BERLIN – A local feline is using his social media presence to entertain and uplift members of the community.
Last, Pip the Beach Cat – a local feline that’s amassed thousands of social media followers with his quirky behaviors – began his own morning show with owner Emily Meadows and assistant Gretchen Cooper.
“We needed a personal project …,” Meadows said. “So this became a creative outlet for all of us.”
Last week, all meet and greet events and signings for the release of Pip’s new book were cancelled. And after spending days in self-isolation, Meadows said she and Cooper were starting to feel the effects of confinement.
It was then that they created a plan of action to spread joy and cheer to the community.
“We were depressed for a long time,” she said. “We have a friend who’s a therapist, and we reached out to her and started talking to her each day. One day we were talking to her and it just hit me. Talking to Sharon every day helped me so much. We should be doing something like this.”
To that end, the two began a letter-writing campaign. She said everyone who writes a letter to Pip will receive a letter in return.
“We wanted to give kids something to do, and something that wasn’t electronic but was filled with positivity …,” she said. “We will always write them back. They can ask a thousand questions, we will answer all of them.”
Meadows and Cooper also began Pip’s Morning Show on Monday. Each day, Pip and his team open fan mail, share pictures and words of wisdom, answer questions and more.
“We tape them a day in advance, and what we do is different each day …,” Meadows said. “It’s anything that can get a laugh from people and let them feel okay for a moment.”
Pip’s team will also host afternoon Facebook Live events that include storytimes for kids, question and answer sessions and “how to train cats” segments.
Cooper will also be making cards to send to hospitals and nursing homes.
“We do animal therapy at Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and we haven’t been able to do that for almost a month now and there’s no end in sight right now,” Meadows said. “So her next project is writing letters to all our friends there.”
Those interested in writing to Pip can send letters to Pip the Beach Cat, P.O. Box 4442, Ocean City, Md. 21843. Pip’s Morning Show is aired Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. on the “Pip the Beach Cat” Facebook page.
“We had a great response, and people loved it,” Meadows said. “They thought it was nice to turn something on at a set time every day and know that it’s not going to talk about COVID-19.”
