Animal Watch Magazine-ASPCA
Spring 2002
One Life to Give

When she's not busy tormenting the good people of Llanview, Pennsylvania, as the villainous Lindsay Rappaport on the daytime drama One Life to Live, soap diva Catherine Hickland can usually be found juggling a hectic real-life schedule that involves doing a lot more good than evil. In addition to working long hours at the ABC television studio in Manhattan, Hickland also runs Cat Cosmetics, her own cruelty-free beauty products company. Her home life, which is shared with actor-husband Michael E. Knight and a multitude of adopted animal companions, is equally demanding. But as crazy as her schedule often gets, Hickland is never too busy to give her time to a variety of animal welfare causes.

"I knew at a really young age that I loved animals, that I was going to have animals and fight on their behalf as much as I could," says the actress. Her childhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was shared with a pet skunk and a parrot--odd animals, she remembers, that nobody else wanted. "But it didn't seem odd to me to care for them," she reflects. "In fact, it was completely normal."

Hickland uses her high-profile image as one of the premiere witches in daytime television to spread word about Animal Haven (www.animalhavenshelter.org), a Flushing, New York-based no-kill shelter for abandoned animals. In addition to its adoption programs, the shelter boasts several permanent-care facilities for pets who cannot be placed in loving homes due to medical reasons such as feline leukemia, as well as those willed to the facility by deceased owners. That means there's always plenty of volunteer work to be done.

"I truly wish there were more than one of me," laughs Hickland. "But since there isn't, I do what I can do, which is to show up as often as I can to help out at Animal Haven and at its events and fundraisers to promote the adoption of homeless animals. I also try to bring along as many of my fellow actors as possible to increase visibility of the events."

With Hickland's help, Animal Haven recently purchased a high-tech mobile animal shelter to transport pets in need of adoption. "It's great," she enthuses. "The mobile shelter holds up to 20 animals and can be driven anywhere. People can come and see the animals and put in applications for the adoptions right there on the spot."