Zeddie has appeared in multiple commercials and TV shows, including American Gods. Her mum, Kristin shares what it takes to be a commercial and TV cat and what it really means to work on a set with your cat. We learn how to keep your kitty focused and the challenges you face.

What we talk about

• How Zeddie came into Kristin’s life

• About Zeddie

• The type of catexploring Zeddie does

• How Zeddie trained to be a catexplorer

• The kind of TV & commercial work Zeddie has done

• How Zeddie got involved in TV & commercial wor

• How Zeddie gets casted

• What it was like filming American Gods

• How Zeddie stays focused on set

• Tricks and behaviours Zeddie uses in TV and commercial work

• Zeddie & confidence

• Managing expectations with a film crew

• How Kristin stays calm on set

• What it is like filming a commercial

• How to find a second handler

• What to take with you on a shoot

• How Zeddie rides a skateboard

• One piece of advice for catexplorers

• Most entertaining comment heard while out and about with Zeddie

• Catexplorers that inspire Zeddie and Kristin

• Product, service or program that has been a gamechanger for Zeddie

How to leave a review

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Join the Catexplorer Purr Squad or become a Catexplorer Producer

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Guest – Kristin & Zeddie

Instagram - @zeddiecat & @healthyhearts7

Facebook – Zeddie Cat

Tik Tok - @zeddiecat

Catexplorers that inspire Zeddie and Kristin

@cat.school @catboss.TV @thegibsonchronicles @theoretically.teddy

Podcast Sponsor – Wee Kitty Eco Plant Litter by Rufus & Coco

The NEW Wee Kitty Eco Plant by Rufus & Coco is made from sustainable and naturally absorbent wheat and soy fibers. It's the natural litter for cats who care and the humans who love them. Reduce your carbon pawprint and make the switch - Head to https://www.weekittylitter.com to find a store near and for your chance to win a year's supply of kitty litter!

Review of the episode

So informative & fun!

★★★★★

It’s @thegibsonchronicles here! We love the Cat Explorer podcast because it enables us to feel as if we are not alone in learning the ins & outs of cat exploring! We get these questions in our head and it’s if catexplorer has already thought of it (& if they haven’t, message them because they listen to their listeners!). Check this podcast out if you’re a cat explorer or interested in being one. You won’t regret it!

Petey K

Music

Music for this episode was composed and performed by Kory McIntyre.

Cover art

The photo used for the cover art for Season 5 of Catexplorer Podcast is of @thegibsonchronicles

Transcript

Please note - this an automatic transcript, and as such may not be very accurate.

Kristin 0:00

So the biggest things that he was in was American Gods, which was our first experience in any kind of film, which was a very big experience. For those who don't know the show, it's on amazon prime and it follows gods that are brought into America and said he plays the part of a goddess. And it was like quite a big role, especially considering it was the very first time we've done any kind of film work. Hasara Lay 0:29 Join us as we chat to amazing cat explorers and experts, learn from them, listen to their will stories, celebrate the winds and laugh at the funny moments that have been a part of the journey. Welcome to the cat explorer podcast. I'm Hasara. And I'm Daniel. We're talking all about film cats today, but we'd love to hear that you're listening along. So perhaps take a photo of what your cat's doing and upload it to Instagram Stories tag us at cat explorer community and an awesome guest at zeti cat and perhaps added a GIF of the cat explorer podcast. So just search for that in the search bar and it'll pop up. We can't wait to hear that you're listening along. This episode is brought to you by the new week at eco plant litter. The new week at eco plant by Rufus and kircher is made from sustainable and naturally absorbent wheat and soy fibers. It's the National linna for cats who care and the humans who love them, reduce your carbon footprint and make the switch head to www wiki.com to find a store near you and for your chance to win a year's supply of kitty litter. Today's review is from the Gibson Chronicles who also happens to be the face of season five of the cat explorer podcast. So informative and fun. We love the cat explorer podcast because it enables us to feel as if we're not alone in learning the ins and outs of cat exploring. We get these questions in our head and it's as if cat explore has already thought of it. And if they haven't messaged them because they listen to their listeners, check this podcast out. If you're a cat explore or interested in being one you weren't regarded. Thank you so much for that lovely review the Gibson Chronicles, we really do appreciate it. And it's true what they say we really do listen to our listeners. So feel free to message us on social media, or even send us an email at hey there at cat explorer car, because we always love to hear from you. Daniel Lay 2:29 If your kitties like ours, they're happy to do tricks at home. But when they're in front of an audience, they suddenly become shy. Because of this. We've always wondered about kitties who are actors. That's why we're so excited to chat to our guest today is that he is a kitty actress who's been in commercials and on TV shows. We're super excited to hear more about her from her mom, Kristen. Welcome to the calyx world podcast, Kristin. Kristin 2:51 Hi, thanks for having me. Hasara Lay 2:53 We'd love to hear about Sadie, how did she come into your life? Kristin 2:56 It's actually a really coincidental story. I guess. I was looking at savannas I just found the breed. And we really connected to them because of their ancestry. And I had found her breeder and I just saw this picture of her and I just knew that that was the cat that was gonna change everything for me. So I lived with my parents. And I took some convincing, but she eventually made it home and she really did change everything. For me. We started adventuring, pretty much immediately taking her out places. I had a rabbit before her and I used to take my rabbit places. So it was a pretty quick or easy step between that and taking her out as well. So then, could you tell us a little bit Daniel Lay 3:41 about city? Kristin 3:43 Yeah, so SETI is an F for Savannah cat. She's a lot of personality, which is a little bit more than I think most savannas are for her, especially her generation. She's a bit of a diva but because of her like extreme personality, I Pretty quick that we'd have to do more than just having her around the house. So we started doing like on leash walks, I took her on vacations with me. And then a couple years ago is when we started doing clicker training. And it was two years ago that we started getting into film for her. Hasara Lay 4:16 Awesome. So we'll be diving into house Eddie with excellent commercials and on TV later on in the podcast, but first we'd like to chat a little bit about cat exploring. So what kind of cat exploring Do you do together? Kristin 4:27 So we typically do like your standard hikes. We walk along the street, I have all the gear so we have the stroller. People come up to me and they're like, Oh, yeah, you're the cat lady with the stroller. Yeah. We go to we go to pet stores in the winter because I'm in Canada, so it gets really cold is that he has very little fur, they hurt like it's very like course and she barely sheds and she doesn't have an ounce of fat on her so she really doesn't tolerate our winters very well. So in order to keep her sane in A winter we have a cat wheel. And then we go to pet stores and we practice her tricks and pet stores. Which is great because the tires are out the adventure, like just going out of the house tires her out. And when you add tricks on top of that, she's just toast them for the rest of the day, which is nice. Daniel Lay 5:16 I gotta say that stroller really makes you stand out doesn't mean you can't hide with a stroller. Kristin 5:23 Yeah, people think it's a baby all the time. Like, I'll be walking her. And they're like, oh, let me see the baby. And they're like, oh, and she's like, she doesn't like it when people get in her face. So they'll like put their face near the stroller and she goes, and then they're like, oh, Hasara Lay 5:39 the number of times you get the piss people going, Oh my gosh, it's a cat. Not a baby. Daniel Lay 5:45 Always. So can you tell us how you translate it to be a cat explorer? Kristin 5:49 Yeah, so I bought her one of those like little kitten harnesses that goes around the neck and the waist. And I just started taking her out places and I'd carry her. I don't actually think I used traits at the beginning. She's eight, almost eight years old. So this was a long time ago. And there wasn't really that much information about it then. So I think I just like taught her by, she enjoyed it. And she knew, like she learned about the harness, man, I get to go outside. So then she would just let me put the harness on, and she hates being picked up. So it worked as like a nice way to get her to do things without me having to actually control her. It's, it's a bit more teamwork than it is me forcing her to do something. So she Yeah, she loved it. And then as we did more, we got more secure harnesses, because that was always a concern of mine. Hasara Lay 6:39 That's an understandable concern. And so daddy's done a bit of TV and commercial work, what kind of commercials and films and TV shows has already been in. Kristin 6:48 So the biggest things that he was in was American Gods, which was our first experience in any kind of film, which was a very big experience. For those who don't know that To show it's on amazon prime and it follows gods that are brought into America and said he plays the part of a goddess. And it was like quite a big role, especially considering it was the very first time we've done any kind of film work. And we quickly experienced like, what it means like to like be on set for 12 hours. And sometimes they would kind of like, forget that we were there or like, it would be like long wait times before we were used. And she took it like a champ. Like she just thought the whole thing was great. People would walk past her and they'd be like, Can we pet her or does she have to get into her role? And I was like, Ah, no, you can Unknown Speaker 7:44 better. Kristin 7:49 Yeah. And she loved it. She was like, Yes, I'm wonderful. I'm wonderful. Unknown Speaker 7:54 Wow. Daniel Lay 7:56 That must be really critical in spirit and like to have that as your firstborn. experience and exposure to that size. And I think I suppose grant you're like, yeah, amazing. And for her to take it like a champ as well, I think it's even more amazing. So can you tell us a little bit of that process in terms of how did you even get onto that role? And how did you get involved in this in the first place? Kristin 8:17 Yeah. So it was kind of funny. So I my business is like, I'm an herbalist for animals. So I had joined a whole bunch of groups on Facebook that would allow me to advertise. And it was a dog group, and I called her Teddy's agent for lack of a better word. But she had posted looking for dogs that could do tricks. And like for she was just starting up her business. And so she was like, filling up a roster of animals that could be used in film. And I saw it and I was like, would you consider a cat too? Because my cat goes on. Like, she goes everywhere. She's so confident outside. And she was like, Yeah, yeah, these are our addition dates bring her by. So we went and said he was like the first animal I think of the day and she hopped Up on the chair, and she did a six day, which was something I hadn't even taught her at the time. So I was like, Oh, this is good. And like it blew the agent's mind. She was like, wow, like to have a cat that's competent and will already start like doing behaviors is really great. So we did the photoshoot and then it was a it was a couple months later that we got the call for American Gods. And that was the only audition we've ever had to do. So it was everything else has gone through the agent where the production company kind of like looks through the cats, and then they'll tell her what cat they want. Hasara Lay 9:33 Oh, so you don't have to audition every time? Kristin 9:35 No, no. So if like I've told her that he is very, very good at tricks, but she's not good at being picked up or being friendly to anyone. That's not me. Because she's very particular like she's a nice cat but she's very standoffish with other people. And she's also very vocal. So if anyone picks her up, that's not me. She will with me too. She does this huge Scream, and I know how to read her. So it doesn't bother me. And I know like, what, what her triggers are when she needs to stop. But for strangers, they're not going to know that and it's very scary for somebody else, especially because her her vocalization isn't like a cute little meow. So, I always say like, I'm the only one who can pick her up. And you know, like, if she has to be placed somewhere, it has to be me doing it. So she's not the kind of cat that can do a scene where you know that you're like, scooped up and walking around. Hasara Lay 10:31 So Kristin 10:32 I tell the agent that and then when the production is looking for somebody, they will give her like the list of things that cat needs to do. And if it's being picked up Wednesdays just off the list, she doesn't get the like, get that project. But if it's something that's more trick oriented, then she's great for it because she can get the shots done pretty quick. Daniel Lay 10:54 So I suppose in a way, like, what you were saying before is that if a film company went to Brad Pitt Last brightful Brad Pitt and they'll get Brad Pitt and Sir, I suppose if they picked through and they're like, Oh, I liked it. I wasn't ready. That's it. The there's no edition dated. Unknown Speaker 11:08 We have Yeah. Daniel Lay 11:09 Okay, that's, that's, that's pretty cool. So then going back to American Gods and you talked about how those some wedding around people forgot that you were there so can you sort of fill us in in terms of what that 12 hour day was like and you know, what sort of how do you feel? And is it a tiring is it you know, a lot of excitement? What's it like? Kristin 11:31 So it kind of depends on the day and it depends on the production. American Gods was such a large production and they had so much going on that a lot of the times they would push their scenes back, which is like, I mean, it happens all the time when you're on set, and you get used to it pretty quickly. So for like, I think the first time we were on set, it was a long day. I think it was like 12 hours and they didn't end up using her because the scenes got pushed back so far. They just like they couldn't get the scene they needed. So, at the end of the day, we just went home without actually having shot anything. And I was like, Okay, this is odd, but that he like didn't care. Because to her, it was just a fun day out with mom. She was like, okay, like we're meeting new people. I'm exploring this area. It was like a huge set like a studio that she could explore. So I would just walk around the studio with her and she just did whatever she wanted, always on harness, of course. And then, you know, we went home the next time we went back, it was a full day of shooting. So that was a totally different experience than just waiting all day. And that's when said he actually got to show off, like her behaviors. But we actually hadn't done any training before American Gods just like a basic stay. She didn't have an era set. She didn't even have a stay at that time. So she learned her stay on set. That's actually when we thought stay was because she needed to walk in To the into the room, hop up onto a little Ottoman, and then stay there. So I was teaching her how to walk over and hop up onto the Ottoman on set waited like just before we were shooting, and then they did it. And thankfully the actor was really sweet in that scene and he just kind of like helped her along. She walked in, and he walked over to the Ottoman and he gave it a little tap and threw a treat in there. And so she went and jumped up. And then she sat there and she did this the shot perfectly after that. It was so cute. Oh, Hasara Lay 13:30 my gosh, I can't imagine the relief you felt when she did. So. Kristin 13:34 Yeah. Because you know, especially with the first time doing it, like it always takes a couple times like a couple takes. And I was so scared like once the harness comes off. I always get that moment of Oh no, what if, because we're in a safe area, and there's people everywhere but she's not really one that I would like other people picking up. So I always get that like little bit of anxiety. When the harness comes off, and especially when I have to call her to me, so I will always have two handlers. And I'll leave her with another handler and I will go to the spot that they need her to go to. And I'll call her so that she comes to me but that means that she's not near me for that that period of time. But she always I think, I don't think she's ever once actually tried to really take off on me when the harness comes off. She's always really professional, which is pretty shocking for a cat because there's so much going on on set they'd like she could do anything. Hasara Lay 14:34 Yeah, I can. I can so imagine so. I'm so in awe of the fact that you were able to train her on this onset. So as a bit of a background, our two cats have done a very small commercial shirt for some kitty litter and at home for weeks beforehand, we practice stay sitting in the kitty litter tray. We got to set they did not sit in the kitty litter tray. I was like at home, we even practice. I pretend You need to take photos I used to do the kitty litter dried every vagan just were not interested. Unknown Speaker 15:07 How did you train her on set when there's so many distractions and everything, I had a secret weapon and that was the other hammers a dog trainer. Kristin 15:17 Though she was actually my introduction into trainings, Edie, she was like, Okay, this is no problem. If we just do x y, Zed, we'll get the shot, no problem. And I was like, okay, so she was the one who actually showed me that like to teach a stay, we do like we put her in the spot, and then we would reward her take a step back, reward her two steps back, reward her so that she's learning that when she's in that one spot, that's where she's getting the reward, she's not getting the reward for leaving it. So I'm doing it a little bit different now because I'm working more on recalls. But she back then it was really, really important that she just never leave that stay. And so that's what we did. And then that's what she learned and then she got a little bit too good at it sometimes where I would call her out of her Stay and she was like, I'll just stay here. This is where I get the treats. You need to come now. But it she because she'd always been in various like scenarios I've taken her all over the place with me. We go like we've gone cottaging, we've gone up north, we went to Ottawa. So different places don't really face her. So as long as I give her like we kind of do when we've done this with walking to we do like a 5050 split. If I'm walking somewhere and I want to go somewhere, she either has to walk with me or she ends up in the backpack or the stroller, and if, and then I'll give the rest of the time to her. So I'll let her sniff eat grass, do what she wants. And then when I want to walk, we need to walk. And so I use the same principle on set. So I would let her explore the set area for like 10 or 15 minutes sometimes and then it would give like her curiosity would be sated, and then I'd be like, Okay, it's time to start training. And I would put the clicker on. And as soon as that clickers on, she knows that this is what we're doing now. And it's like the switch turns and she starts working. So she knows. Daniel Lay 17:09 So apart from the recall in the state, were there any other behaviors or tricks that you think zeti would needed to be able to do this TV and commercial work, Kristin 17:19 the most important thing for a cat to be able to do any kind of work is confidence. You can teach any other behavior, but you can't teach them to be confident in new places. So if they're afraid of everything, they're not going to be suited to it. But if, like any cat that goes exploring is going to be like able to do that kind of work. It's just, it makes it easier when you do the tricks on top of it. So when Sadie started, she had nothing. She was confident and she had a set because I don't like the cat jumping on the food when I'm feeding them at home. So she knew where to sit was only because that's what I required at home. And then it was on American Gods that we talked to So once I saw like the like how much easier it was to get the behavior on set, I decided to do that at home as well. So it made it easier for other productions. But I would say that the only one that we've really, really, really needed is stay. Everything else is like icing on the cake. But a good stay is like the most important thing. Hasara Lay 18:24 Yeah, that's really interesting, because I always assumed they'd be this like huge amount of tricks that they would need to be able to do. So Daniel Lay 18:31 how would you teach a cat confidence? If it's possible? Kristin 18:35 It's really hard to do. I mean, we've I've seen it in the cat explorer community pages about teaching older cats to go exploring. And it would be I assume the same thing like with Sadie, I just did it when she is a kitten. So I don't really have experience in teaching an older cat to go out and be confident. I'm assuming like you would do a desensitizing so with that treats the same way you would do with any other cat you know, with the harness and then slowly taking them out. I find pet stores to be a really great area like in between area because it's fun for them and it's pretty safe. I have one store locally. That's huge so I can stay away from dogs if they're coming in but everyone's always on leash and Sadie and I will work on recalls through that store. I'll put her in a sit stay and walk across the store and collar to me and she she comes but I would use that kind of area to teach a cat but you know going out was fun and there's less stimulation, I would get a guess then like outside West like there's not traffic you don't have squirrels and birds and leaves and wind. So you have a lot when it gets more predictable. Hasara Lay 19:47 Yeah, that makes sense. I have to say I'm still amazed at how sad he doesn't get distracted while you're doing those tricks. Not just on, on set but also in pet stores as well like I find without too The only thing I can really get them to do is just fist bump whereas at home they're doing champs they're doing spins, they're doing all those different things but when we're out and about it's just the fist bumps are the high fives that we can do so how do you keep steady focused while you're trying to do those tricks while you're out and about or on set? Kristin 20:18 So I'm going I don't know if it's me It might just be because Eddie so intense, be she's always been really fixated on me. So she's also my business mascot. So I started my business like four or five years ago and I started doing like pet trade shows. And I would take Saturday the cat shows I would take her everywhere with me so she would learn how to sit on the table and like people would come over and be like, what a well behaved cat and then you know, it worked like it was a good conversation starter an opener for my business. So she learned pretty quickly like that. She was just going places and she would just not get that distracted. I don't know I guess because she has gone to such trouble. It places it doesn't hold the same fascination for her for tricks I really like we've been doing tricks now for two years. So we didn't start out in the pet store. I started out, we started out on set, but you know, it's different. Once we got home, I started like really working on those behaviors that I wanted to see. So I would do only like a foot away from her for a stay. And even like on American Gods her stays were pretty bad. From what they are now like she I just remember one day like she was supposed to sit on a coffee and they took this out of the show, and I'm assuming it was because she was so bad at it, but it was supposed to be the scene where she's sitting on a coffin. And we practiced with her I was with the trainer again. And we were you know, doing it the same way that we always have, you know, she doesn't sit, we give her a treat, take a step back a treat. And she did that really well through the practice. And as soon as the harness came off, and they called action, she got up and walked away. And I was like, why are you doing doing this. And she just like she wouldn't do it. And part of that is because it was still a new behavior. So she was testing the boundaries because she knew that it was like she knew what I wanted. But she also knew that we were in a place where there's a lot of distractions, and I wouldn't get that frustrated with her. So she just did what she wanted. And then we worked on it at home. So the more you practice at home, you go in, in stages, you work with them in like, tip one, I'm teaching new behaviors, it's always in my room, or my office, doors closed, there's no dogs, there's no other cats. And then as she learns the behavior, I'll take her into the main area of the house where we have like we have a parrot that will yell at her. And like calls at her she will give conflicting commands, so that he's always watching me then. And then step up from the house is the pet store and then a step up from the pet store. We've been Do we work outside? Like we'll do tricks in the yard and stuff. But it's always like a gradual incline. Daniel Lay 23:07 So you talked about a trick that worked well in training and then didn't work well, on the set. Do you have to manage expectations with what the director is looking for? And do you find that they're flexible and that you can sort of guide them towards something that is that he can do or is it pretty strict? Kristin 23:25 Yeah, again, it depends on the production. In my experience, the directors and television are pretty good about changing it according to what you need. We were on set last week for a big big TV show. It's huge. That he has a very, very little part in it. And they wanted her to do a sit stay on a step and I was going to be hidden behind like up the staircase. So they wanted her to do a sit stay looking towards one direction and have me call her up in a different direction. And she could have done it but by the time they got to it and they all had to do like a good thing. three hour travel time at night, everyone was tired, and everyone was really, really anxious about getting it finished. And it's always very nerve wracking to start shooting when everyone's really anxious about getting it finished. So we kind of just said, because I'm not I'm never alone when I would study I always have there's other handlers or like the owner of the company is there. So we kind of just said, you know, we can get the sit, stay, but the fastest way to do this is just to have her off camera, and then do the walk up on cue. So they were like, you know what, we care more about getting this done fast, like let's just do it off camera, and then she did it perfectly again, like it takes retakes, and then they were done. And they were thrilled with the finished product because a scene like that could take hours with a cat like it's, and they got it done in 20 minutes. So it was a big win for them and for her, whereas I find with like every commercial I've worked on, I think because commercials have such a small amount of time and they have a very specific idea of what they need. So the commercials are a little bit less willing to play around with what the cat can and cannot do. Because they think first of all, they have someone paying them, like they have the production, or the product, breathing down their necks about things too. And they have, you know, like a 15 to 32nd video that they're making. So with them, they're kind of like, No, we want her to do exactly this. And I do my best, but I do say, you know, sometimes, like, she's an animal. So even though I have worked for hours and hours and hours on a certain behavior, it doesn't mean she's going to do it, they have. And there are things like sometimes they change it on you really quickly. Like, they'll tell me they want one thing and then when I get there, they want something else. And then I say, you know like this is what we practice. So this is what we have. And, you know, this is what we can do. And we always get something if it's not exactly what they want, then You know, at least they still have something. There's always a workaround. Hasara Lay 26:03 How do you keep yourself calm in those situations, I imagine they get pretty stressful. I'm the shoot that we did with lumos and oxy. I did, I found myself getting a bit stressed because I felt really bad that we couldn't provide them with what they wanted. And then I had to pull myself back and be like, calm down, calm, calm down, because it's just going to stress the cats out as well. So how do you keep yourself calm? Um, Kristin 26:27 I'm not always calm like again, as I said, I'm very rarely on my own like I, I do some of the handling for animals that aren't steady. And with like snakes and insects, I'll go by myself. But with a cat or a dog, you really can't go with one person just because there's so many variables that can happen. So it is easier to keep calm when you have another handler with you, troubleshooting with you. And able to talk to the like, you know, there's to someone backing you up, you know, being your advocate and being her advocate As I am very conscious about keeping myself calm for her, because if I start getting frustrated or worried about how long it takes to get a shot, she immediately it's like, like she will immediately start acting up. So it's always like, oh, you're such a good cat. You're so clever. What a good girl. And she will respond to that. And then she starts like, yes, I'm wonderful. And she does. She'll do the action, as needed. Daniel Lay 27:30 But yeah, it's definitely it can be pretty nerve wracking. But it's better when you have, you know, someone there to advocate as well. And just like you said, you know, experience, we found that they've been pretty creative about how they get the shot, that they've been able to work around the shot or use what they've got with a bit of movie magic and sort of cutting scenes together to make it work, even though it wasn't quite exactly what was planned in the first place. So that as opposed to the other side of things in that you You just got to try your best to get them to do as well as best you can, as best as they can. But at the end of the day, and this is what, you know, we've reminded ourselves and others of is that they've got their own personalities. And you can, you know, you can, as much as you can try to train them on the day, you'll get a little bit of a gamble in terms of what will happen. And yeah, there'll be pretty good most days, but sometimes they'll just have the little temperament and just not that day. And I think that's fine. That's what it is. Kristin 28:27 Yeah. And you can still fake it. Like, you know, on one of the days on American Gods, she had to do with it stay and look in a specific direction. And we were having an issue with it because she would do the sit state or look in the direction. But she couldn't do both. Because to get her to look, I was going I was calling her name. So I'm going dead. He said, You were here over here. And she's like, I'm coming. And I'm like, Oh, no. So what I ended up doing was I sat on the floor like I had my body hidden under the table that she had to do her sit stay on. And then I had my hands Kind of creating a box. So it was absolutely not going to restrain her. But it was giving her the like impression of what I wanted. And then I had the other handler on the other side, swinging the clicker around, jump doing jumping jacks, you know, just trying to get her to look at her. And then they got the shot that way was just like a lot of like, calling her while I'm holding her so that she knows, like, I need to stay. But look in that direction. Daniel Lay 29:26 So we touched on commercials. And what I want, what I'm interested in is what is the process for filming a commercial from start to finish, especially with z? Can you just talk us through that, Kristin 29:36 um, I'm not there for the entire process. So I'm given a call time. So typically, they'll say like, again, it depends on the production, but sometimes they'll they'll tell me to be there at 1030 in the morning and then they don't use me till like four o'clock in the afternoon. And that's just how film is because sometimes you're you get pushed back and that's okay. But, you know, I will typically go there, I'll tell them I'm there and then they'll Put me somewhere somewhere. And I can either watch what's going on, which I can sometimes like with commercials you have to be careful. Mostly with like, sound depends on if they're if you're there. If they're like filming the sound in the scene as well. And then they call us in, we do the shot and then when everyone's done they'll they'll wrap us so really like I'm not concerned about everyone else's jobs as as that is that is to say, I'm more concerned about making sure that he's in a safe place. I always like I have a den that I bring her I call it it's like it's like an octagon kind of like hide I don't know, I think it's used for like puppies for well being puppies or something. I don't know. But I have that that I set up for her and she stays in there all day while we wait, if needed. And then yeah, she does her shots. And the amount of time where there will depend on you know, the project and how often she's used. So on American Gods, I think the shortest I was ever there was Probably 10 hours. And she was used quite a bit because she was in the entire season or I think Not really. She was in like four episodes of that season. So we were there quite a bit for for Ben but the commercials it's quite a bit shorter like three or four hours tomorrow. Hasara Lay 31:17 I like the idea that you have something to set up for her to be in because our mistake was we live in a two bedroom apartment but the shoot was happening in a three storey I feel like it was a five bedroom house and the Katie's had removed the whole place so they were just like this isn't great. Oh Unknown Speaker 31:35 yeah. Kristin 31:38 I think that's something production has to remember too. Is that like if a cat's not used to it they're absolutely gonna want to go exploring right? Hasara Lay 31:45 Yeah, exactly. We're really lucky with that shirt. They actually tailored it to our cats like he was a bad cat so it kind of them exploring was okay but it just trying to get them to do some stuff was a bit hard. I do want to jump back to something that You mentioned a few times and that you have a second hand love with you. How do you find that person? Is that someone that said he knows or that you already know, is that someone that the agency gets for you or? Kristin 32:12 Yeah, yeah. So usually it's either Jordan, who owns the business, or it's the dog trainer, Dana, who will come with me. There's been like, I brought my sister once when another handler couldn't make it, because that he knows her. And I've worked with on one of the commercials I had another, like they had like, they gave it a body double. He didn't really look like her, but they needed to have an extra cat to do the parts that she couldn't do. And so his mom came as well. And so we were kind of like, playing off each other or helping each other out. So it's always gonna be somebody like with cat you have to, but typically, it's either the owner of the business, or the dog trainer that comes with me and said he likes them both and she's really good with them. Daniel Lay 32:58 So on the topic of of preparing and things that you bring in take to a shoot. So we know about the octagon sized crate we know about the extra hand law. What else would you take? Would you take kitty litter? Would you take treats the clicker? Kristin 33:13 Yeah. So I really adapted like what I do with her exploring to set work so I am I always keep a litter box in my car for exploring. And that way she doesn't go outside. I see all these cats on Instagram going to the bathroom outside and I'm like, please do this. But no, she always like it's always in the car in the litter box. So I have a travel sized litter box and I put that in her little den treats are must I can't always keep a clicker. I keep a target stick. I do use the one from cat school. We, I always have like several different types of treats in case suddenly she decides that this one's yucky. I would typically bring like some paper towel or bring a phone charger. And, you know, mostly like it's training things. Toys I also bring toys just in case I need it like it's a good thing to get her attention with a wiggle a mouse or something and she can look at that. And yeah, it's mostly adapted from what we use for exploring. Recently I brought one of her little stools on set because it was so cold out last week and she had to do her her shoot outside which is a new one Well, it's not outside but it's not heated. So that was really nerve racking for me because there was access to the outdoors, which is why we've been working on recall so much lately. And I brought a little stool so that she if she got cold she didn't have to sit on the cold concrete floor. But you know, usually if there's something that you need, they'll tell you but I overpack. I'll bring a blanket to like just in case like I always overpack. Daniel Lay 34:53 Well, it's a pretty similar list to what we would bring and the two things I'd add to that. We bring Ziploc bags because we end up We tend to open a lot of trades and then half finish them. So dump them in a Ziploc bag so that they can carry to the next location, especially if the shoots go multiple locations to it, as well as tissues because I find that the feeding the kidneys tissue, the trades and then you get them all in your hand. And so whether you're looking for a tissue to try and clean it up so that the two things that we would normally add to that list, but it's a pretty similar list. Hasara Lay 35:21 Um, you forgot what wipes as well. Um, I think that's special to us though is lumos. He eats the treats and then he gets it all over his face. Unknown Speaker 35:31 Just like sitting there trying to wipe the treats. Kristin 35:34 Ah, yeah, we always use like freeze dried treats. So right now we're purebreds just came out with a line that's like it's a freeze dried meal. And I love it because it's really easy to break apart and I don't have to worry about it affecting her nutrient levels from her meal times. So I'll alter like I can just knock down what she's eating at a meal time and give her these freeze dried treats on set. And she loves it and it's no mass and it's no smell and at all like the it's a resealable bag, so I don't have to worry about anything going bad and it's just and I bring a treat pouch of course like to put the treats in. Daniel Lay 36:09 So Zed has been pretty amazing with all these commercial and TV work. But to top it all off, she rides a skateboard. How did you train her to do that? Kristin 36:16 That was actually really funny. It started as a challenge. I started doing trick training and someone on my Facebook saw me doing that. And as a joke, she sent me a video of a bangle riding a skateboard and was like, but can your cat do that? And I was like, Oh, yeah, she probably can. So I went and I bought her like this little tiny. It's like a child skateboard. And I started it just teaching her because she knows how to do like place. So I taught her as a place and I just studied it and she went and sat on the skateboard. And then as she got comfortable with like, climbing up and sitting on it, I started moving the skateboard and rewarding her for that. Sorry, I don't know if you can hear my other cats there. Yeah. It's getting close to dinnertime, apparently. Daniel Lay 37:04 I need to get a podcast. Unknown Speaker 37:05 Yeah. Kristin 37:07 And then as she was started, like learning about the movement as she was going on to the skateboard, I would stop stabilizing it for her. And as she moved the skateboard naturally, I would reward her. And then I taught her I think it was she was sitting and I just started pushing one foot off. That's how I got her to do three paws on with one foot off, and get her to do the kickoff. So she'd sit on it, and I'd kind of just scoot that foot off. And as soon as the skateboard moved, I'd reward her. So she learned that the movement with her paw would get her treats and then built up distance that way, Hasara Lay 37:40 he's actually inspired me because I think a friend of us has a skateboard they don't use anymore, so I might borrow it and save it. I can go ahead and do it. Yeah, that would be really cool. That would make it so much easier when we're going for walks if we can just like being really slow. Be like go on your skateboard. Kristin 38:00 She hasn't gotten that far yet. We've tried doing it outside, but all the grooves in the sidewalk she gets stuck on. So I gotta grease her wheels up and see if that'll help. But then, like, I know, she's just gonna end up flying. So Unknown Speaker 38:13 that's funny. Hasara Lay 38:14 So we're coming up towards the end of a podcast and we've got full questions that we asked all our guests. What is one piece of advice you'd give to new cat explorers? Kristin 38:23 Um, I think my, I would say like, just do it. Get the harness and take your cat out. I'm a huge believer in using treats because you know, the positive experience thing. But a competent cat really, it makes a huge difference in behavior at home too. So I believe obviously safety is best but getting the cat out there and going to words more like their comfort zone. Slowly expanding their comfort zone. I guess I shouldn't say and just Continue with it in your cat's time not pushing too far, or having too big of an expectation of what they can and cannot do. Daniel Lay 39:08 What's been the most entertaining comment someone said to you when you've been out and about with zeti Kristin 39:15 someone asked me if she was a cheetah cub. Or How old's my Cheetah cub? Cuz she spotted like, Oh no, not a cheetah. Daniel Lay 39:27 Oh, dear. Sir. Which cat explorers inspire you? Kristin 39:32 Um, I really like anyone who does cat tricks. I really love watching cat tricks. So I follow cat school. Of course. There's specific ski cats who do like I think they did like America's Got Talent. There's cat boss TV, who also does film stuff with their cats and teach all kinds of tricks. And then there's, you know, the cat explorers in our area. So like the Gibson Chronicles, and theoretically Teddy. They're all really fun. To watch as well. Daniel Lay 40:00 So what product service or program has been a game changer positi Kristin 40:06 the biggest game changer for SETI is clicker training. Absolutely. She was so ridiculously high energy before we started doing clicker training. And it made her a lot more manageable. I would say like doing 15 minutes of clicker training equates two hours of walking for her. So which is was a huge thing for me, like getting that energy out. And the other thing would be, of course, the harness because we go out and I mean, I have so much cat products. I could go on about cat products for days, but the biggest thing is the clicker training, I would say Hasara Lay 40:40 yeah, we feel you there as well. That's really helped us a lot as well. And now every day at 6pm our cats go and sit in their places and wait expectedly for Alcatraz It breaks my heart when we can't do it, but they just sit there with it. The guys are like already Oh Lo que se Kristin, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been so much fun learning about SETI, where can we find you? NZD online. Kristin 41:09 So studies on Instagram at and study cat. And if you're interested in natural health products, I'm at healthy heart seven on Instagram. And that is on Facebook ads Edie cat as well and tick tock let's get awesome. Daniel Lay 41:23 So what we'll do is we'll put those links in any other links from today's episodes in the show notes, which will be available at cat explorer.co forward slash podcast. Thank you so much for listening today. Did you know that leaving a review for the cat explorer podcast helps to continue this podcast review helps us find sponsors and to help fund this podcast. So it means the world to us if you could leave a review wherever you listen, and we'll read it out on a future episode. Hasara Lay 41:47 This is our last episode for season five of the cat explorer podcast. We'll be back with season six in May 2020. And we may even drop by with a little cheeky episode in between now and then. Daniel Lay 41:58 Thank you so much for being Upon the cat explorer community, that's it for today. We'll catch you next time. In the meantime, enjoy give me a kitty the world