Growing up on his grandfather's farm in Illinois, Bruce Boxleitner had his share of play-and-chase time with cats. And he learned an important lesson about the independent creatures: "You don't own them; they own you!" says the handsome hero of Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

Perhaps it was this early exposure to wild felines that has made Bruce not only a fan of cats but also an active supporter of Cats At The Studios (CATS), a group of movie studio employees devoted to aiding the many stray cats on the movie lots.

"The cats we have running around at the studios remind me of the ones I grew up with. We let them run wild and hunt rodents. They'd die sometimes when a distemper epidemic would hit. They fended for themselves and multiplied all over the place—then nature would take its course."

At this point, Bruce pauses to watch a wild studio cat skitter across a deserted sound stage. It's almost as if he can see himself at a younger age, running after the critter—trying to befriend it, or pull its tail.

"I always played with them, and I also pulled a lot of shenanigans with 'em, too! They'd get the best of my temper sometimes. But cats are fun. I just think they bring a lot of joy to you."

Indeed, Bruce and his wife—appropriately named Kitty—and their two sons have enjoyed quite a few family cats. At the moment, however, they are catless due to the plentiful supply of coyotes in the area around their house.

"Our last cat was named Rusty. He was a beautiful orange Persian and quite a character," recalls Bruce, a trace of melancholy in his voice. "He used to sit on my shoulder and wrap me up in his tail. Very affectionate. I always felt like I had a fur collar on when Rusty was around."

The cat before Rusty was also a Persian, but a jet black one named Schnitz. He was an older cat and very fond of his human family. Too fond, unfortunately.

"We went to Europe for three months, and Schnitz died at the kennel the day before we came home. He was in a strange place, and I guess it was just too hard on him. They said he died of a broken heart."

And so, for now, the Boxleitners will remain "unowned" by any cat. But that doesn't mean being uninvolved with cats—big ones as well as small.

"I had a brief TV series called Bring 'Em Back Alive in which I played Frank Buck, a man who caught wild animals and brought them back alive. It was at Columbia Studios, and I worked with lions and tigers, you name it. As a matter of fact, the lion in Out of Africa that charges Meryl Streep and Robert Redford is one I held in my arms about five years ago. It was a tiny little cub that used to playfully claw my face. But I sure wouldn't let it do that nowadays!"

The kitten that Bruce is holding in the photograph is no baby lion. He's a studio cat who, as yet, hasn't found a home. But Bruce's soothing presence (and a little petting and stroking, of course!) seems to calm the shaking ball of fur immediately.

"I've had a basic familiarity with animals all my life," says Bruce, who was the spokesperson for the American Humane Association in 1985, doing various promotional ads for them on the importance of spaying and neutering. "But cats especially fascinate me. I like their independence. They like you and then, when they want to go, they go. Both Schnitz and Rusty were independent, but loving when they wanted to be."

Here's hoping an obvious cat fancier like Bruce Boxleitner doesn't wait too long before letting another one of those independent creatures "own him" again!
 

Thanks, Claudia!