A Belleville Area Humane Society stray turned therapy cat, Rorschach, has the chance to become a superstar in next year’s Cadbury commercial, but he needs St. Louis’ help.
“So this is actually the second year I entered him,” explains Paige Krisby, Rorschach's owner and handler. “He doesn't mind anything, so I was like, ‘Why not give it a go?’”
Krisby wasn't exaggerating when it comes to that "anything." Rorschach is that rare cat who enjoys meeting strangers, traveling around in a car and even walking on a leash. He's also down for being dressed in costumes — so impersonating the Cadbury Bunny was no different. Perched in the Cadbury cardboard box, surrounded by Cadbury eggs, disguised as the bunny itself, you can barely see any difference between the two.
Cadbury Bunny tryouts started on Tuesday, February 20, and will end on Saturday, March 23. This year, all voting will be done on Cadbury’s Instagram (@cadburyusa) stories through bracket voting. There will be five rounds of voting, and Rorschach has made it to the second round, which kicks off Wednesday, March 13, and continues every other day.
“I'm just honored to even be picked for the top 32,” Krisby says. “If he would be in a commercial, I think that'd be awesome. I'm just glad he gets to, because he's the only therapy animal from the whole 32.”
The idea of entering Rorschach into the Cadbury Bunny contest stemmed from Krisby’s drive to spread the word about therapy cats — a rarity both in St. Louis and in the U.S.
“With Pet Partners there's only 130 registered cats in the U.S., and you don't really hear about it too often,” she says. “He's the only one registered with the headquarters in St. Louis.”
Rorschach has been registered through Pet Partners since last June and currently visits Friendship Village, an assisted living facility in south St. Louis County, once a month.
“We visit Fontbonne University too, but since they're closing I think we'll have our last visit here soon," she notes. But this is a cat in demand, Krisby makes clear: "We're approved to start visiting at the [Veterans Affairs Jefferson Barracks Hospital] here soon too."
Krisby adopted Rorschach from the Belleville Humane Society in 2022 and couldn’t believe how sweet of a cat he was. After a few outings and noticing how well he did with other people, dogs and loud noises, Krisby took him in to be tested for his therapy license.
“The cat gets screened by the veterinarian to make sure they're in good enough shape to do it and then you get evaluated,” she says. “It has a lot of steps. They had to be around a dog, they had to be petted by a crowd, awkward hugging, multiple people petting them at once, loud noises — and he passed!”
Follow along with Rorschach’s Cadbury Bunny journey by following him and his sister Momo on Instagram (@momo_and_rorschach) or on Facebook.
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