The Savitsky Cats: how Ukrainians conquered America show with trained cats

Circus cats raised by Ukrainians Svetlana and Marina Savitsky conquered America - from the jury of America's Got Talent show to the guests of the New York circus - with amazing performances. Animals perform complex tricks and even jump through hoops thanks to training (and treats).

Photo: video frame YouTube / America's Got Talent

Marina and Svetlana Savitsky came to America's Got Talent in 2018 in order to demonstrate the skills of their wards. At first, the judges did not hide their disappointment and neglect when they saw cats on the stage. They were ready to say goodbye to the girls, but decided to give them a chance.

Photo: video frame YouTube / America's Got Talent

When Marina and Svetlana began to work with cats, and those, in turn, showed a variety of tricks, the jury froze. One of the cats, like a lion, jumped into the ring, the other rolled a barrel, the third crawled along the bar. As a result, the jury praised the originality of the performance. And the audience applauded standing:

Journalist Jeff Landen of NPR was genuinely surprised by the skills that Svetlana and Marina were able to raise in their four-legged wards. A year after America's Got Talent, he interviewed his mother and daughter, who are now performing with their cats at the Big Apple Circus in New York.

“I’ve had cats all my life,” he says. “But it never occurred to me until I went to the Big Apple Circus in New York that cats could be trained to do tricks.” And these are really impressive tricks!”

The latest Big Apple Circus show features the usual assortment of acrobatics and risky stunts. But there is also a performance by The Savitsky Cats, 9 talented fluffballs who climb ladders, jump through hoops, run along poles and jump through hoops.

“To be honest, I have never seen anything like this,” the journalist admits.

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He met the Savitskys and their gorgeous white cat named Linda in a tiny basement room at Lincoln Center in New York. Svetlana doesn't speak English, so her daughter Marina spoke for both of them. Linda the cat sometimes intervened - by the way, here she is:

All of their cats were adopted or rescued. According to Marina, her mother has a “good eye,” so she sees the animal’s potential.

“As soon as she sees the cat’s face, she already knows: okay, this will be a good performer,” Marina said.

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As you can imagine, “training a cat requires a lot of time and patience,” according to the girl. Owner training begins with observing the natural behavior of cats.

“Maybe the cat has some funny way of walking,” says Marina. “You just see it and tweak it a little bit and improve it.” And this becomes a little trick for you and the cat. And then you just improve, improve, improve until the cat does what you want it to do.”

In addition to tricks as such, the Savitskys teach cats to overcome stage fright - not to be afraid of lights, music, crowds, and so on. The day Landen came to perform, one cat was still hesitant to do a trick.

“You can’t force a cat to do something if she doesn’t want to,” Marina said. “Unless she wants to, she won’t do it.”

Of course, Marina added, you can always seduce a recalcitrant cat a little ... quid pro quo (service for service - lat.).

“The main pleasure is affection,” says Marina. “And then lots of treats—yummy treats.”

After being on the Big Apple Circus show, The Savitsky Cats will be participating in the NBA All-Star Game entertainment program.

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