Actress Marisol Nichols says she "couldn't resist" bringing home a rescue kitten named Pinky.
Fast forward 11 years, and Pinky is still a beloved member of Nichols' family – and even prepared her to be a mother in some ways, she explains in an exclusive interview for HNGN's Stars & Their Pets.
Nichols recently wrapped up Season 12 on the CBS crime drama "NCIS," where she plays Special Agent Zoe Keates. She's previously starred in a number of TV series, including the tremendously popular Fox thriller "24," where she played Nadia Yassir, the Middle East-born leader of the Counter Terrorist Unit, a fictional division of the CIA.
The ALMA Award-nominated actress landed her first major role as Audrey Griswold in "Vegas Vacation" in 1997 and went on to appear in other movies including "Felon," Big Momma's House 2," "Can't Hardly Wait," "Bowfinger" and "Scream 2."
Tell us about Pinky.
Pinky was a rescue kitten. A friend had told me about a box of kittens that had lost their mother somehow. She had gotten two of them and there were still a couple left. I went and saw the cutest little tuxedo kittens. Well, I couldn't resist and 11 years later I still have Pinky. He was so small he fit into the palm of my hand. I had to bottle feed him for several weeks until he was old enough for kitty food. Crazy cute!
Have you always been a cat person?
Always been a cat person. I've had six cats now since I was a little girl. I just knew how they speak, it's a cat thing I guess. Maybe my dad taught me, he grew up with a cat and got us our first when I was 5 years old.
How would you describe Pinky's personality?
Pinky is super cuddly. Actually all the cats I've had were really friendly. Pinky is an indoor cat, I think that makes a difference. He'll come right up to you and meow to be petted, meow to say hello, climb on your lap, he's not one of those aloof, leave-me-alone cats, and he'll follow you around from room to room meowing if you don't say hello and pet him. Then after, he runs off somewhere to sleep. Busy guy. He used to sleep at the foot of my bed every night, but then I met my husband so that changed.
Pinky does this thing, I swear it's sign language or something. He stands up on his hind legs and puts his two front paws together and moves them up and down over and over again in a pleading motion to be petted. It's the craziest thing. I have it on video. Whenever anyone sees it it's hilarious, but the communication is loud and clear, "pet me."
Are there similarities between you and your cat?
I guess in some ways he's like me. I'm not an alone person, I like a lot of people around. I prefer it. I like my home to be the kind of place where people just stop in to say hello and hang out. Not a solitary gal.
What have you learned from him?
From Pinky I think I learned that I could be a mom. Believe me, being a mom and having a cat are so not the same thing! But I felt like I got some practice in beforehand. My friends had kids and they would tell me something that their kid did, and I'd always compare it to my cat. That must have been annoying! Now that I'm a mom I don't do that anymore, but I like to think that just caring for Pinky, the bottle feedings, changing the litter, prepared me even in the tiniest ways.
Do cats have nine lives?
Hmmm, I can only speculate, but I like to think so!
