Didn’t think it’s possible to train your pet cat? It’s time to think again, after a mother-daughter cat training duo from Ukraine stunned America’s Got Talent judges with a world-class routine featuring the Savitsky Cats!
These felines have amassed more than 65 million YouTube views across various uploads of their AGT appearances and, despite joining the show’s 13th season back in 2018, fans still can’t quite work out how on Earth they pull off their acrobatic antics. Yet, this clip is sparking an ethical debate amongst the world’s cat lovers. Music Man readers can check out The Savitsky Cats’ viral AGT audition in the video below…
As soon as cat trainers Marina and mother Svitlana reveal their surprise talent, Simon Cowell instantly responds with a valid, unanswerable question, “Why?”, making the audience erupt in laughter. But soon, the entire theatre is stunned into silence as the ultra-fluffy felines take center stage, first jumping through a single hoop, before striking a sit-up pose!
The trainers step things up a notch when they convince another cat to roll a barrel across the stage, walking with its forepaws on the cylinder and melting the audience’s hearts in the process.
But it doesn’t end there. The cats jump over each other in quick succession like a furry game of leapfrog and show absolutely no resistance to being picked up and carried across the stage like little props.
The most shocking moves are yet to come, as one trainer places a cat on a tightrope, where it scurries, upside down, clinging to the rope like a tiny spider-kitty, before flipping itself perfectly up onto a pedestal. Next, another cat hops on its hind legs beside Svitlana, before a penguin-colored feline takes to the tightrope for a second round—this time with one arm on each rope, pulling itself along like a strongman.
For the grand finale, the black cat bravely jumps through a hoop covered in paper, bursting out the other side. Before long, his brother climbs a scratching post high into the air, jumping and landing on a cushion held by the owner.
While this audition may spark concerns over animal abuse, we haven’t been able to uncover any official report of this being the case. However, we can’t help but notice how unsettlingly unnatural this entire performance is to a cat’s instincts, and can’t completely condone this audition on the grounds of turning pets into circus animals and animals into entertainment, no matter how much the owners may adore their pets. It’s ethically muddy but makes for a staggering, unreplicable AGT audition nonetheless.
Marina and Svitlana’s Savitsky Cats have turned cat training into must‑see TV — and sparked a lively ethical debate along the way. If you’re intrigued, discover more about their AGT audition, background and related clips via the useful links below this paragraph.