moore, who probably could contribute a whole book of cat stories, leapt at the chance to work with Cat Chow who is celebrating 60 years of “providing time-proven nutrition that cats love and owners trust.”

“We have our three guys and they're such a deep part of our lives," Moore explains. "It's kind of a no-brainer to partner up with a brand like Cat Chow and help them celebrate their 60th anniversary to shout out to fellow cat lovers out there to submit their stories before August 13 on how cats have impacted their lives in a meaningful way. Cat Chow is going to select 60 stories for their 60th anniversary and compile all these stories into a book: [60 Years, 60 Stories: Celebrating the Extraordinary Impact of Cats.]"

The storytellers that are chosen will receive a copy of the book and a year's supply of Cat Chow. Then, one lucky storyteller also will get a $10,000 cash prize. "I could go on and on and on about stories about my cats," Moore says. "And I'm sure there are many, many people out there like me.”

I, a fellow cat lover, sat down with Moore to discuss all things cats including important felines in her life, how she introduced her kids and kitties, and how to find your perfect, possibly musically talented, furry companion.

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What cat, that is not your own, has left an imprint on your life?

Gosh, I have some very close friends who have cats that I'm close with that are like fellow cat people and my best friend had her cat passed away about two years ago, but she was like my lifeline. She was my when I wasn't home with my own cats, I was with her in New York and like I moved around with her when her mom moved from New York to New Orleans out here to L.A. And it was like she just yeah, she was like a real touchstone in my life.

A lot of my closest friends are fellow cat people, so they recognize the impact that cats bring to all of our lives... And it's like if you don't have a cat in your life, fully respect, but it's like I'm like, "Oh, you just haven't met that one cat that changes everything for you." My husband didn't grow up with cats. He only had dogs growing up. But it's like once he was brought into the fold of my life, he clearly had no choice. But he was like, “Oh, I get it, I get it.” And his life has changed forever.

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Do you have any tips on introducing babies to cats?

That's a very good question. I feel like we tried to do it gently and slowly, gentle being the key word. You know, the cats were so curious about me when I was pregnant. And then once the baby came, they were so excited about all of the accouterment and accessories, the bassinets and the breastfeeding pillows and all the things they thought were for them. And so they were like, “Wow, thank you so much for this. Like an incredible little cat bed I can lay in." So I think that they felt like they were special and they were included.

We have a toddler, we have an almost two-and-a-half-year-old, and now we have an almost nine-month-old. And I think just like the slow introduction, not sort of forcing anybody in either direction to get to know each other.

The cats were just intrinsically curious. And now every morning right when our oldest wakes up, he asks for a Fig in the crib. He wants to have the cat in the crib because the cat has jumped in many times. Not at night, but in the morning he jumps in and wants to hang out with us. It's like they're their little bonding moment. They roll around for the first, like, 15, 20 minutes of the day. And Fig is so sweet to let Gus completely bury his entire face in him. He just stays there. So I'm like, "You clearly like this. There’s slobber all over you. That's on you, sir."

We have a couple of books about cats. There's one book specifically that there's like some fake fur and it talks about the little girl in the book petting the cat. And he always pets and says, “Gentle, gentle” and looks at me like, “I'm doing this right mom?” [We] are already sort of starting to use that language with our little guy. Of course, he'll just try to grab a whole chunk of fur. Our oldest cat is very sweet about it, but we say, “No, no, gentle, gentle. We don't grab.” Hopefully modeling for them is something that they'll pick up on.

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Does Fig sing to your children?

He doesn't sing to them. But our cats love music. Fig, especially. During quarantine, he just became really obsessed. He started singing with my husband, Taylor, and I when we would do Instagram live, like concerts or something. He just inserted himself in the situation and wanted to be front row center. And I was like, “Wow, I learned a lot about you during this time. I had no idea that you were like such a ham.” He loves being on camera.

Does he have a genre of music that he prefers?

I feel like he's because of what we do, he's very much into singer-songwriter, like he wants to harmonize with us, I guess.

What would you suggest for people who are trying to find a cat?

Oh my gosh. I mean, go to a local rescue. There [are] so many around everywhere, but I would just implore people to adopt and visit a rescue. I know that there are tons of rescues that allow you to foster that allow you to. I'm sure they have visiting hours where you can go in and see the cats and the kittens and pet them and get to know their personalities.

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