CAT WOMAN WEDNESDAY: Angela Kinsey

I’m excited to announce that today’s Cat Woman Wednesday is Angela Kinsey. Angela is best known for playing the role of the truly crazy cat lady Angela Martin-Schrute on “The Office.” It turns out that the “real” Angela is an animal lover too and has a cat and two dogs (the second being a very recent addition). I hope you enjoy my interview with Angela, I think you’ll see her quirky, fun-loving personality really come through!

In the past you were affiliated with Alley Cat Allies, and now Friskies. How do you pick the animal projects you decide to work with?

Actors and cat owners Michael Ian Black and Angela Kinsey pose for a photograph with Grumpy Cat before “The Friskies” Award Show. (John Minchillo / AP Images for Friskies)

In my old neighborhood there were a lot of stray feral cats. I went to a local shelter and borrowed some traps, trapped the cats, got them spade/neutered and released back into the neighborhood. When I heard about Alley Cats Allies it just seemed like a natural fit for what I was doing in my own neighborhood.

And with Friskies, well I buy it for my own cat and thought their campaign with the Friskies Awards was so much fun. It just made sense to me to be a part of it. I guess I try to pick projects that ring true to what is going on in my own life. (NOTE: Friskies awarded $25,000 in cash prizes for the best internet cat videos of the year and 330,000 total cans of Friskies to 20 cat charity organizations nationwide).

So you got to meet: Nala Cat, Oskar the Blind Cat, Hamilton the Hipster Cat, Colonel Meow, and Grumpy Cat during the taping of hard-to-be-a-cat-at-Christmas. Spill the dirt. Who’s the biggest diva?

Okay well Nala was definitely the most likely to bolt out of there. Colonel Meow was surprisingly sweet and well Grumpy Cat was just grumpy.

Angela Kinsey WITH Internet cat sensations Grumpy Cat, Colonel Meow, Nala Cat, Hamilton the Hipster Cat and Oskar the Blind Cat at an event by Friskies. (Bret Hartman/AP Images for Friskies)

Did you have a hand in making Angela from the office a cat lady, or was that already in the script?

I actually improvised a line in the pilot where I invited everyone to a cat birthday party. It was for a cat that I found in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot that I named Sprinkles. I even made little invites on post it notes and passed them around the office. My improvised line did not make it, but Pam improvised about it and that did make it in. The rest is history. Brian (aka. Kevin) taped his post it note invite onto the glass divider on his side of our desk pod and it stayed there for 9 years!

How do the two Angela’s differ in regards to their attitudes and behavior toward their cat(s)?

Well, I only have one cat so there is a big difference already. I think Angela Martin-Schrute had at least 15 at one time. I am not sure I would ever set up a cat cam in my home or lick my cat’s face but you never know. 🙂

You can see the afore mentioned footage below, or watch Angela lick a cat by clicking here.

You have a rescue kitty, named Otter who I hear got his name from the way he drinks water with his hands. Is this true? And how did you know that otters drank their water like that? (I personally wouldn’t have a clue!).

We recently learned that Otter is girl! This whole time we thought Otter was a boy. We had to do a family apology to her! She did get her name because she would lay on her side and dip her paw into her water bowl and then lick/drink. We’d seen a video of Otter’s laying on their backs splashing at water. And the name stuck!

How old is Otter now, and how old was she when you got her?

Otter was about a year when we rescued her. She is about 17 years old now. She is our sweet old lady.

Where did you get Otter and did you choose her by yourself or did you have some help?

I got Otter through a rescue organization called Much Love Animal Rescue. I chose her myself.

How did you know she was “the one”?

Well, we went there to adopt one cat and this sweet plump gal came and sat in my lap. She was super sweet. We named her Lucy*. I said, “We’ll take her!” and the lady from Much Love said, “well she has a brother and they can’t be separated.” She pointed to shy kitty hiding in the corner behind a box. That was Otter. So we took them both!

*Sadly Lucy has since passed.

Angela and Otter

I’ve heard you say Otter is quite the talker. When is she most vocal? Feel free to send us a recording if you have one on your iPhone!

Otter talks at night and has such a high voice. I don’t have any recordings of her! I should do that!

You have a cat and a dog and have been quoted as saying that “Cats are more interesting let’s face it. Dogs are loveable and a bit boring. But I love them both. ”What is it specifically you find interesting about cats?

Cats seem to have reasoning behind their actions. It is like they sit there and plot out their next move. Dogs seems to happily stumble along. We recently just got ANOTHER rescue! Lord help me, I now have three pets! Another little chihuahua puppy. Otter saw this puppy and watched it all morning as it sniffed around her cat tree. The puppy was oblivious but you could tell Otter had already assessed the situation and had a plan of some kind.

Who’s the boss, your cat or your dogs?

Definitely Otter. Otter is also bigger than my dogs so that might help. 🙂

Otter keeping a close eye on the new chihuahua rescue puppy.

You say she’s a shy cat. My favorite quote from you on this topic is,“ Getting to see Otter is like seeing an albino rhinoceros in the wild…It’s such a privilege.” Does she have any favorite hiding places when guests come over? Has she gotten any more social the older he’s gotten?

She is definitely more social now. She got outside by my back door and now it is her favorite spot to hang out. It gets a lot of morning sun and she loves to lay in the sun. I got her a big tall cat tree and sat it by the back door. She let’s my daughter pet her now which is huge! She’s still shy but she has come a long way.

How did you become a cat lover?

We always had pets growing up. Cats and dogs both. We are a big animal loving family so I think at an early age that stuck with me.

Any plans to add to your feline family?

I think someday we’d like to get another kitten but we have our hands full right now!!

What did Otter get for Christmas?

Otter got a catnip mouse and some Friskies Party Mix.

And just to mix it up, let’s end with a few off-topic questions:

Has your knowledge of the Indonesian language ever come in handy?

One time I was called in to do back voices for a surfing movie called “In God’s Hands”. I filled in the marketplace scenes they shot in Bali. It was me and a few other Indonesians and we got to speak Indonesian for the afternoon and get paid. I loved it!