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It is for real! MEOW MIX announces first cat reality show.

May 18, 2006, 12:0AM MT

By Michelle Buckalew

10 Cats to Live Together in a House and Vie for Job with The Meow Mix Company

Reality show contestants will do anything to win. Whether it’s living on a deserted island, undergoing plastic surgery or eating cockroaches, they will stop at nothing to be the best.

In the latest twist on the reality genre, competitors will be asked to lick themselves clean, chase balls of string, and relieve themselves in a litter box as they scratch and claw their way towards the grand prize. However, for these particular participants, accomplishing the tasks will be second nature. After all, they are cats.

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.

People can also go online to vote for their favorite feline, and the cat with the fewest votes will be evicted from the house. All the kitties in the Meow Mix House are winners, since whichever puss gets the boot will then be adopted into a permanent home, and receive a one-year supply of Meow Mix as a consolation prize.

One by one the cats will be sent packing, until only the pick of the litter remains. In addition to winning a new life with a new family, the last cat standing will also receive a job working for The Meow Mix Company as Feline Vice President of Research and Development. He or she will be responsible for taste testing and offering valuable feedback on new Meow Mix product launches and line extensions.

Cats from ten cities, ranging from the shores of Miami Beach to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, have been selected to compete in the inaugural show. 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.

The Meow Mix Company will be producing the show along with Grand Central Marketing, Meow Mix’s event marketing and promotion agency. All the action will be filmed inside the Meow Mix House and packaged into a series of episodes. Since not everyone can understand what cats are saying, pop-up dialogue bubbles will be used to help translate the meows into English. Negotiations are currently underway with several cable networks regarding the airing of the show.

Although reality television may seem an unlikely departure for a company known primarily for its cat food, Meow Mix CEO and Top Cat Richard Thompson explains that the show is a logical extension for the brand.

"At Meow Mix, we are cat people first and foremost," said Thompson. "We all own cats, we love cats, and we’ve been making great-tasting cat food for over 30 years. You might say we’re the industry leader in understanding cats. If anyone has the insight to explore the reality of cats' lives, it would certainly be us.”

Meow Mix will use the reality show as a platform to showcase its products. The cats will be eating Meow Mix Indoor Formula and the brand’s newest offering, Meow Mix Market Select wet food, which comes in easy-open cups. In addition, the company’s new line of cat treats will be offered to winners of reward challenges.

This is not the first time Meow Mix has launched a groundbreaking promotion for cats. In 2004, the company opened the Meow Mix Café, the first-ever restaurant for cats and their owners. Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the café served up gourmet meals to thousands of patrons of both the two and four-legged variety during its two-week trial run. The prior year, Meow Mix created Meow TV, the first television show for which cats were the target audience.

Several sponsors will be donating furniture and accessories to The Meow Mix House, including Furniture for Pets, who will be providing beds for the cats, and Cats Rule, who will provide bowls, litter mats, and litter scoops. Fat Cat Inc. is supplying cat toys, and Lucky Litter is donating scoop free automatic litterboxes.

About Meow Mix: The Meow Mix Company, headquartered in Secaucus, NJ, is the maker of Meow Mix® brand cat food.

http://www.meowmix.com/

Comments

Posted May 18, 2006, 2:34PM by kycady

May the best kitty win! I hope this show demonstrates the wonder of the cat & is not exploitive... It sounds like it should be fun. Kim New Humane Movement Community

Posted June 08, 2006, 9:8PM by ann089

Hey what is this show called cause me and my aunt want to watch it on the 16th so what time is it on and what is it called who ever reads this please email me at xwhispervoicesx@aol.com well gotta go PLEASE email me with the answer ty so much

ashley