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Shailene Woodley knew she wanted to be a cat mom when she was a teenager.
The 33-year-old actress, who recently partnered with Mars & Calm to raise awareness of pet adoption at Global Adoption Weekend, rescued her first cat in the late 2000s.
“Her name was Kitten. She was a little black cat who was very small when I got her. And as she grew up, I just kept the name,” Woodley tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview.
“I remember taking on this responsibility when I was 16 years old,” she continues. “Even though I was still living at home and there were other animals in the house, it was her and her sole responsibility to feed them, clean their litter boxes, and make sure they were hydrated, but it felt like a gateway to adulthood.”
“Not just that this animal literally depends on me, but that I’m dependent on her, that she greets me at the door when I get home from school or need to study for a difficult test, or that I’m full-time on a TV show.” “Working at a school also gave me a sense that at that point in my life, I knew I could go home and sleep with my girlfriend, and it took away all the anxiety and insecurities that I might have had as a teenager,” the star added. of American teenagers.
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Woodley is currently the mother of two cats, Bear and Farrah. “This is the first time I’ve had a sibling pet,” she tells PEOPLE, explaining that it’s “a big change for them and for me.”
“When I’m at work, I don’t worry if one of them is home alone and lonely and just waiting for me to come in. It’s (great) knowing that they have each other and they can entertain and comfort each other,” Woodley continues.
“The love they share extends to the love they share with me, and the love I share with them. And with them, I feel like anything is possible. I don’t feel alone. I don’t feel alone anymore. I feel completely taken care of. I feel like I’m being treated well and I don’t have to complain at all in my personal life because I get this unconditional love and affection from them,” the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe nominated star added.
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Overall, Woodley said being a pet parent “goes beyond the concept of love,” adding, “It’s just pure energy. I’m personally at a loss for words knowing that they gave me life and entrusted me with their lives.”
“I think it’s such an honor just to have their trust in me, because I know what their lives were like before they came to my home. It was a hard life,” the Divergent alum further stated. “So the fact that they’re giving me so much unconditional love and appreciation touches me, because I know how difficult it is to trust people in the personal world. So to know that they chose to trust me, I feel really honored.”
