Obedient Cats Take Over New York City This Weekend

October 14, 2010 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Her job is to trick a trickster, to turn regal into respect and lazy into loyalty. The feline agility coordinator for The Cat Fanciers’ Association, literally gets cats to run through tunnels and jump through hoops.

Armed with a long stick with a feather and bell at the end, Jill Archibald has no problem herding cats. The New Jersey physical education teacher exercises an almost hypnotic effect on her Japanese Bobcats as they scurry through an obstacle course.

“You can’t command a cat to do this, they’ll just walk away,” said Archibald, with her cats running around in their nearby obstacle course. “You have to find something to entice them. Once they realize that they are chasing a toy, they’ll follow you.”

A part of the “Meet the Breeds” show this weekend in conjunction with the American Kennel Club and CFA at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, Archibald will have a booth set up for attendees to watch her and her feline friends.

To be fair however, Archibald, who has been breeding cats since 1973, isn’t exactly getting her cats to act like dogs. Cats obviously aren’t too keen on being ordered around and knowing that, Archibald “plays” to their strengths. Following her toy around the course and doing whatever they can to get to it, Archibald’s work is more of a work of trust.

“The first thing they have to feel is safe,” she said. “It’s basically directed play for them. Once they know that the agility things are out and they’re comfortable, they take to it quickly.”

The show is expecting a crowd of more than 35,000, said AKC Vice President Gina DiNardo. The show will feature more than 1,000 animals, including over 200 breeds of dog and all 41 known breeds of cats.

“There will also be several demonstrations going on all day so people can learn some things to do with their dogs and cats,” said DiNardo. “The NYPD will also have some police dogs coming. It’s a great opportunity for families to come down if they are looking to add a specific breed of cat or dog to their home.”

While Archibald’s booth won’t be as lavish as the medieval castle that houses three 200-pound Mastiff, she feels her cats have just as big a personality.

“My cats are very athletic and focused,” Archibald said. “They have a set of skills.”

For those who prefer to keep their cats on the corner of the couch, have no fear. The only difference between Archibald’s super cats and the ones at home is that her felines get to play every day.

“They do this because they want to,” she said. “They want to play with their toy and they want to interact with their owner.”

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14318 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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