Friskies Brings Cats and Bacon Together to Launch Tasty Treasures® Accented With Real Bacon at Austin-Based Festival; Consumer Support Needed to Maximize Donation of 50,000 Meals to Shelter Cats

ST. LOUIS — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 13, 2015 — Today, Friskies® makes cat dreams come true with the launch of Tasty Treasures® Accented With Real Bacon at the well-known Austin-based festival. The world-renowned, Internet sensation Grumpy Cat and five of her fellow feline friends will be at the Friskies “Haus of Bacon” in Austin, TX on March 14 and March 15 to help bring the delicious taste of bacon to cats everywhere.

Friskies(R) will unveil custom portraits of Internet celebrity cats, including Nala Cat as seen in this photo, created by pop artist Jason Mecier using bacon and Friskies(R) dry cat food at the grand opening of the "Haus of Bacon" art gallery to celebrate the launch of NEW Tasty Treasures(R) Accented With Real Bacon at the Austin-based festival on Friday, March 13, 2015 in Austin, TX. (Jason Mecier)

The “Haus of Bacon” is a bacon-centric art gallery where the public can peruse signature works of art made with bacon and even meet the distinguished kitties portrayed in the pieces. Visitors to the “Haus of Bacon” can take photos alongside Friskies “official spokescat” Grumpy Cat and other top Internet celebrity cats including Nala Cat, Waffles, SamHasEyebrows, Oskar the Blind Cat and his brother Klaus.

Fans are encouraged to take part in the online conversation by using the hashtag #CatDreamsComeTrue. Between March 13 and March 16, Friskies will donate one can of Tasty Treasures® Accented With Real Bacon to shelter cats for each use of #CatDreamsComeTrue, up to 25,000 cans. If this goal is met, the cat food brand will double the donation for a total of 50,000 cans.

“Cats and bacon are two of the Internet’s most beloved topics. So to celebrate the launch of Friskies® Tasty Treasures® Accented With Real Bacon, we are channeling the power of cats and bacon into ‘Haus of Bacon,’ which is an incredible experience that can also benefit shelter cats,” says Lindsey Hogan, Friskies Brand Manager. “Please use #CatDreamsComeTrue to help us bring the delectable taste of bacon to shelter cats across the nation. We are hoping for a lot of support to help get the donation up to 50,000 cans.”

Jason Mecier is the pop artist who created the custom art pieces specifically for this art gallery. He will be at the “Haus of Bacon” constructing a unique sculpture of Grumpy Cat made entirely out of bacon, and guests at the event will get to witness him in action.

“Creating mosaics out of various items like food or candy has been a creative outlet that has allowed me to gain international attention and be featured in many prestigious galleries, but nothing compares to this,” says Jason Mecier. “Teaming up with Friskies to create art involving two of my favorite things – bacon and cats – for the ‘Haus of Bacon’ is definitely a first for me but it has been a great experience.”

Consumers can visit the “Haus of Bacon” from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 14 and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 15 to meet the Internet celebrity cats.

Internet Celebrity Cat Appearance Schedule*:

Saturday, March 14:

• 1:00-2:00 pm – Grumpy Cat, SamHasEyebrows
• 2:00-2:30 pm – Grumpy Cat
• 2:30-3:30 pm – Waffles, SamHasEyebrows
• 3:30-4:30 pm – Oskar & Klaus, Nala
• 4:30-5:30 pm – Nala, Waffles
• 5:30-6:30 pm – Oskar & Klaus
• 6:30-8:00 pm – Grumpy Cat

Sunday, March 15:

• 1:00-2:00 pm – Grumpy Cat
• 2:00-2:30 pm – Grumpy Cat, Nala
• 2:30-4:30 pm – Oskar & Klaus, Waffles
• 4:30-5:00 pm – Grumpy Cat, Nala
• 4:30-6:00 pm – Grumpy Cat

The “Haus of Bacon” art exhibit is located at 200 Congress Ave #2B, Austin, TX 78701.

If you cannot make it to the “Haus of Bacon” in Austin, you can still take part in the bacon festivities. Between March 11 – May 8, have your ordinary photo turned into an amazing cat and bacon-themed meme at www.Friskies.com/Bacon. Be sure to share your photo via social media using the hashtag #CatDreamsComeTrue.

There is also a chance for consumers to win bacon for a year and a one year supply of Friskies® Tasty Treasures® Accented With Real Bacon. To enter, fans can take one of the following three actions during the promotional period: