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The Amazing Acro-Cats are a circus troupe of domestic cats and a few other small animals. Founded by animal trainer Samantha Martin in Chicago, Illinois. The touring feline circus performers leap. They jump through hoops. They play instruments. In fact, the show ends with the all-cat (and one chicken) musical band, The Rock-Cats. The only feline band in the world.
The Amazing Acro-Cats consists of 14 cats – all of which but two are female.
There are also three female performing rats, one male groundhog, and a hen named Cluck Norris, who plays cymbals in the Acro-Cats’ exclusive house band, The Rock Cats.
Cluck Norris also lays eggs. “We love eating those eggs,” says the troupe’s creator, Samantha Martin, who also serves as ringleader during shows.
She started training the family dog at age 9. At that point, Samantha knew she wanted to be an animal trainer.
While training all types of animals for film and TV, a special cat named Tuna came into her life which would eventually lead to ever more “cat-xellence.”
Samantha Martin created the Amazing Acro-Cats show in 2005 as a way “to keep her show cats mentally sharp in between television, film, and advertising jobs.”
In 2009, the troupe began to tour the US. In 2013, they performed in their first show in Canada. In Toronto, Ontario.
In 2012, Samantha started a Kickstarter fundraiser to replace the aging RV that had been used as the tour bus. The goal of the campaign was to upgrade the facility, to provide “a lush, plush, safe, and stimulating environment for the cats. Everything from built-in perches, posts, catwalks, and toys, to even a nursery for our foster kittens.”
Over 30,500 USD was raised from 567 contributors, which exceeded the campaign goal by over 2,500 USD.
The new tour bus for The Amazing Acro-Cats was then purchased in February 2013. In late 2017, Samantha and her troupe relocated from Chicago to their “Meowy Manor” in Griffin, Georgia.
The troupe stayed home for most of 2018, while Samantha was successfully treated for cancer. And resumed touring right after, in 2019 – until Covid hit. But now they’re back again.
The Amazing Acro-Cats and their human helpers – besides Samantha, there’s publicist Polly Smith and fearless assistant Seunga Park – travel about 10 months of the year on their “purr-fect” 35-foot tour bus which is kitted out for the cats’ maximum comfort.
Samantha’s first traveling animal circus, The Amazing Acro-Rats, specialized in rodents.
“Turns out, I couldn’t make a living just on rats,” she says. So, after a while Samantha switched to cats. That other, misunderstood, often underestimated breed of animal. “People started showing up in droves,” she says.
Samantha uses clicker training to teach her domestic cats and other animals to perform tricks. A treat is given at the sound of a click at the exact moment the cats are doing a desired behaviour.
“It’s more a fine-tuning way of training,” Samantha says. “The noise and treats trigger something in the animals’ brain, and they get it very quickly.”
She uses varieties of tuna and chicken to reward the cats. The results are not as consistent as might be achieved with more compliant animals such as dogs, but the “long-standing notion that cats are un-trainable is thrown completely out the window.”
During the one-hour show, the cats perform tricks such as walking on tight-ropes, pushing carts, skateboarding, jumping through hoops, ringing bells, balancing on balls, and turning on lights.
When the cats don’t perform as planned, it adds an element of humour. Which in itself is an important part of the show.
Sometimes, the feline performers of The Amazing Acro-Cats quit doing tricks altogether and just go wandering out into the audience. And that’s fun, too.
The group even includes a Guinness Book of World Records record-holder!
Alley the cat, who was rescued as a kitten from a Chicago alleyway, now holds the record for longest jump by a cat.
She earned that recognition by jumping 6 feet on October 27, 2013.
And, as we mentioned earlier, the show has its very own cat and chicken band. The Rock Cats seem to be, thus far, the world’s only feline rock band.
Tuna the cat is on cowbell. Sookie plays the chimes. Nue is on keyboards. Dakota hammers away on the drums. And, of course, Cluck Norris pecks away at the cymbals.
The result: a little dada. A little strange and off-tune. And completely delightful.
The Amazing Acro-Cats often travel with foster kittens who are available for adoption.
In fact, since Samantha has a special fondness for the teeniest kitties, the tour bus travels with an incubator.
All babies get basic clicker training as well. And Samantha says that most of them are able to high-five by the time they are dispatched to their forever families.
Thus far, approximately 200 cats have been fostered and then adopted into permanent homes.
While touring almost 24/7 with her entourage, Samantha Martin maintains her animal talent agency Amazing Animals, providing animals for commercial work in both Illinois and Georgia.
Samantha also serves as director on The Rock Cats Rescue board.
The Amazing Acro Cats – Rock Cats Rescue Official Website
Huffpost – 11 Important Facts You Need To Know About The Cat Circus. Yes, The Cat Circus!
The Amazing Acro-Cats on Wikipedia
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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