Mandy Moore credits her cats for preparing her for parenthood

Mandy Moore is thankful for her favorite cats, as their parenting prepared her and Taylor Goldsmith for parenthood.

The “This is Us” star and the “Dawes” frontman started dating in 2015 and walked down the aisle in November 2018. After that, the couple added two adorable children to their family. In a recent interview, the mother-of-two admitted that she and her beau picked up some helpful parenting tips before welcoming their two sons — thanks to their cat!

Mandy Moore says her cats prepared her and her husband for parenthood

The “A Walk To Remember” actress recently chatted PEOPLE magazine and discussed how privileged she and her husband were to have a start in parenting by raising their cats.

“We now have three rescue cats who were our OG children, our OG babies, before human babies came into the picture. So they are a very important part of our life. It’s very, very important,” shared the 39-year-old singer.

Emphasizing her point, Moore added that her furs have “really prepared” her and Goldsmith for parenthood and made them more responsible and selfless. The star also explained that the unique nature of cats really prepared them for the challenges of parenthood.

“I love that you go on a trip and it’s not like, ‘Oh my god, you’re back!’ It’s like, “Hey, yeah, I’ll come when I’m ready.” I’m like, ‘Great, cool, cool. I’ll give you the seat. But when they choose you, when you’re their person, there’s no greater feeling in the world,'” she explained.

The “Love, Wedding, Marriage” actress added that the cats “taught them a lot about patience and responsibility and how to earn someone’s trust and love.”

Before the exclusive interview, the February publication provided juice details of Moore’s sons. Starting with two-year-old August, whose name was carefully chosen by his parents.

The “In Real Life” singer explained: “Taylordawesgoldsmith and I found out we were having a boy last August (which is also Taylor’s birth month) and we’ve always loved the name…so it was in our book very early on.”

Moore confirmed that we are talking about Gus, who is musically inclined like his parents PEOPLE In May 2022: “You have no choice. He loves it when dad plays the guitar and when mom and dad sing to him. But the gibberish songs I sing to him while changing diapers will only live in our house!

Shortly after Gus turned two, Moore gave birth to his little brother, Oscar. During her pregnancy, she toured her In Real Life album, but she also kept up with her due dates while on the road.

At the time of his birth, the loving mother noted that baby Oscar “arrived a little late, but rather timidly (and with an easier/faster delivery than his big brother, much to the delight of his parents). Overall, he is happy with his current family of four and his cats.

Taylor Goldsmith surprised Mandy Moore with a birthday tribute

As the ‘Midway’ actress celebrated her 39th birthday, her man took to Instagram to express his love and admiration for her in a touching birthday message. The 37-year-old posted a three-slide upload featuring him, his wife and their two children.

In the first moment, Moore was sitting on the carpeted floor with Oscar on his lap. August was standing next to them. In the next slide, the couple was lying together on a long couch with their children on top of them. In contrast, the last picture captured Oscar between his parents. They all smiled happily into the camera.

In the following caption, the musician called his wife the “most cosmically incredible woman/mother/wife/person” he knew. Goldsmith explained that he started the celebration early because it was past midnight at his venue. He added:

“I’ll never know how to tell you how crazy I am about you.” But I never stop trying. I love you so.”

Then the doting husband apologized for not being there in person while he was on tour, but wished him the “best” day without him. She also appreciated him “holding down the fort” with their two sons, noting that she realized they’d taken more pictures together.

Her fans immediately greeted the comments with well-wishes for Moore and praise for the sweet post.