Simon Cowell went from skeptical to stunned on 'AGT' — thanks to a group of rescue cats with serious moves
Cats are known to be quite difficult to train, with the furry creatures leading an independent life without a care about anything else in the world. Well, 'The Savitsky Cats' would like to disagree with that statement. A family act from Ukraine, 'The Savitsky Cats', auditioned for 'America's Got Talent' Season 13 in 2018. Led by mother Svitlana and daughter Marina with a team of 10 beautiful furry kitties, the act showcased all ten cats flaunting different tricks. All of their cats are adopted or rescued," as reported by NPR. As the act began and the judges asked, What do you do?" Marina replied, "We train cats," to which Simon Cowell, not seeming to be a huge fan of cats, hilariously replied, "Why?"
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Cats are known to have short attention spans. These felines are self-reliant and don't really care about humans' approval. Unlike dogs that might do a trick just to gain human validation, a cat usually has more of a 'make me do it' attitude, as reported by the Telegraph. To teach even a simple trick, such as jumping through a hoop, sometimes takes months if not years of practice and positive reinforcement. Considering the hassle, Cowell's 'Why' feels completely justified in this context but this skepticism was about to be knocked out.
The Ukrainian duo finally began the act set to the tune of 'Also sprach Zarathustra', the iconic track from Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' The act began with a simple jumping-through-the-hoop trick. However, the real hassle was making the cat jump. As everyone eagerly waited for the cat to jump, the cat seemed to be unbothered as it looked around, doing everything but jump through the hoop. As everyone watched, overjoyed by the cats, Cowell seemed to be losing his patience as a bunch of cats walking on stage didn't seem to wow him just yet. Finally, the cat jumped and adorably stood on two paws.
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Transition to the next cat, and you could feel the tricks getting more intense and so was Cowell as he watched with more focus. This time around, this cat rolled a cylindrical figure across the stage as it looked at the audience in the most adorable way, almost as if asking, "What do you guys think of this, huh?" This definitely wowed Cowell, as he was awestruck, finally sold on the act as he watched the entire performance with a beaming face. Finally, the time for the hardest trick came. This was the standout moment of the act, as a cat climbed across a wooden stick suspended parallel to the ground, effortlessly walking upside down like a monkey.
It was finally time to end the performance with the penultimate act. As Svitlana made the black furball sit on one of the platforms and kept a paper circle in front of it, indicating it to jump through it, the furry creature seemed least bothered by it. She tried petting the cat multiple times; the judges and the audience watched eagerly, motivating the cat to jump. Finally, the hesitant feline delivered a perfect jump through the paper. However, the duo saved the best for last. As a cat climbed a wooden stick that was more than ten feet high, Marina stood down with a cushion to catch it. As everyone watched with their jaws on the floor, the cat effortlessly jumped onto the cushion, securing The Savitsky Cats' spot in the next round and hopefully in Cowell's heart.