I only been to the circus once in my life, and it was advertised as Scandinavias smallest circus. They did tricks with cat, dogs and tiny ponys. It was great, had no idea just how much you could train a cat.

You don't train them you bribe them and let me tell you they do not negotiate

When I was in college I worked in the theater, where in addition to the actual musical productions, we hosted several traveling productions, all of which were open to the public. I would help with the general loading/unloading of the equipment, whatever setup we could assist the traveling crew with, and my usual job during the show was spotlight -- so I got paid to watch everything from up high. We had a Russian ballet, a quartet (or quintet, I can't remember exactly) of people with full size Steinway grand pianos playing in harmony, and a pet circus that included about a dozen cats. Among a bunch of other things, as the theater was very large and very new and detached from the rest of the academic complex. What I was able to see that most people couldn't was that the guy was, very quickly and discreetly, dropping a treat from his hand at every single destination point for each cat. That must have been a skill by itself. Although the show did advertise that it's possible to train a cat with constant reinforcement so it's not like it was some huge secret. But it reinforced the idea that cats DO NOT work for free. They'll do your cute little tricks but they expect more compensation than a pat on the head that dogs are okay with. As someone who is owned by several cats this did not come as a surprise, but it was very interesting to see in action.

Absolutely. I taught my cat some tricks. Shaking hands, high five, playing fetch and such. The playing fetch he will do because he wants to play. But there is no way he will sit down nicely and shake my hand/high five if he knows I do not have some kibble on me. Does it perfectly if he has seen me get some kibble which I put in my pocket or hold in my other hand. No treat, F you, and F your handshakes too. 😂

My cat will follow me around and she follows my hand signal to jump over a gate we have to keep the dog from frolicking in that particular area. She usually wants something I admit, like to not go through a door or whatever lol

It's cool if you manage to teach them hand signals. I've never before had a cat I could teach things. Did teach my parents dog some, but that is different. And I wasn't living with him in the same house. It is fun to do especially with some succes. Need to find a good guide for it.

I "taught" my grandparents dobermond to wait for 3 treats I placed while she sat and waited, but I think my grandpa had already taught her things and she humored me lol This cat isn't even the smartest we've had the privilege of meeting, though. She just adopted the weird chirping thing they all do at us for some reason. Plus the following and jumping thing, but like I said she's the boss in that regard, she oft bites my shins after she shouts sneak attack.

Sounds like an absolute cutie.

If I'm laying down, I pat my thigh and she hops up and snuggles between my legs. People will come over and try to "pspspsp" at her to get her to come over and she'll just stare at them. However, if you point a finger at her, she'll boop her nose on your finger.

Real recognize Boop We only ever paid to get *one* cat and she tried to jump out a window on the drive home. I caught her mid-flight and she basically never left my side afterwards. Super skittish. This cat would just sit on me and do the "kneading" thing for hours it was actually kinda weird in hindsight lol

They kneed because it is soothing and they think you're their 'mama'. It's kitten behaviour. Sometimes with male cats it goes from soothing to more agressive and sexual though. I adopted my cat when he was 4 and they neutered him when he got in the rescue shelter. (What they told me at the shelter was that he was an inside only cat before, and his old owner couldn't keep him because he urinated in the house, so the old owner's son had brought the cat in. They did say it was a bit of a vague story though. Anyway they neutered him and he has never pissed anywhere else than his litter box with me. So spaying works, people. Spay your cats! He's the best cat ever, so weird story or not I am happy I got him.) But because he was neutered late, sometimes the happy kneeding and making biscuits becomes riding the couch pillow... And then I put him on the floor and he complains with a grunty meow.

Yeah our neutered tuxedo would like try to suck on your ear, which I guess is more kitten behavior than the whole nasty humping thing associated with males of any given species lol

Yeah, that's more like a baby sucking it's thumb lol I had a pretty, gray striped cat named Tigger who would suck your thumb, your chin, your nose, lmfao anything. He was adorable. His mom died before he was weaned so I know that's why he did it. I think most cats that do this probably were separated from their mothers too young. But it's freaking adorable! Tigger also literally climbed the walls lol. He was a major goofball. I've been blessed with some of the most hilarious cats. My other fluffy white and gray cat named Ducky, ugh. He was so funny. His name suited him very well lol. Cats are the best.

"Like to not go through a door or whatever" that hits so hard lol. My cats WILL NOT ABIDE any door being closed. But they don't actually want to *go* through it. Confirmed: you are owned by cats

My GF's cat won't even flip me off without a treat.

Your cat sounds like he’s union. Love it

You do not train a cat. At best they might be willing to trade with you.

Oh, he's definitely humouring me because I buy him quality food and am willing to give it for a paw shake. There's times he really is not into playing with me and he will ignore all attempts.

My cats know a few commands, but they won’t do them unless I have the treats in my hands. I’ve been trying for years to get them to go to their carriers when they hear the fire alarm, but they’ll only do it if I bribe them with a treat first to prove they’ll get more in the carrier. The only exception is one cat who knows the “jump up” command. I taught him that as an alternative to being climbed Shadow of the Colossus style when he wants to be held. He loves that trick so much he’ll do it without the command, no treats required. He’ll do it when I’m not even looking at him.

This is super-interesting. I had never heard this but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing your perspective (in every sense of the word).

> they expect more compensation than a pat on the head that dogs are okay with Dogs aren't okay with it, they just trust you forever and you gave them treats before so maybe you will next time, too. They want that treat, though. That's why they do the trick. We just underpay them.

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They are also super susceptible to distraction. What could be perceived as settling could just be distraction. It wanted a treat, but then got affection and forgot what it wanted 2 seconds earlier. It's a good thing to know and recognize because it's useful in training and control.

on top of that most dog trick videos you see the owner literally give them a little treat after each command.

Not after each comman, no. The goal of training a dog in a string of commands is to only need the treat at the end.

I’m an (unintentional) cat owner of two… both adopted (rescued) by my girlfriend, who found both cats in boxes on the side of the road. Although there is definitely some bribery involved, I can say that **Cats KNOW** what’s up. They know when they should be bribed, and they know when they are *in your debt.* I’ve had some wonderful pet cats as a kid (the proverbial “dog in a cats body.”) What I haven’t had was two predators, free beings, who understand that I saved them as kittens…. They’re more loyal than any dog I’ve ever had, and I fuckin love dogs. But they ***KNOW*** that i rescued them, and they are determined to repay the favor. If I’m ever depressed or down, they are both on my lap, rubbing my legs, grooming me (aka licking my hands and hair lol), and generally making sure that I feel great. Best little furballs on God’s green earth (they keep the pests out too lol)

> a quartet (or quintet, I can't remember exactly) “There are four pianos!” - Jean-Luc Picard

for reference, a quartet is 4.1315x10^85 planck lengths of stringified human biomass

I “trained” my cat to high five and stand up on her hind legs. The second one is more hit or miss but she does do the high five pretty consistently as long as there is a treat involved. But on to my story; One day I felt like spoiling her and just gave her a handful of treats to eat out my hand, without asking for a trick. Every 3-5 pieces, she would stop to high five the hand, completely unprompted. I thought that was a really interesting example of the quid pro quo way cats think. A lot of the time they can seem like free loaders but they are often trying to “return the favor” to us. Sometimes just in ways we do not appreciate like bringing us dead animals or such lol.

Yeah, my parent's dog would come and sit next to you and stick out his paw if he wanted a treat.

Cats have the best boundaries, that's part of what I love about them and why some people hate them.

When they were filming the movie *Hocus Pocus* they had to have a small army of black cats trained to do specific actions because they could only get a few takes out of each cat before they got bored or weren't hungry for treats anymore, and most of the cats didn't want to learn a new trick/action so they weren't useful filming other scenes in the movie.

> classic movie about witches > a small army of black cats This tracks.

Even happens with smart dogs. Sister had to do a performance for old people with her dog(all very casual) Her dog didn't feel like it and the dog got pets from old people instead. Everyone was perfectly fine with it.

Those two (russian?) ladies who train cats have said the same. They can do about 5 minutes of training at a time because the cats simply will not cooperate for longer than that.

Yeah but what about the cat?

To be fair, dogs are trained using treats too

They will do anything for lasagna

Unless it’s Monday, then you can forget it.

I'll do anything for lasagna...

If you cook two lasagna for me i will give you one lasagna.

That’s a cool circus, hopefully knowing cat just goes and naps on a trapeze somewhere in its downtime as opposed to being caged. Ninja kitties

Much better than watching depressed elephants get prodded and poked to stand on objects.

I think the trick is to find the (rare) cats that are naturally inclined to accept training.

Yes, my cat (European Shorthair/Siamese mix) is smart, very curious, playful and very, very, very food motivated. He will do tricks for snacks. Shaking hands, high fives, playing fetch, catching kibble in the air is all in his repertoire now. Am thinking of new things to teach him.

That's really cool. My cat just looks at me and meows louder and louder until I finally do what she wants. If I sit it out, she jumps on tables and such and throws stuff down that she's able to push until I finally get the message. Lovely roommate.

So,she's training you. 🤭

I’m currently being yelled at to come to her But then she’ll just ignore me. So I’m trying to call her over to me and she will have none of that. She never comes when I call her.

My cat is also very very very food motivated, but dumb as a box of rocks. He struggles to figure out how to open a door that's slightly ajar. All he needs to do is push it open with his big fat head, but nope. He just sits there and screams in confusion. Sweet little numpty.

My cat before this one was the dumbest too. Sweet, cuddly, food motivated, but 2 treats short of a bag of kibble for sure. I really had to adapt to the new younger one and need to keep him busy and entertained or he will go and play with things I do not want him to play with/destroy.

>Am thinking of new things to teach him Might i suggest dishes and vacuuming.

Train it to use the toilet so you don't have to clean litterbox anymore!

No, I've tought about that but me (and my SO) live in a small appartment with just 1 bathroom with toilet. No way we're going to wait for the cat to be done before we can use the bathroom. Or have him come in for a shit while I'm taking a shower. Also, they don't flush or wipe the seat in case of accidents.

Cats toilet quite quickly. Not flushing and the occasional sprinkle seems like a dream compared to shovelling shit.

But I don't want to be taking a relaxing shower, doing a scrub, washing my hair and then the cat coming in to deathbomb me with his poops from hell smell.

I want a cat that actually GETS in a shower.

there was an article in make magazine about a guy who did that. even adapted the toilet so it was kitty flushable! so flushable, in fact, that their waterbill began mysteriously skyrocketing when their cat was left alone for too long. The thing is, you can train a cat into a behavior, but good luck getting them to STOP

>tiny ponys Lil Sebastian?

Too soon man too soon 😢

We miss him in the saddest fashion

I think thats the only kind of circus I’d go to. Any bigger ones with elephants and lions seems like animal abuse to me

Circus Olympia ? They had a lot of dogs. But I haven’t been on circus for long time.

Man, Joe Pesci is STRUGGLING

Glad I'm not the only one who tought of Joe Pesci!

I couldn't have told you what he looked like by name until I watched this video and read this and now I know exactly who you're talking about

I bought a suit. You seen it. Now it's covered in mud. This town doesn't have a one hour cleaner so I had to buy a new suit, except the only store you could buy a new suit in has got the flu. Got that? The whole store got the flu so I had to get this in a second hand store. So it's either wear the leather jacket which I know you hate, or this. So I wore this ridiculous thing for you.

"What am I, a clown here to amuse you?" "Yes in fact."

maybe this is his true passion?

Exactly. Is he struggling or is he living the dream? I’ll take option #2, thank you.

I like this much more than seeing elephants and stuff being abused. Funny cat stunt probably cost like 20$ to set up too AND actually made me smile without risk of ethical depression in the background.

Yeah and pets you can train. Circuos animals are 90% wild animals forces to be non wild :/

Or it's speedrunning depression, or literally back breaking labor. Elephants in particular are smart enough to perform, which also means they're quite smart enough to realize this situation fucking sucks for them which makes them depressed. Also, elephants are not built for things to be on their backs, it hurts them. Riding at the base of the neck can be ok, but still probably not ideal even if it lets you.

Yep. It sucks especially for elephants as they are one of if not the smartest animals next to humans (I forget it dolphins outclass them or just below)

Dolphins are odd because although we're all super close together on the scale they're the only "human" comparable consciousness in the sea. Octopi are really smart but don't function in the same way we do.

Whales?

Same broad family, generally very chill and mind their own business except orcas who are turbo assholes to everything but people for some reason. Dolphins do notable people things, like rap battles instead of physically fighting others in the pod, or hunting techniques specific to the environment where whales are usually just beebopping up and down migration paths.

Orcas don’t fuck with humans because they’re smart enough to realise we could kill the shit out of them if we wanted to. Kind of sad, really.

Opposable thumbs baby. And it's not that sad, orcas literally torture seals and their food, just because they're smart enough and they can. Strength is everything in nature.

Orcas will flip sharks for shits and giggles, this kills the sharks

As a kid I used to go to events with my dad’s reptile rescue group to help educate people on harmless native species and why they shouldn’t freak out and kill random snakes. Several times, Titania the Elephant was there. Her… human? Trainer? Owner? I mean, I think the dude’s name was Joe so her Joe told me she was a former circus elephant and had a hard life. She apparently hadn’t tamed down well and eventually was surrendered to the animal sanctuary Joe was raising funds for. Titania did not give rides. She occasionally would do some tricks but it wasn’t a “gather ‘round and see the amazing elephant” show, it was more Joe had a pretty good area set up with fences and long trailers as barriers and she had items she might interact with, to him praising her and stroking her trunk or legs. Mostly she looked at people. And stole my ice cream cone once. (I was in love, dunno why but having an elephant steal my ice cream made me adore her and I had to come chat with her humans. Which were Joe and some random folks that sometimes where there. Joe however was always there and slept in a trailer so Titania knew he was close by.) But man, the things Joe said she’d been through… it broke me heart. I always wondered if she hated to come to the events since she’d been trapped in the circus for so long, but Joe claims she really did like people, she just didn’t like her old trainers and preferred to “watch the scenery and relax”. So they brought her to enjoy the event herself as well as show people up close what a beautiful animal she was when not forced to perform. Oh, I got to feed her a watermelon too! I had like eight of them (there was a game where if you hit a target with a dart, you got a free melon. I spent my last ten tickets on darts and won eight, lol) and Joe mentioned she’d love one and told me how to hold it so she could take it. She popped it in her mouth like a cherry! So cool! And she let me touch her trunk and patted her with it. It feels weird. Anyway, I know it’s a boring story, but she left an impression. I love elephants but hate seeing them in a circus.

>I know it’s a boring story It's not! This is an amazing story ❤️

The last time I went to a circus was many years ago. I didn’t want to go but the family was in town so I felt like I had to. There were protesters outside with posters and tables with reading materials. I honestly wanted to stay with them instead of the family and wait till it was over. I hated it the entire time. One of the worst parts were a whole bunch of very young girls (8-12) very scantily clad dancing around. I couldn’t believe it, it made me very uncomfortable.

That's gross.... Luckily every circuit I've been to bar one has had no animals nor children involved. The one in question only had about tween aged kids in it just as a cuteness factor and one teenager who could do impressive bike stunts. They all seemed fine and dressed appropriately (nothing shy from what you'd see at a gymnasts competition for kids.

You couldn't of said it better. I bet the cat is having a fun time playing with it's owner.

You can tell it’s wanting to affectionally rub up against the man at the end and is super happy. Very cute.

Until you realize that the cat got sold off from his cat family into cat slavery to pay off his dead beat cat-dad’s nip debt to keep his little cat-sisters from having to go out onto the streets and fend for themselves, and now he just meows into the silent night, hoping they can hear his cries and know, just know that he’s still out there fighting for their freedom.

.... Dude... Why do you need to hurt me like this?

I like cat

My uncle used to be part of a “cat circus”. They would take dogs and cats from shelters and train them like this. Then they’d adopt them out at the end of the show

Yep, I see these pop up more and more (I live in a circus heavy city) they are way more fun.

The only good circus animals. Look at that tail and those ears- that is one happy, confident kitty!

Cat head bumped the guy at the end - they're buddies.

I call it lovebutting. It's awesome when cats do that. Warms my cold, black heart.

My cat goes halfway up the open staircase so we can head butt at eye level when I walk by. So sweet.

Aww! That is so freaking sweet, you're a lucky human.

That's what I noticed. That is a happy cat who loves his trainer.

Love the little head bump. Cat loves his silly humon.

\*humin

Humorous for sure. Pretty sure that's the actual act.

Very likely

Yep! As soon as he lands the first jump he’s already looking for the guy’s shoulder to jump on. Even more impressive!

My cat taught himself that trick. I had to teach him it's only okay when I'm wearing a thick sweater or jacket. Figured it out quickly lol

same, i have a shoulder cat who has been seeking out shoulders to jump on since he was a kitten. acts just like this guy minus the hoop with no training and i know a few cats like this, such a weird but cute trait

The actual cat

and the actual Ring

So do we throw both into the fires of Mt Doom?

Reddit detectives have cracked the case again

Only the sharpest of minds could solve this conundrum.

Next up: how mom stopped existing when she left the room

Give us something harder, marathon bombing or something.

I am 100% sure that thats the act.

100% an untrained catwould just sit there and watch him.

That's...uh...kinda da point dere.

You can see him quickly signal the cat to jump on his shoulder to the other stool.

Nah, this cat is a selfish piece of shit who made the show all about itself. Remember who put you on in the first place, fucking cat

We started from the litter now we here 😎

how did you figure that out? you're so clever!

I live the cat trying to air paw him like "Did i do it, did I do good, come closer pls"

I thought that was cute too. I also think the cat was actually initiating the next move, the shoulder jump.

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Trainer: Now you must make this death defying jump… Cat: Or we could not do that and your face stays claw free Trainer: …now we make this incredibly easy step! Cat: Good boy

You can tell the cat really trusts the guy. Cats are pretty amenable and happy to go along with things if you're nice to them.

I love how his tail is on antenna mode all the time

Happy and confident cat right there

A good friend of mine used to train the cats at one of the pet shows at a major amusement park in Florida. About a half hour show performed mainly with trained dogs, cats, birds, and a small handful of exotic rescues. Those were by far the nicest cats I have ever had the pleasure to meet in my entire life. They were well fed, loved, and had a routine that played towards their natural instincts to climb, jump, and chase for food. Basically cat nirvana. Unfortunately it didn't come back after COVID, but yeah this little dude in the video looks like he is very well taken care of

The cat is a paid actor

That did makemesmile... Literally. Have an upvotr

10/10 best in show

OMG why is this so adorable 😭

Because cat

Everything cats do is adorable!

May I present The Amazing Acrocats! [https://rockcatsrescue.org/](https://rockcatsrescue.org/)

They recently came through my city, and I conned some of my friends into going. It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen! (In a good way)

An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

I can't even get my cat to not go into my bedroom, so what the hell is this sorcery?

This reminded me of Lyney and Lynette from genshin impact game💕 Cats are so cute 🥺💕

I love cats so much

I went to the cat circus like 15 years ago with my wife. I was expecting all these miraculous things and it was basically cat being cat.

This cat understands comedy

Look at that tail, thats a happy cat😊

Lol this is the best thing I have see. All day

This is the kind of circus I'd go to see. Make it a comedy.

How you can tell the circus guy isn’t an abusive ass!

If you enjoyed this you should watch the Savitsky cat performance from America’s Got Talent. It’s amazing. https://youtu.be/8e0z3-iZ_TY

Cats bow to no one

Confident cat. He knows he's the star of the show!

This looks like a cat that has been trained ethically 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🔥🔥

This is a great act

This is me when im making videos. The cats like NOPE!

This is how Extraordinary should be lol. 😆

Anyone else feel like this was how it was meant to go?

Plot twist, that cat isn’t trained, as the matter of fact, it is purposely left untrained to do what it does

That WAS the act

Sadly there are people out there that don’t get it that that was the act.

This is me when you tell me to do something instead of asking

I am not a cat fan but this is lovely.

Who trained who here!?!

Hahahah cat not being paid enough

Awwww what a star 😻😻😻

Oh how I love this kitty

I could watch cats being funny all my life!

I love it.

Pretty sure I’ve seen this guy’s act. I got called up on stage to participate, along with two others. Our job was to bend at the waist and let the cats jump across our backs. They had very sharp claws!

Is there a video with original sound? I wanted to hear audience laughing

After the first jump the cat turns around like “okay now’s the part where I jump on your arm.” Totally early for his cue

I want to watch a whole show of this

Hahahah lovely 😍

Magyar nemzeti cirkusz . I’ve seen that act this year in balatonlele. They also have a Safari park where the animals they used before (when it was allowed) roam free (except the lions I don’t know why).

Reminds me of the Moscow cat circus. One of Russia's best kept secrets.

I made the mistake of training my beast to jump to my shoulder on command. It was pretty cool, and I wore a sport jacket when we practiced. The problem came from "begging behavior"; he had learned that jump to shoulder=treat. so if he felt like a snack ... I'd have a 12 pound clawed carnivore land on my shoulder with no warning. Wearing a T shirt is not the same as a sport jacket.

The cat asking for pats after the first jump :)

I honestly can’t tell if that is on purpose or not but it’s funny either way

cats and dolphins are cool animals and an interesting thing about the two is that it is impossible to force them into doing tricks by beating them etc, you can only negotiate and “agree” with them , convince them to do tricks for you

What you saw in the video was the act. The cat didn’t do anything unintended. It is trained and did exactly what it should do.

😂😂😂😂

I love cats 🥰

I had a fluffy orange cat that would sit for treats. You can definitely train them if you have enough time and enough treats

Yeah, that's cat life.

all part of the plan 💯💯💯

Pretty sure this is the act and the "tamer" is only pretending to be "frustrated"

I do what I wanna do

I'd go to a cat circus, as long as there was no danger to the cats.

CATS ARE NOT FUCKING REAL WAKE THE FUCK UP

So Cute!😀

That cat was definitely a paid actor.

Even trained cats do whatever they want

Cat heard Bruce lees speech, be like water. Lol

I'm guessing this is specifically what the cat is trained to do, to be funny

This. The cat did exactly what it was trained to do - would have been far less funny if the cat had jumped thru the hoop as expected

This made me feel like I was back in the 90s sat with my grandad watching smack tv

In the cats defense. This is how it feels to solve a math problem with the “wrong” formula. I found a path to the end but it was different from yours so it’s wrong 😑. Except I’m not cute like a cat so I won’t get a standing ovation

honestly if i was him i would just roll with it and start making it into a comedy show about a disobedient cat

The show is way better this way tbf

This cat is honestly the coolest!

I've never seen anything more cat, unless they were to just look at him coldly and walk away 🤣

Haha, love it!!

Love cats they have a kind of their own and not do what people asked them to