Agt Super Trained Cats Audition

[abyeb]

Cats don't perform like this unless they are being tortured.

I’ve trained my cat Charlie to do a lot of tricks. He can sit on command, turn left and right, jump through a hoop, give a high five, and stand on his hind legs. I taught him all of this with using positive reinforcement. When he does a trick, he gets a treat. I did try clicker training, but he was scared of the sound of the clicker, so then I went back to treats exclusively.

Cats can be trained easily this way, and they see tricks as something fun and stimulating, as well as a great bonding experience between them and their human.

 

[Casper's mom]

Also those remotes are fairly large. I dont think they could hide it in their hands without you clearly seeing it. They are like the size of a small walkie talkie. More likely that they are clickers.

She has the unit in her back pocket. They have a smaller device in their hand that they hide. Google cat shock collars. You will see the size and how the bow tie can conveniently hide it. If there is any doubt, ask the trainers to do the tricks without the collars. I will bet the WILL NOT.

 

[Casper's mom]

I’ve trained my cat Charlie to do a lot of tricks. He can sit on command, turn left and right, jump through a hoop, give a high five, and stand on his hind legs. I taught him all of this with using positive reinforcement. When he does a trick, he gets a treat. I did try clicker training, but he was scared of the sound of the clicker, so then I went back to treats exclusively.

Cats can be trained easily this way, and they see tricks as something fun and stimulating, as well as a great bonding experience between them and their human.

Cats do not do things that are uncomfortable and painful to do. Do you think hanging by their arms moving down a pole is something they would do with positive reinforcement? The things you trained your cat to do are basic, non harming things. That is a lot different than what these cats are doing.

 

[Casper's mom]

Is there evidence of the shock collars? I watched the video and saw almost no hesitation from the cats, and when the black cat jumped down they simply brought him back up to complete the trick. I didn’t see any indication that the cats were discomforted.

I'll post a slowed down version of the act with close-ups of the cats, showing the devices. Look at the cats face that was holding on to the broom and made to walk with a cat on its back. He looks miserable to me.

 

[Casper's mom]

Also I dont know of any credible zoos that make their animals perform. Zoos are usually involved in conservation efforts and are more concerned with breeding and sustaining their population. Ive never been to a zoo and watched a lion perfom tricks.

Zoos most definitely have animal acts, and the zoos in the Ukraine, where these woman are from, employ techniques we have outlawed here (i.e Barnum & Bailey shut down for animal abuse) The women perform in a traveling "zoo" with their cats while in the Ukraine.

 

[Casper's mom]

I watched the latest performance. I see no indication the cats have been trained using compulsion techniques. An animal trained using pain will not show any "style". They will not be enthusiastic. Those cats looked pretty enthusiastic.

The bow ties appeared to be held on with elastic, which isn't strong enough to hold a shock unit. I didn't see any other collar on them. The bow ties were not large enough to hide a shock unit and were rather floppy.

The trainers had handfuls of treats the cats really wanted, and when the cat did something right they dropped a treat. I suspect that when she touched the cat, he smelled the treats and that's why he meowed. By his body language, it was not a meow of pain, it was a demand meow; he wanted something.

Where did you get this information anyway? I tried googling for it and nothing came up.

It would be interesting to ask these women to have the cats perform without the collars. Yes, the bow is floppy, but it is hiding the black device, and hangs the same way a shock collar would hang. Interestingly, one cannot post any negative information about this act on their website. It is infiltrated with bots of positive comments. The version I am sending to PETA shows what the trainers are doing. I wish it was as you stated above. But one does not get a cat to do these things without some "help".

 

[Casper's mom]

No, they are not. A lion will eat you if you zap him. A zoo will lose its accreditation if they use shock collars on the animals. Do you have any further information about these allegations?

Shock units are fairly large; I don't think a bow tie would hide one.

I agree that there's no reason for someone to touch or "adjust" a shock collar by touching it. The adjustment is on the remote, not the collar itself.

Is it possible the thing in the trainer's hand is a clicker? Clicker training is very common for cats.

These woman are from the Ukraine, which do not have the same laws we have here. They perform in a traveling "zoo" with their cats when back in the Ukraine.
Perhaps depending on the trainers stance, they use either the remote they are hiding or do something to the collar to ignite the zap. It is interesting that in all cases where the cat hesitated or tried to get away, the trainer did something with the collar.

 

[Casper's mom]

I am not sure about having shock collars. I would think that AGT would not allow that; after all, the judges are all animal lovers... Howie even has a show on Animal Planet.

I love watching the kitties with their performances. Perhaps I am naive, but they did seem to get a lot of encouragement from the owners...

It is good to see that they have gone through to the LIVE shows. That will be interesting.

I think if there were shock collars, then the animal rights groups would, immediately be up in arms against this performance act. I have not seen anything written about it.

I will watch them closely during the LIVE performance.

I wish this was being done with only positive reinforcement. But having slowed down and magnified the sequence, it is painfully clear what is happening. It has not gotten mainstream yet, as one cannot write anything negatively on their websites as it is infiltrated with positive bots. I have the proof, PETA will be informed, a celebrity can send out a tweet, and it will go from there. The ladies can defend themselves by performing without the collars (they will not). As for AGT, whether they know or not, it all comes down to ratings and money, unfortunately. It's up to us as informed individuals to make our decisions whether we consider this to be "entertainment" or abuse.

 

[Willowy]

Even when using shock collars on dogs, they aren't used to force the animal to perform. That's not how animals work. They just don't.

 

[artiemom]

C Casper's mom

Why don't you try e-mailing AGT, NBC or even tweeting to Simon Cowell, or Howie.. the Live performances will be in 2 weeks.....

Or contact a newspaper...or a TV Station for investigation..

 

[MeganLLB]

C Casper's mom so when are you going to post all this "evidence" you have?

 

[FlawlessImperfection]

Can you post the videos and clips and close ups for us to see?
C Casper's mom