In the bustling city of New York, there were four extraordinary feline friends – Bunty, Babli, Mini and Prince Goldie who shared a cosy apartment with their human, Maya. All four of these cats possessed unique talents – quite unlike one another. While Bunty had a knack for balancing on the narrowest ledges, Babli could leap to very impressive heights. On the other hand, Mini had mastered intricate paw movements and Prince Goldie had an uncanny sense of tapping his paws in sync with whichever song was played.
One night, as Maya was watching America’s Got Talent and the cats were playfully moving about the apartment, Maya was struck with an idea. What if she enrolled her cats to perform on the largest stage to display their skills! How wonderful that would be, she thought!
With this idea in her mind, she began to train her feline quartet, incorporating principles from Atomic Habits to be able to build their skills. Besides this, Maya was very inspired by the Savitsky Cats when they performed astonishing tricks in one episode. If those cats could do it, then definitely her cats could also, she thought.
Exchanging dubious glances with one another, Bunty rolled over while Babli leapt in surprise. Mini knocked over a lamp in haste while Prince Goldie just yawned, gazing at his friends.
Following a plan that was inspired by Atomic Habits, Maya followed certain steps while training her cats. These were:
1) Make it Obvious: Maya set up a training area for her feline friends in a corner of the apartment where she kept all of their favourite toys and treats. Their meals were only served at consistent times and locations. Specific toys and sounds were used as a clear signal for mealtime and jingling a bell to indicate the beginning of playtime.
2) Make it Attractive: Motivation is the key to training these cats so Maya had to offer treats immediately after they displayed the desired behaviour to reinforce the behaviour and also introduce engaging toys which stimulated their natural hunting instincts.
3) Make the Habit Easy: The habit had to be very simple to understand. So Maya placed scratching posts and litter boxes in reachable areas to promote their use.
4) Make the Habit Satisfying: Each habit that was introduced had to be appealing to the cats. They had to feel good after performing it, so gentle petting or verbal praise was used to create a positive association.
After about three weeks of training, Maya created an audition tape to America’s Got Talent, where each of their talents was highlighted. Within just a few days, she was invited to have her cats perform on the grand stage.
On the 22nd of February, 2025 – the big night, the theatre was buzzed up with anticipation for their act. Finally, their turn arrived, and the curtains rose. Unlike what Maya was prepared for, Bunty attempted to balance on a rolling can, Babli leapt in the air and missed the mark she had to cross; Mini knocked over her props, and Prince Goldie only stood on the stage where he groomed his large mane. To Maya’s surprise, the audience, who all had seen the audition tape, erupted in laughter.
The judges had tears of laughter and praised the act as unintentionally hilarious and a testament to feline independence. While Maya was a bit disappointed with her cats not performing as well as they did for the audition tape, she was utterly surprised by the fact that her cats became an overnight sensation, not for the precision that they showed but for revealing the hilarious and true essence of cats: unpredictable, mischievous and a complete riot of laughter!
Not only was their performance a viral hit on the internet, but it was also a reminder that cats (and perhaps all animals) could be trained, but ultimately, they will ONLY march to the beat of their OWN drum.
