**He’s an author, a stuffed animal designer and a commewnity service volunteer. He’s also been known to cat-ch a wave on a boogie board. Meet Pip the Beach Cat.**

KATNISS: Pip, you were a stray kitten wandering the streets in the middle of a thunderstorm when kind Humans let you in from the rain. Now you’re pawing it furward with all kinds of good work.

PIP: Well, I like to think I was put here fur a purrpose – to show people that cats are capable of so much meowr than just eating, sleeping and loafing at the end of the bed. Cats can be purrductive members of society like me – I’m a purrfessional service cat.

KATNISS: I’m feline your passion! And I love that you’re doing something pawsitive.

PIP: One of my favfurite things to do is visit nursing homes. I might visit a purrson one-on-one, or maybe I’ll share my videos with a roomful of seniors.

KATNISS: I’ve heard you sometimes bring foster kittens along, too. Because what’s cuter and meowr amewsing than a kitten?

PIP: You ain’t lion! One time I took a whole litter of five kittens! The residents got toys and played with the kittens fur hours – it was so much fun fur everyone!

KATNISS: Pawesome! You also visit schools to talk to children, or people with special needs.

PIP: Yes. We talk about commewnity service and why it’s impurrtant. We talk about kindness towards animals. And we teach kids how they can be an author just like me!

KATNISS: You’ve written two books so fur, am I right?

PIP: Yes, two illustrated guidebooks – Pip’s Guide to Ocean City Vol. I and Pip’s Guide to Ocean City Vol. II about our hometown of Ocean City, Maryland. Because I love to get in my backpack and travel, we plan on doing guidebooks fur other locations, too, and also guidebooks fur concepts, like Pip’s Guide to Kindness.

KATNISS: Oh, that’s a supurr idea!

KATNISS: Pip, you’re famous fur your high-five. How did you learn to do it?

PIP: Through clicker training and reinfurcements. With a button clicker device, a cat can train a Human to push the button, which makes a clicking noise. Each time they do this, they are training themselves to give us a treat.

KATNISS: Oh yes, the pawpular circus purrformers the Acro-Cats also train their Humans this way. It’s amazing how you can teach a purrson to give you treats just by doing something simple like giving a high-five or crossing a tightrope while purrcariously balancing on a rolling ball.

PIP: Right?

KATNISS: Training Your Human makes sense, but… I really don’t get your love of the beach and (shudder) water.

PIP: Well, when I was a kitten, I wasn’t afurraid of anything. One day my Human best friend took me to the beach. It was a low tide with a sandbar so the waves were really small and soft and I just let them hit me. I even got on a boogie board and rode a wave in to shore and then just hopped off and kept walking along the beach.