How Cats Are Trained For TV And Movies | Movies Insider 

What behind-the-scenes element do you want to learn more about? Let us know in the comments below!

Imagine you ask someone on a tv studio whats their role and they answer “oh, I’m here just to make sure the cats are safe and comfortable”

That's what I want to be when I grow up, a cat actor.

I wonder how they trained the toys in Toy Story

The cat is a paid actor Wait, do they get paid?

I wonder how they trained the bees in bee movie

god what beautiful cats ugh

I wonder how they trained the cat people in CATS oh wait...

RIP Leo the cat, I heard he passed away a few weeks after the Pet Sematary released. He was a good boy.

Imagine being a movie star but u don't even know it cause you're a cat

People on set: So Bob was like I'm not getting another ca- Curt: shhh.... the cats aren't comfortable with you talking.

Wonder how they trained the snails in Turbo?

Narrator - “ Both cats have never been in a movie before .” Me - *gasp “ what natural talents the cats have “ 😻🤩

Now I imagine my cat putting posters of Leo near the place she sleeps in like a fangirl.

I wonder how they trained the dinosaurs in Jurassic park

“They think they're training me” honey, they ARE.

Narrator: And Leo, based on his personality, was a natural at being the undead church. Me: Translation, Leo is mean as f**k. (Love cats btw, they're the best.)

Dude these guys get to play with cats for a living... I'm so jealous

If Leo doesn't get an Oscar nom, I lose faith in the industry.

4:10 just about gave me a heart attack

“Seems like cats have a mind of their own” i mean they do have a mind of their own

I wonder how they trained the donkey in Shrek.

How do they get the cars in Cars to talk? :/

"well, you train them." *oh wow, i didn't think of that."*

4:10 WHYYYYYYYYYYY! MY HEART!!! The volume was up!!!

This cat is what every trainer needs

I’m happy they used rescue cats

My cat watching this video: "Huh. Weaklings, a shame to the species, acting like a trained dog"

I love how cats have acting debuts. Humans are overrated.

There should've been video of her entire cat training process. I have no idea what "counter conditioning" is or what "catnip parties in the bathtub" would even begin to look like. I didn't know cats would like wet catnip. I'm even more amazed they found 3 other cats to rescue that looked like the original Church.

It’s funny how the cats are treated better than the human actors. Edit: A lot of weirdos are replying to this comment projecting their own antisocial thoughts on to this. ODD flex. Animals as well as humans don’t deserve abuse in the entertainment industry. Abuse in Hollywood is real and disgusting. What I meant was I wish human actors were treated as good as these cats were. The End. Can’t be any more clear than that.

And still, my cat is just lying down and biting me ;(

They tend to have a mind of their own We'll yeah, they're animals.

If you start young with the cat it's much easier. I trained my cat when she was around 3 months.

I wonder how they trained Godzilla

The one second run-over-by-a-truck scene seriously spooked me. 😨😨😞😟

So this is how they trained the cats in the “CATS” movie...

very handsome cat !!! 10/10

It's lovely how much work they put into making the cats feel comfortable, I just wish there would be stricter rules for normal people who own pets ...

They should have an Oscar category for best animal actor

4:10 jump scare watch out

One day i jokingly told my cat to sit after i did it with my dog and he did (hes 12) hes also fetches and rolls over on command i didnt train him 😂

Awwe, the cats are already amazing on their own, but finding out they were rescues is even better :)

I wonder how they trained the bugs in "A bugs life"

My grandma's cats wont move until they want to

The best thing about this movie is the cat tbh

The cats in "Stuart Little" were, according to the director's commentary... not actually hit in the face with branches. It was compressed air, and a lot of the CGI was actually used for removing human trainers (up to eight were usually hidden around the set) and bluescreening cats who were really in much more convenient places. Another useful tool: they had a laser pointer that flickered at the same rate, offset, from the camera shutter, so it was always off when the film camera took a picture and didn't show up on film. Essential for getting a cat to look in the place where a CGI mouse would be. Minkoff says that in the very last shot of the film, they left the laser pointer on the windowsill, and you can see Snowball (there were five persians all trained in specific tasks, out of 23 cats in total used for maybe what, eight cats on film?) look at it even after Stuart's been carried away. Having doubles is invaluable for other purposes. Sometimes you strike absolute gold - Disney's "The Cat From Outer Space," the cat was played by Rumpler and Amber, identical brother and sister Abyssinians from the same litter. Not only is the breed famous for fierce intelligence (much easier to train than a Persian), they were actually able to train both cats for all the tasks necessary, and they would swap out one cat for the other throughout the day whenever the one performing got tired, or the one sitting got bored. Tag team.

“Cats are the most difficult to train” Cat owners been knew

As someone who taught their cat to sit on command, I actually had a different experience. Cat the cat was quite easy to work with, seeing as though he was still a baby when I started. He was easily persuaded by treats, and with me helping him along the way, he did great when I trained him!

I’m sad the cat doesn’t know it did a flipping good job for the movie

1:07 i screamed because the baby boy is so cute. *_SWEET PRECIOUS FLUFFY BOY_*

I TOLD YOU THEY ARE PAID ACTORS!

Leo is a beautiful boy

*church is the coolest*

Cat in movie: Scary Cat in real life: Cute ❤

Guy: Leo was, ahh, positive to the hiss.... Me, an intellectual: I believe you mean PAWsitive...

How did it take to train ALL of the animals in zootopia?

Video: *cats tend to have a mind of their own* Me: omg really?

I don’t care if he’s a bloodthirsty, undead heartless killer Church is a bean UwU

I met one of these cats and their trainer at Pet Expo Toronto!

I'm a simple man. I see cats, I click.

My cats learned how to sit on command and stay in a few hours with treats and now I just give them the hand sign and they will do it immediately. Cats aren't nearly as untrainable as some people think. My youngest cat knows even more commands and tricks because he is a lot more playful and interested in playing with us humans. He actually never learned how to sit from us, he is 9 months younger than our older boy who could already do these tricks and the younger one just watched his brother do it and did the same. Took him even less time than his brother.

4:00 OMG that is so damn adorable!!!!

As a cat owner, I have so much respect for their patience 😂

Ive tried this, but my cat just isn’t interested in treats. 😭

I JUMPED AT 4.13 WTF I DIDNT EXPECT THAT AND I HATE IT

it makes me so happy and tear up whenever i hear the animals having fun on set and that they're not being harmed

I just watched the video on food in films and was pretty dismayed at how much food waste there was in the name of "realism" - so as a cat lover even to begin with, I was doubly delighted to watch this video soon after, and to hear about things like gently easing the cats into behaviors and environments so they were comfortable and happy, and even that they rescue cats to use in movies! This whole video was heartwarming and I love it!

We do that with our horses, they have to choose the right brush that we have to use first. So we carried a lot of treats on us. These were the treats that we use peppermint, sour cream and onion, hay cubes and ice.

Of course they’re going to have a mind of their own, they’re living organisms.

I wonder how they train the cats in cats... I mean, they talk and everything! It's amazing 😱😮😮

Ending the video with one of the kitties checking out the computer during the video call was perfect. What great cats!!

I would have loved to learn more about getting the cat to hiss on command. I have to wonder how they handled intentionally aggravating the cat, possibly for several takes, and then bringing him back to a calm state all while stopping him from associating the cast with his forced negative response.

My cat is beyond untrainable I think

i love how they rescue the animals. Theres another video on dog training for movies and they said that the dogs were unwanted. its a lot more ethical to have a rescue dog or cat, then just buying one from the pet store. so props to them

Fricking superb, you spunky little kitty actors!!!!!!!! I love you all, you did so good.

I just watched Pet Sematary yesterday and was wondering how they trained Church-

awww tonic looks like he's smiling at the end

I'm glad to see the cats were safe and comfortable throughout filming!

Imagine being a cat or dog trainer for Hollywood as a living. It’d be so cool and rewarding in the end when they get on the big screen

Thank you insider for this important informational video

“We had to make it look like he was hit by a truck” *a sound I can only describe as a cat getting hit by a truck*

Such handsome bois 💕 I did not even realize the are different cats !!!

That's why they are such a majestic creature..❤❤

does tonic do meet and greets? autographs? pictures? can i pay him to let me give him a lil kiss?

“He’s kind of like a growly kitty” can relate 😂😂

4:10 I JUMPED SO HARD WHY

I really admire this movie and I love this so much it's amazing!

3:43 “Leo was picked to play the undead version” did nobody catch that? Lol

I wonder how they trained the bulls in Ferdinand to talk...

I remember seeing something similar in the extras of the first Smurfs film, years ago. They were filming the cat while he was on a bench, and suddenly the cat said "Yeah, no" and jumped off and walked away 😌 They also explained how different it is to train cats from dogs

Really admire these trainers!

imagine the bloopers when church mess up the lines and start to laugh 😹😂

Church is so adorable omg

I love the fact that this talks about pet sematary. That's like my second favorite Stephen King movie

This is exactly what I needed to know

mad respect for these people honestly without them we wouldn’t get the new cats musical 😈😫

That’s jump scare got me at 4:09

Didn't think I'd want to learn about this, but now glad I did

This was so interesting!