Cat Circus

Cats put best paw forward

April 16th, 2009 |

Author: admin

Brian Morelli • Iowa City Press-Citizen • April 16, 2009

A troupe of felines showed off their talents on Wednesday evening in Iowa City.

Samantha Martin’s “Acro-Cats … Circus Cats of Chicago” performed their routine for about 125 people. The cats, many of which had been rescued, pushed balls, jumped across platforms and through hoops, jingled bells and even performed as a musical cat band called “The Rock Cats.”

“These cats all have their unique personalities,” Martin said. “We are just the roadies.”

All of this appeared to thoroughly entertain and delight the crowd of children and adults.

“It’s cute,” said Raquel Wray, 36, of North Liberty, who came down to check it out after she heard about it from a friend.

The act has drawn national attention, including being featured on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Animal Planet and PBS.

Brennen Tevis, 16, of Cedar Rapids, saw the act in Chicago a few weeks ago. When he heard it would be in Eastern Iowa, he decided to come. But, that’s not all. He said he spread the word at his school, Cedar Rapids Washington, and many students came to see it for themselves.

“I pretty much just had to say it was a cat circus,” Tevis said of how he convinced his friends to come.

Tevis identified himself as a cat lover and said he had to see the show one more time.

“It’s cats; I couldn’t resist,” he said.

Although the cats did a variety of tricks, they did so on their own time frame, not necessarily at the whim of Martin or her helpers.

“I gave up on making this a serious show two years ago when we bombed in Branson,” Martin said. “I let the cats control the show.”