School Cats

The people at Meow Mix are really serious about cats. The brand established itself as creators of whimsical feline-centric marketing stunts with events such as last year's Meow Mix House and 2005's Meow Mix Cafe. The company takes it up a notch this year with the Meow Mix Acatemy, a free school open to the public, which promises to teach students how to think like a cat.

Meow Mix takes over the Daryl Roth Theatre this week, with seminars ranging from "Cook Like a Cat" (taught by Acatemy dean and celeb chef Cat Cora), "Feline Freud" with pet psychologist Warren Eckstein, and "Unraveling Feline Mysteries," courtesy of pet psychic Emerald DuCoeur.

"It's all about the cat's perspective," said Brian Ely, marketing director for Meow Mix parent company Del Monte Foods. "We really want consumers to know how to interact with their cat and to know how it's feeling. This just brings that to life." It also gave planners plenty of opportunities for cat puns.Additional courses include "Arts and Cats," in which students can construct a new toy for their pet; "Cat Scratch Fever," allowing guests to learn how to scratch like a  DJ, using the Meow Mix jingle as the featured track; and "Cat-isthenics," teaching visitors how to exercise like a cat in a gymnasium filled with human-sized cat cubbies and balls of yarn, as well as a climbing wall.

"In each room it's explained why cats do [what they do]," said Meow Mix Brand Manager Bill Maclean. "It's a good mix of education and fun."

To kick off the week-long semester, Meow Mix hosted an orange carpet party Monday night at the theater with much fanfare that included a marching band (playing cat-inspired songs), a team of cheerleaders, and a performance by recording artist Kat Deluna, singer of current pop hit "Whine," and the artist behind the forthcoming album 9 Lives.

In addition to Acatemy faculty, the party drew celeb members of the school's advisory board, including models Rachel Hunter and America's Next Top Model winner CariDee English ("experts on the catwalk," according to Meow Mix), and Vincent Pastore, an authority on playing a cat burglar from his role as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bompensiero on The Sopranos (an undeniable stretch, but the crowd loved him).

In addition to dancing on the theater's first floor, where DJ Cassidy spun high-energy hits, the Cool Cats Lounge on the basement level provided a more sedate atmosphere, where guests could listen to a jazz trio and sample offerings from caterer Creative Edge's salmon bar.

The Meow Mix Acatemy will travel to 11 cities, including Washington, Chicago, Tampa, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, the final stop on the tour, where a graduation ceremony will be held. The promotion runs through November 4. Meow Mix  is donating a pound of cat food to a local animal shelter for every student of the Acatemy.