We get it. Our foundation has a weird name. But we think it’s perfect.

In 2014, a package arrived on our doorstep. City of origin: Doylestown, PA. Culprit: Grandma Carole. (Roxie’s grandma)

Inside was a funny-looking cotton doll named Scrappy Cat. And, yep, Roxie was immediately smitten with the kitten. In fact, this was an absolute game-changer.

Over the next few months, Rox began to squeak out a few words. One of those words was “Meow.” And the other one was, well, “Meow.”

The rest was history. Goodbye Scrappy Cat. Hello Meow Meow.

Mom decided it might be a good idea to add a few more Scrappys to the family, just in case Meow Meow continued to find her way into the oven or the litter box. (You wouldn’t believe the things poor Meow Meow has seen.)

Here’s the deal. Meow Meow was Roxie’s comfort doll…her trusty feline BFF through thick and thin. (S)he gave Roxie the courage to weather blood draws, biopsies, bouts with pneumonia, semi-spooky cartoons and even rare temper tantrums. Man oh man, did that child have some lungs.

Meow Meow couldn’t save Roxie from her greatest challenge of all—Roxie’s preventable drowning death at Summerkids camp. Meow Meow could not save Roxie’s mom Elena or Roxie’s grandmother Carole from their grief.

But the name Meow Meow Foundation symbolizes our mission to comfort other families by advocating for safer conditions at summer camps and aquatics facilities.

We love you, Meow Meow. Just like Roxie did.

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This is what Meow Meow used to look like, then what she looked like after Roxie’s nonstop love.

The moment Meow Meow arrived, Roxie started chewing, tugging, throwing, squeezing and all-out loving here, not to mention using Meow Meow as bait to taunt our beloved cat (named Sprout who died 8 months after Roxie). She subjected poor Meow Meow to all kinds of dirty, stinky, slimy, nutty, torturous adventures that do not favor cotton cat comfort dolls. If Meow Meow could talk, we get the feeling a whole lot of four-letter words would come roaring out. And we don’t mean words like “ouch.” Meow Meow “survived thanks to mommy’s multiple super-duper-sticky-tricky sewing surgeries.

And here is an all-too brief journey with Roxie & Meow Meow…

Meow Meow Versus Cat

OK, let’s be clear. Roxie was a ruthless little torturer. There, I said it. She would use Meow Meow to tease and scare the hell out of our cat named Sprout. Although Sprout was a good sport, she popped Roxie in the nose a couple of times for good measure. Thing is, they loved each other nonetheless. (At least we’d like to think so.)

Silly Meow Meow

Meow Meow was so crazy. She was constantly vying for attention. And she always got it.

There is No Substitute

This is one of those “substitute” Meow Meows we mentioned. If we wound up in the emergency room due to a bout with pneumonia or an unexpected tumble, Roxie demanded the accompaniment of her trusty companion. We did our best to introduce Mama, Papa or Baby Meow Meow into the mix. But in the end, only the original would do. And this wasn’t it.

Meow Meow in Zion

We took a loooong rim hike around Zion National Park, Utah. While Roxie snuggled in Mommy’s papoose (sucking on her three tastiest fingers), Meow Meow took in the surrounding beauty. Because Meow Meow wasn’t paying attention to her trusty companion, Roxie would strategically drop Meow Meow on a challenging limestone formation or into a muddy puddle just to test boundaries. Meow Meow was less than amused. Nor were we.

Daddy's Turn

It’s only fair that Daddy also got a shot at cradling Roxie in her beloved papoose. She felt like a warm blanket on a crisp, chilly afternoon even though her toots were all kinds of stinky. Roxie loved when Daddy held his nose. Meow Meow demanded a bath ASAP.

Love

Life’s finest moments are often quiet. This was one of them. The world is big. But my love for my girl was the biggest big one could ever imagine.

AhhhHHHHhhhh!

We took a ride way up then down this crazy, mineral path in Utah. Our car was shaking and rattling and bucking like a Bronco. Out of nowhere, Roxie started doing this AhhhHHHhhh crescendo then decrescendo thing at the top of her lungs. Elena and I could hardly breathe from laughing so hard. Of course we joined her for the next half hour. A lot of mule deer and brown bears were probably wondering what that awful noise was all about. Meow Meow just shook her head in disbelief.

Fingers

We did everything we could to get those fingers out of Roxie’s mouth, but they must have tasted like strawberries. Thing is, Meow Meow on Roxie’s ear and fingers in her mouth were as peaceful and endearing as could be. She eventually got past the fingers thing. But she never let Meow Meow off the hook.

The Real Deal

Now THIS is the one and only Meow Meow, though admittedly hard to tell as she lies face-down buried under who knows what. Nonetheless, Meow Meow was always a trooper, even hanging out during weekly antibody infusions. In fact, this was Roxie’s very first infusion, which was administered at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. We did the rest by ourselves, in the comfort of our own home, where Roxie and Meow Meow belonged.

Worse for Wear

Eventually Meow Meow started to look a bit, well, worn thin, worn out, worn down. And in this case, so did Roxie. But Meow Meow never left Roxie’s side. She hung in there like a champ, no matter what came her way. And so did her best friend...a magical little girl with a heart of gold.

Bunk mates

It’s hard to even make out that lump of cotton on Roxie’s pillow. Poor Meow Meow needed more naps than Roxie did, that’s for sure. But these too little bunk mates would never do without each other once eyes closed at the end of long school day or as evening bedtime settled in.

All About Family

Daddy (that’s me) took this photo in March of 2019. We spent a lot of time that day talking about what family means and how some family members, like Meow Meow, get old and eventually die after a long, beautiful life with the ones they love. It was an amazing conversation, largely because Roxie’s questions were profoundly moving.

The End

And then, in a blink of an eye, she was gone. Somehow it was our baby who became that family member who died. This was the very last photo taken of Roxie and Meow Meow together in Roxie’s hospital bed when she was disconnected from life support a day after she drowned. I will never have to take a harder photo. But I simply had to. Truth is, I can barely look at it right now. Our sunshine. Our love. Our beautiful, beautiful girl was stolen from us. She had so much life to live, and so much love to give.

Who made Meow Meow?

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THE FABULOUS, ONE-AND-ONLY SUPERMEOW IS ON SALE IN OUR STORE AND IS ALREADY A HUGE HIT!

Her name is Janice Masoud, a wonderful mother, designer and successful entrepreneur who runs a sustainable and socially responsible baby products company. Janice’s Scrappy Cat comfort dolls are just one of many ultra-cool products brought to market over 20 years.

Janice also has a big heart. She pledged a donation rife with Scrappys (a.k.a. Meow Meows) to our foundation for which we are eternally humbled. And now we are engaged in a partnership which has yielded a WHOLE BUNCH OF SUPERMEOWS AVAILABLE IN OUR STORE.

These beloved comfort dolls are selling like hotcakes so get one for birthdays, holidays, graduation days, any day. Go to our STORE.