NEED TO KNOW
- Wendi McLendon-Covey opened up to PEOPLE about her passion for rescuing cats
- The actress, 56, said she “can’t look away” when she sees a feline in need
- McLendon-Covey can be seen in season 2 of her NBC comedy, St. Denis Medical
Wendi McLendon-Covey is opening up about being a cat mom — and why she thinks stepping up for animals is so important.
McLendon-Covey recently sat down exclusively with PEOPLE to catch up on life and chat about season 2 of her sitcom, St. Denis Medical. During the conversation, she opened up about her penchant for saving felines.
“When they show up in your yard and they need you, we can’t look away,” the actress, 56, said of her and her husband.
She continued, “I think my first pet was a kitty, and she was just so grateful to be rescued. And it’s just such a small thing, but it’s an important thing to show, ‘Okay, someone’s looking out for the little creatures.’ Everything else is going to hell in a handbasket, but we found this little life and we’re going to nurture it and give it a good home and maybe in some small way that’s making a difference somewhere. I don’t know.”
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“But they’re cuddly, they’re cute, they’re hilarious. They all have their different personalities and they have their little meetings and their little way of talking to each other, and it’s just fascinating to watch. So that’s a hot Friday night for me, is just throwing treats to the cats,” she added.
The Reno 911 star also said she believes nurturing an animal in need is almost a cosmic way of giving back.
“When the universe tags you and says you’re it, you got to step up,” she said.
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As her most recent rescue project? A cat named Harvey,
“He just showed up in the bushes,” she explained. “It’s taken me forever to bond with him, and now he lets me pick him up and stuff like that. So you got to put the work in. And I can’t bring him into the house yet because he’s still a little too feral and sketchy, but I can get him in the backyard and I can make a nice little area for him there that he’s comfortable in. And so yeah, my babies.”
The Bridesmaids actress also opened up about another of her passions: decorating for the holidays.
“I love decorating. I love crap,” she said, jokingly.
“So I’ve scaled it to where when Halloween’s over, we’re going to go straight into Christmas. So all I have to do is take down some pumpkins, change some lights, take down the witch hats, put up the sugar plum whatevers. I go hard. From September to January 1, that’s my season for decorating […] because when it gets dark early, you want to look at something pretty.”
PEOPLE went on to ask if the star ever sees people dressed up as her iconic characters during spooky season.
“Well, Clemy, Deputy Johnson [from Reno 911]. I see a lot of those around Halloween. A lot of Beverlys [from The Goldbergs]. And just a lot of crazy cat ladies because that is what I am. But people send me pictures, ‘Thought of you, you were my inspiration.’ […] So that’s really fun.”
St. Denis Medical airs Monday nights on NBC at 8 p.m. and is also available for streaming on Peacock.
