Cuddling eight-week-old orphaned kittens Buttons, Cake, Chip and Frosty for our feline photo shoot, Matilda Rice looks like the cat who got the cream. “My heart is so full right now,” she beams.
“They’re so cute and furry – I’m taking home all four!”
Unfortunately, she and her still-smitten boyfriend Art Green – who met on the first season of The Bachelor New Zealand back in 2015 – aren’t allowed pets in the house they rent in Auckland, but being an ambassador for the SPCA’s annual Cupcake Day is the next best thing for the blonde beauty.
On August 14, Matilda will be raising funds for the animal charity by baking sweet treats to sell to her friends.
“I’m going to try to do healthy Paleo-style cupcakes, but with butter because there’s just no substitute for that,” says the 26-year-old fitness fan, who’s training for her first marathon.
“But I’m going to have to find a recipe because whenever I try to wing it with my baking, it ends up really bad. The birthday cake I made for Art was so dense, you could kill someone by hitting them in the head with it. It was not enjoyable.”
The SPCA is a charity close to Matilda’s heart as she grew up surrounded by animals on Waiheke Island.
“My mum and my sister had horses, and I had one for a while,” she tells. “He was a white one called Lightning, but he was a little bit crazy – he stood on my foot and bit me on the arm, and I fell off him too. After that, I thought, ‘I can’t continue this relationship!’ so I’m all about cats and dogs.”
Before moving in with Art, 28, reality star Matilda had twice been a foster mum to SPCA kittens who needed somewhere to live before finding their “forever homes”.
“The first one was all black and I called him Batman,” she remembers.
“He was really scared and didn’t want to be touched. He just hid under my bed for two days, but by the end of the six weeks, he was so confident, he’d come over and sit on my lap.
“The second one was a little grey guy who was all sickly, sniffly and sneezy because he had cat flu. I nursed him back to health with a bit of TLC, then handed him back all better. It’s so rewarding – I felt like a proud mum – but it’s sad to give them back. You can’t get too attached or else you’ll have a million cats!”
But as cute as the kittens on our shoot are, Matilda is “very clucky” for a dog. “Maybe next year, when we’re more settled, although we’re already debating what type we get,” she says.
“Art really wants a pug, but I feel sorry for them with their breathing problems. I’d prefer a good family dog, like a labrador, a golden retriever or a Jack Russell.”
A family dog? Yes, Matilda confirms, she and Art are making plans to have children.
“Maybe in the next couple of years. It’s definitely on the cards, but I’ve got a lot of stuff to do before then.” In the meantime, there are fur babies that need cuddling!
