Photo: John Lamparski / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Did Heidi Gardner just make me a cat person? Okay, no, not totally — not really, but she did convince me to check out a Cat Bodega, which is progress.
While chatting about her post-SNL career — stay tuned for that interview — we spoke about her dream partnership with TEMPTATIONS (yes, the cat treat brand with the cute commercials).
And considering how much of Heidi's social media is dedicated to her cats, it makes sense that TEMPTATIONS literally called her up.
“I do post my cats more than anything else in my life, more than my work. It's like, ‘Oh, that's the thing she's most proud of,’” she laughed. “And I think Temptations took note, and so that makes me really happy.”
Cue Heidi helping launch the first-ever TEMPTATIONS™ Cat Bodega. Now, you may be asking yourself, what the hell is a Cat Bodega? Well, Heidi put me on: it’s going to be an immersive pop-up experience in New York City September 17th thru the 19th where you can stop by “an actual storefront full of cat treats, full of merchandise, full of claw machines.”
Because as any New Yorker will tell you — and Heidi too — bodega cats are “basically the mayors” of the city. “It's kind of like a scavenger hunt [when] you go into bodegas… it's like, where's the cat? The cat is the spotlight of the bodega. They own the place. This is their storefront,” she shared.
And as someone who just started finding cat videos cute on TikTok, I gotta say, my chat with Heidi convinced me to go check it out. I mean, am I convinced that cats are smarter than us? Yes.
“I just start acting like my cat's employee,” Heidi said. “I’m like, ‘You are the boss. You are smarter than me. And if I just do what you want, my life is great.’”
I don't know if I'll ever get there, but I do love her acceptance of her place in the cat-human hierarchy. And hey — I can appreciate that.
Now, the Cat Bodega may only be up for a few days, but if you can’t make it, cat lovers across the country — or people who are just curious about the whole thing like myself — can visit the virtual TEMPTATIONS™ Cat Bodega at TemptationsTreats.com/CatBodega.
Listen, I may not fully be a cat person, but my girl Heidi got me intrigued.
See you at the Cat Bodega!