News
Y&R’s Stacy Haiduk on Where’s Patty’s Companion ‘Mr. Kitty?’ and the Story Behind the Daytime Emmy Cat Purse
Stacy Haiduk recently returned to her old stomping grounds at The Young and the Restless to reprise her role as Patty Williams. After having her character of Days of our Lives characters of Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks being given a rest (the series tapes ten-months in advance and she can currently be seen on the Peacock soap opera), Haiduk was available when she got the call to come back to the CBS soap and wreak havoc on the life of Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman).
Originally, Haiduk came to Y&R in 2009 as the recast and unhinged Patty disguised as Mary Jane Benson who had undergone plastic surgery financed by Victor Newman in his continued vendetta against Jack. Later, she added, Patty’s doppelgänger, Dr. Emily Peterson, to the mix. After her initial run in 2010, she returned to the soap a few other times from 2011-2012, and 2015-2016.
When Patty initially came back, her mental instability was clearly on display when she appeared in scenes talking to her stuff cat named “Mr. Kitty.” The taxidermic cat took on a life of its own with the viewers and fans of the show. This time out, so far, Patty hasn’t been talking to a stuffed cat, just going after her obsession, Jack Abbott, after he realized she was out of a mental institution and he was trapped on a boat with her. What followed was a drugged interlude which landed them between the sheets, only for Jack’s wife, Diane (Susan Walters), to walk in on the scene!
Photo: JPI
PATTY TALKS TO MR. KITTY
In a live chat along with her Y&R co-star, Peter Bergman on the Michael Fairman Channel, Haiduk weighed-in on the most whacked out storyline of her soap career, and you betcha … it was Patty and Mr. Kitty!
Haiduk acknowledged, “Patty talked to a stuffed, dead cat.’ As for where the cat is now, Stacy expressed, Mr. Kitty probably went to the taxidermy place. They do have this whole place in real life. That’s where they rented the Taxidermic cat.”
If Mr. Kitty were still around in 2026, he would probably have his own Instagram account! Haiduk concurred, “I know, I know. I put the cat on my ankle (as a tattoo). So, it’s a reminder of ‘Mr. Kitty’ or ‘Mrs. Kitty,’ or any kitty. I remember when they said, ‘You’re going to be be talking to a stuffed or a taxidermic cat. I went, ‘Are you kidding? I went home and I was like, ‘How am I going to do this?'”
Photo: JPI
WALKING THE RED CARPET WITH A CAT PURSE
Then came the infamous moment in 2009 on the red carpet at the 36th annual Daytime Emmy Award. Stacy took to the arrivals accompanied by Mr. Kitty as her ‘cat purse!’. Stacy cleared up how the whole ‘take-your-stuffed-cat’ to the Emmys played out behind the scenes.
“This is the story,” explained the actress. “Literally, Maria Bell (former EP and head writer, Y&R) asked, and I think somebody else asked, if I would bring the cat to the Daytime Emmys that year. I’m a free spirit. And I’m like, ‘Sure, why not?’ Everything’s great. Then, they called me the day before the Emmys and said, ‘You cannot lose that prop, because it’s going to cost $2500.’ I didn’t think people were going to go, ‘a cat purse!?’ It was insane. So, I literally put the cat on a chain so that I could carry it around so I didn’t have to do this the whole time ( hold it out in my hands). I made it pretty.”
She continued, “Do you know what people said? They said, ‘So, is this your cat?’ People who didn’t watch Y&R didn’t know. So, I would go, ‘No! This has been my co-star for the last 6 months!” So, it was my first time at the Emmys and I was originally thinking, “Yay! Let’s just go. This will be fun … this is cool.’
A MR. KITTY COMEBACK?
The big question, could Mr. Kitty or another Mr. Kitty 2 make a comeback? “Well, never say, never,’ Haiduk replied. However, soap fans know people and things that we think are dead and gone, somehow miraculously return, but as of now, it does not seem like that are plans for a stuffed cat to arrive on the scene for Patty’s current Y&R return.
You can check out the full conversation with Stacy and Peter Bergman where they talk Patty and Jack and what’s ahead during their visit to the Michael Fairman Channel below.
Now weigh-in: Do you remember Patty’s talks with Mr. Kitty? When Stacy took to the Daytime Emmys red carpet with the cat purse? Should Mr. Kitty or Mr. Kitty 2 make a return at some point, or stay out of the soap opera for good? Let us know via the comment section.
‘Mr Kitty’ was an insane storyline and was definitely of its time. But Stacy played it so well. Both she and Peter Bergman still have that magnetic chemistry that they established years ago, which is great to see.
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”
Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.
Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
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