Recently I was asked by the Barbi Twins, Sia and Shane, best known as the record breaking Playboy Cover models/calendar gals turned documentary filmmakers, authors and all around amazing political/environmental/animal rights activists) to model for a campaign they masterminded for Stray Cat Alliance whose tag line is “Crazy Cat Ladies Just Got An Extreme Makeover”.
The campaign aims to bring attention to TNR (Trap, Neuter and Return) to the masses by using sexy images to draw in a larger and perhaps hopefully younger demographic. The photos were beautifully shot by renowned Playboy photographer animal friend Lisa Boyle in her studio in Silverlake in Los Angeles. I am proud to be a part of any campaign that has the potential to save literally millions of cats by helping make a dent in the heartbreaking over population crisis that is responsible for the euthanasia of millions of shelter animals each year. On the day of the shoot, I went with my little suitcase filled with lingerie from my closet and the highest vegan boots I could find and headed to Silverlake to shoot with Lisa and her brood of rescued cats and dogs. Soon we were joined by kittens who live in foster care with Stray Cat Alliance with the lovely J’Amy Johnson. The kittens played happily in my lap as Dedra Whitt Dakota did my make up.
I have participated in PETA’s sometimes controversial, always talked about, “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaigns and similar to this one I am prepared for those who take issue with the suggestive marketing of the campaign. There will always be those that say it exploits women or isn’t feminist. To those people I say this — To me feminism is about personal choice. If we as women feel that we are fighting to save animals by any means necessary and also understand that sex sells it’s our own prerogative to use the media to our advantage. The mere fact that people are already talking about this campaign is the best we can hope for – topped only by those who are moved to go to the website and learn more about TNR.
As Christie Metropole the fiercely dedicated maven of the SCA organization explains on the group’a website, “ TNR has been proven to be the most humane and effective method for controlling community, free-roaming, stray and feral cat populations. When practiced on a large scale, TNR dramatically reduces the number of kittens and cats impounded at local shelters. The results are what the good people at Stray Cat Alliance are committed to—lowering the death rate while increasing adoption of cats already in the shelters.
Whatever you call it: alter, fix, de-sex, sterilize, spay (female) or neuter (male), it’s the right thing to do. I encourage you to visit their site, make a donation and to help them bring down the number of unwanted kittens in your neighborhood by getting involved in TNR. If you are feeding cats that simply in my opinion is not enough- cats need shelter, vet care and to be fixed. Properly managed colonies have caretakers that understand this and do all they can to make sure the cats in their neighborhood have access to all of this even if the cats aren’t socialized and are impossible to pet.
Animal Advocates Katie Cleary and Sandy Taylor have already shot for this campaign with many other models joining the cause. It was such an honor to lend my voice (and image )to this cause. Please support their work as much as you can. We all have a bit of feral in us, let it shine. Until every cage is empty…
To learn more about Stray Cat Alliance visit www.straycatalliance.org
PHOTO CREDIT : Lisa Boyle
