These Cats Were Trained To Be Actors For The 2019 Remake Of Pet Sematary - 1

These Cats Were Trained To Be Actors For The 2019 Remake Of Pet Sematary

If you’re a fan of the horror genre, we don’t need to tell you who Stephen King is. But just in case you need a quick reminder, he’s the man who wrote horror classics like The Shining , IT , Carrie and more, many of which were turned into movies – and Pet Sematary was no exception. A film adaptation of this novel was created back in 1989, and now, 30 years later, a remake of it has been released.

Even though the movie received a rather average rating, people instantly fell in love with one of the characters – a cat named Church. But, as it turned out, this was no regular cat.

People who watched Pet Sematary instantly fell in love with one of the characters – a cat named Church

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Church was actually played by a few different cats – mostly JD , Tonic, and Leo – who were all specially trained for the movie. They were taught to hiss, stare and run on command and all of them did an excellent job!

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In various interviews, the film’s director revealed that all of the cats were adopted from shelters. The production team decided to use Main Coons for the movie and searched various animal shelters until they found all of the little actors-to-be. They then went on to train for two months to become the adorable furry actors we’ve seen in the movie.

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The kitties had to spend quite some time in the makeup chair to achieve the dirty look seen in the movie. And since cats are known to be very clean creatures, all of the makeup used was edible so the cats wouldn’t get sick if they ingested any of it while grooming.

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All of the kitties were adopted after the filming of the movie. Sadly, Leo passed away not long after the movie’s premiere due to feline arterial thromboembolism, a condition known to affect some Maine Coons. “It is with deep sadness that we tell you that Leo has passed away. He will be forever missed by his human and fur family. May his star always shine bright!” wrote Kirk Jarret, Leo’s handler, on a heartfelt Instagram post .

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Someone found out more information about these furry actors

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People loved the adorable cat actors

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See the kitties in action in the movie’s trailer below!

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Aušrys Uptas

One day, this guy just kind of figured - “I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?” - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that’s trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that’s too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!