12 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2019
BETH STERN: BY RUTH BASHINSKY
The last time I interviewed animal
lover, animal rights activist and author
Beth Stern, she was promoting
her book Oh My Dog and working
with North Shore Animal League
America, the world’s largest no-kill
pet rescue and adoption center, as
their national spokesperson.
Eight years later, Beth is still working
tirelessly with the team at North
Shore Animal League America to
raise awareness and find homes for
adorable animals.
“Life is good. I am really happy,”
says Beth, who stopped to talk with
the Press while on a media tour for
Kitten Bowl VI.
Beth was eager to talk about
her passion for fostering cats and
kittens at the home she shares with
husband/radio personality, Howard
Stern — who is just as smitten — and
the unconditional love she has for her
pets, which she describes as a “love
affair like no other.”
What can you say about how our
pets benefit us emotionally, physically,
spiritually? Howard and I
don’t have human children together.
He has three daughters from a previous
marriage who are very much a
part of my life. Our children are our
animals and our family. I feel like I
gave birth to all of my cats — that is
how much I love them. We are in tune
with each other. My cats know when I
am sad. They know when I am crying,
just like dogs. I think with any animal
that becomes part of a family, you feel
very connected to them.
I know how much you love dogs
too. Is it all cats all the time now at
the Stern residence? I am equally
a dog person. I love all animals and
I work with the wildlife rescue.
Right now, Howard and I have four
resident cats. They are my world. We
have Yoda, the Persian cat who is the
star of my children’s books. We have
Walter, a domestic short-haired white
cat. Walter is Howard’s favorite and
his best friend. We adopted him as
an adult. He was returned to North
Shore Animal League America a few
times. We don’t know why because he
is the perfect cat. We have Bella. She
is a calico. She is our blind cat. She
was most likely abused. She is also
a mama cat. She gave birth to four
kittens. She is the love of my life. She
is so in tune with me, and is the happiest
little kitty. And, we have Pebble.
She had one eye removed from an
infection. She is eight months now.
She is so bad. The worst little kitten
in the world she laughs. She jumps
on my poor senior older cats. I love
her madly. She is definitely making
things interesting in our household.
What are some of the routines at
home? They are part of every single
day. Howard and I wake up in the
morning with our cats. It is such a
bonding time. When we go to sleep
at night, they are around us. When
Howard is having a stressful day the
cats come downstairs, and they all
run over to him and all of a sudden
smiles are there, and we are talking
to them. It is such a beautiful part of
our life.
Is it true that the cats are obsessed
with Howard’s hair? Yes,
she laughs. Our blind cat crawls in
his hair. It’s the funniest thing. She’s
nestling in his hair, and he’s reading
the newspaper.
The last time we spoke you had
mentioned how much Howard
enjoys playing chess. Is Walter
his new chess partner? It’s
funny, Howard doesn’t play
chess as much as he used to.
He now paints watercolors. A
lot of the time the cats are his
inspiration.
Beth, with love also comes
loss — the human or furry kind
— that we all experience at some
time in our lives. The hardest part
of having an animal is when you lose
one. I lose a part of me too. I have gone
through so much pain over the past
year and a half. I lost three of my resident
cats. The depression and what
anyone goes through is not anything
I wish on anybody, but the love they
brought into our lives is worth it.
I’m intrigued and want to hear
COVER FEATURE
Beth Stern with one
of her foster kittens.
(Photo by Howard Stern)
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
