RRIED T CAT!’
more ladylike and she’s enjoyed being treated like a princess.
“Olivia’s a pretty name and she deserved to be treated like a little lady. It suits her.”
Two months into the lockdown, Scott decided to pop the question and invite other cat lovers to watch online to generate support for LA’S Best Friends Animal Society.
He set up a wedding page online and invited friends and family to view the ceremony over the internet.
“You now, it’s something I have been thinking about doing for a year,” he says.
“It’s a bit of fun and right now everyone needs cheering up, so lockdown was the perfect time to do it.
“I took Olivia onto the balcony and popped the question. She went, ‘Meow’, which I took to be a yes.
“I wore my tux and bought Olivia a $10 cat dress from Amazon,” Scott explains. “A party shop nearby recently closed down and I bought lots of party stuff – balloons and so on – from there to create the right atmosphere.
“I made a playlist of songs, too, such as Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’ and the Bee Gees’ ‘How Deep is Your Love’.
“Olivia has quite long hair so of course she got a good brushing before wearing her dress.”
A friend of Scott’s officiated the ceremony and the groom even said his own special vows.
“I promised to change her litterbox regularly and feed her at 5am whenever she wanted.
“She didn’t have to agree to anything! She’s just a cat so she just has to do what she does,” Scott laughs.
“She didn’t like the dress and she only wore it for three minutes and the whole ceremony was about 15 minutes long. Olivia did get a little pouty for the photo, though, but I made sure she was OK with everything.
“If we didn’t have lockdown, we would have had a special party with all my friends afterwards, but I just had a grilled cheese sandwich and she had her usual cat food.
“Not long afterwards, the TV networks here picked up the story and I was on the
“I PROMISED TO CHANGE HER LITTERBOX REGULARLY AND FEED HER WHENEVER SHE WANTS”
weekend news with Olivia; it was lots of fun.”
He adds: “Married life is great. We go out onto the balcony every morning where she lies in her corner to look at the squirrels and birds. “About 90 per cent of the day she’s tucked away in a cupboard or somewhere sleeping while I’m working.
“I can get a lot of work done; she’s a great partner. If I had dogs, I wouldn’t have a moment’s peace and quiet.
“She always sleeps by my feet. I think it’s so she knows that when I start to move to get out of bed she knows she’s going to get fed.
“She’s a smart catty, for sure. She’s very loving and is very much her own boss.
“It’s great for me when I return home to have a familiar face there waiting for me.
“Having her around has certainly helped me cope with lockdown.”
Scott says if a new lady – a human one – comes into his life, then she will have to win over Olivia, too.
“Dating is hard and right now it’s pretty much impossible. But in the future, if there is a new lady, I hope she can become part of our family,” Scott says.
“Ultimately, the wedding has been a success because it has raised money and awareness of the animal shelter, which is what I wanted. They do amazing work and there’s never been more demand for folks to foster and adopt pets.
“Cats and dogs are brilliant for families and kids,” Scott says. “They can teach children about responsibility and are amazing companions for people who live alone.
“I would urge everyone in Australia to support their local animal shelter – it’s so important right now.”
Betty was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder.