Beth Stern on her house full of pets and hosting the first-ever "Kitten Bowl"
At first glance, you may not peg Howard Stern as a kitten guy. But he and his wife, Beth Stern, live in a home filled to the brim with furry critters.
In total, the celebrity couple has fostered and found homes for a whopping 47 kittens -- including rescues from the North Shore Animal League.
"I grabbed a litter from a municipal shelter knowing that they would have been euthanized had I not taking them out and rescued them," Beth Stern, 41, told CBSNews.com. Howard spoke about the rescues on his Sirius/XM radio show, and the next thing the couple knew, the kittens were adopted and they were fostering another set.
"We picked these incredible families and it was such a rewarding wonderful experience, but then letting them go was so hard. But what made it easier for me that day was that I brought home another litter of kittens...I just picked up another litter today believe it or not!" she said while at Purina's "Better With Pets Summit" on Tuesday in New York. The event brought together veterinarians, authors and entertainers and animal advocate to talk about "pets have made us better."
Stern spends a lot of time getting the kittens ready for their forever homes. "I feel like as long as I'm doing it, I'm saving lives and giving people incredible kittens because I'm socializing them, getting them used to the human touch. I have friends come over with their children. I have friends with dogs come over. By the time they leave my house they're really snuggly, cuddly affectionate kittens," said Stern, who grew up in a house filled with pets.
The animal welfare advocate and author clearly turned her husband on to pets, too. They have five cats of their own.
"My husband and I live for our pets, or I can say that I do," she said, adding that her radio jock husband adores animals. "He's been a great partner in this whole journey and in everything we've been doing," said the former model. "He photographs them, he names them...He's just been very instrumental in the success we've been having. He loves them...he just doesn't clean litter boxes. That's my job."
Speaking of jobs, Beth Stern will be seen on Super Bowl Sunday next year hosting the first-ever "Kitten Bowl" on the Hallmark Channel, a special that's bound to give the Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl" a run for its money.
The program has already been taped and will air on Feb. 2 before the game, with a special highlights encore scheduled at halftime.
"I got to roll around with 75 kittens," she said. "I couldn't even believe that that was a job." John Sterling, the radio announcer for the New York Yankees, did the play by play, and several stars made appearances, including Rachael Ray, Kelly Rutherford, Nicky Hilton and Regis Philbin. "We just talked about our love for cats because we're all cat people."
"It was so cute the kittens got points for climbing on the goal post," Stern added. "We had a remote mouse on the field so kittens got points for every time they jumped on the remote control mouse...Some kittens got extra points for cuteness."
She may live for pets, but she says her 59-year-old husband, whom she married in 2008, is her "everything." "I never wanted to get married in my life even when I was a little girl and he changed me," she said. "He made me believe in marriage and true love."
When asked to reveal one thing people may not know about the "America's Got Talent" judge, Stern said, "He lost 25 pounds this summer and he is a workout fanatic and when he takes his shirt off, he is ripped."