Wilde, who has also worked on Fighting With My Family and Bohemian Rhapsody , runs a London agency that provides animals for film and TV. Felix, her 10-year-old black and white moggie (“a very cheeky chap!”), was cast as Peter, Wain’s furry best friend, who inspires his first sketches.Cats, of course, are notoriously fickle and independent – but that doesn’t mean they can’t be trained like dogs to behave and do tricks on screen. Wilde says she uses positive reinforcement with plenty of snacks on hand to dish out as rewards. “We teach our cats to go to mark,” she says. “They’ll walk in and they’ll know where to stop. We train them so they run to the sound of a buzzer. We’ve got some that can roll over. A couple can retrieve. They’ll lie down, rub against people’s legs, walk alongside someone. We show them what they’ve got to do. Then we try to make that happen on the take.”Celebrate Your Pet at Every Age. Everyone loves a new puppy or kitten, says Dr. Becker. “They’re wildly kinetic, and humorous. An older pet is thinner, bonier. Their coats aren’t as soft, they might have bad breath.” But, like people, a pet’s needs change with age. They may be less active, preferring a leisurely stroll to a rollicking tug-of-war. “Our old retriever, who’s blind, still wants to retrieve.” Adapting to their changing needs will ensure your old friend remains a healthy and happy member of your family.
Get Your Dog Microchipped For a Permanent Identifier. A scan of your dogs microchip will give all of your personal information to help with a speedy reunion, just remember to update your information with the microchip company if you move. (microchips are also one of the ways a court can make a decision regarding ownership of a dog, if it ever came to that)
A clicker is used as encouragement. “You might have a moment in between a couple of lines where we can get a click in, just so the cat [knows]: ‘You’re doing really well. Wait. Food is coming.’ Obviously, that’s really distracting for actors. They’re probably sick of the sound of a clicker by the end of the film!”
Mark Harden, an animal trainer based in Los Angeles, was in charge of the five snowy white Chinchilla Persians who played Snowbell in Stuart Little , and looked after 40 cats on the set of Catwoman including several rare Egyptian Maus. With cats, he says, it’s all about getting into their mindset. “They’re a predator but they can also be skittish. They’ve got a very strong flight reaction. The most important thing with a cat is desensitising them to strange environments. A movie set is a very strange environment.”INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Dogs that have been spayed or neutered live longer than dogs who are intact.
Expectations for cat actors tend to be much lower than for dogs, says Harden. “People are more in awe of you when you have a good working cat. I guess they expect the cat to be scared.” Even so, animal trainers can teach cats to do the kind of tricks that would easily outshine Lassie. Millett has a talented Bengal named Sashimi, who can ride a scooter. Wilde taught one of her moggies, Leicester, to pretend to play the harmonica, while Harden trained Cairo, an Egyptian Mau, to pick up a mobile phone with his teeth and run off with it.INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: A study at UCSD claims that your dog can genuinely get jealous when they see you display affection for another creature.
But it’s not all cats being cute and cuddly on cue. Being bitten accidentally is an occupational hazard. Then there’s the cat hair that gets everywhere. “You certainly don’t wear your best clothes to work!” says Wilde. “You have to get up extra early because you’ve got to get the animals ready. You go to bed later because you’ve got to put them to bed. They come first no matter what. I’d say it’s a way of life rather than a job. It’s incredibly rewarding. They give you so much.”
Turn an empty pancake-syrup bottle into a portable squirtable water bottle.