upper waypoint
The Do List

Watch Golden Girl Rue McClanahan's Hilarious 1990 Videos About Pet Care

Between her relentless flirting, cats behaving badly, and some super-'90s aesthetics, Blanche's VHS guides are must-see TV.
Rae Alexandra
Rue McClanahan and her cat Celestine in 'The Cat Care Video Guide' (1990). (YouTube)

If you’re one of the thousands of humans across America who have taken on a pet during shelter in place, adjusting to living with your new animal friend doesn’t involve a very steep learning curve. Animals are awesome, and shelters tend to explain basics to you before you leave with a new foster or adoption.

In 1990, however, it was apparently left up to Rue McClanahan—then at the peak of her fame playing Blanche Devereaux in The Golden Girls—to make instructional VHS presentations about how to take care of cats and dogs.

In both The Dog Care Video Guide and The Cat Care Video Guide, McClanahan—whose Blanche was a refreshingly sex-positive TV icon for older women—is accompanied by a British veterinarian named Dr. David Griffiths. And, let me tell you, the sexual tension between these two is electric. Just look at this supercut from The Dog Care Video Guide:

These two immediately get down to business in The Cat Care Video Guide as well. McClanahan promises to explore “the mysterious inner workings of the feline mind,” while Dr. Griffiths purrs, “I’d be happy to have my brain picked by such an enchanting woman.”

McClanahan goes on to smile her way through a cat attack, a room filled with running and hissing felines, and Dr. Griffiths’ stern warnings about predators. “Owls,” he says at one point, “have been known to carry a cat off.”

Together, the two run through important decisions regarding your new pet: how to pick the animal that’s right for you, the importance of spaying and neutering, and how to give medication. Truly, it’s all a soothing reminder of a simpler time. (Also, it’s really funny—at one point during a discussion about the best kinds of bowls to buy, when McClanahan suggests picking up something “with a wide, flat bottom,” Dr. Griffiths has to stop himself from laughing.)

You can find much of McClanahan’s cat and dog care videos on YouTube. But here’s a taster that juxtaposes a montage of senior citizens petting kittens with even more flirting:

lower waypoint
next waypoint
Player sponsored by