| Animals have always been a big part of magic�s history. The Lady into Tiger illusion is a classic, and big cats have been synonymous with stage magic for decades. But what about little ones, such as the household cat? Well, I've been a performing magician for many years and I've never really had the desire to work with rabbits, doves and elephants, but I was fortunate enough to work with one very special little cat, and if you care to hear about it, I would like to recall a tale about card spinning and cats that I hope you will find amusing. I love magic, particularly playing card manipulation, and have been into card spinning, scaling, and throwing for over fifteen years. I bought Ricky Jay�s CARDS AS WEAPONS in the late 80�s and was hooked and have had a deck in my pocket ever since. My friends and I threw cards everywhere we went. We would have contests and leave hundreds of cards littered on the floors wherever we went. As teenage primates, we used to put goggles on and have shirtless, bloody battles on rainy weekends to see who had the deadliest throw. My non-magician friend Glenn is the best card thrower I have even known. He could shave your ear of at one hundred feet with one eye shut and I have the scars to prove it. One time we were once throwing cards with Jim Karol (the one time Guinness World record card thrower) at Clark University in Worcester, MA, and even HE couldn�t throw cards as far or as accurate as my friend. I came close. Anyhow, on with the story� For a while when I used to practice throwing and spinning cards, my cat, Puschkin, would leap for the cards. It became a kind game we played, and after a while he actually began to catch them with his front paws in mid air. He made a perfect catch probably once every five times. I then thought what an amazing card trick it would be to have a spectator�s chosen card fly out of the deck and be caught in mid air by my cat! I got to work right away; training the cat the best I could by associating a successful catch with a yummy kitty cat treat, and by getting him all excited by verbal prompts and noises. I experimented with different spinning methods, hoping that something like Daryl's hot shot cut might be more dramatic, but the cat didn�t like it and I just couldn't give the card the right angle. I decided I would have to settle for Audley Walsh�s long distance spinner. It worked best if the cat was about eight to ten feet away. The shot needed to be pretty precise; four feet off the ground. It needed to be shot directly over his head, high enough for him to get a good jump in. If the shot was off, he wouldn�t even bother going for it, and the card would just flutter to the floor and Puschkin would yawn. But we practiced for several weeks and after a while had it down pretty well. He was getting it first try almost every time. He would spring and leap and grab the card like a dog does a frisbee and it was a beautiful sight. I waited until a barbeque party at my house on the Fourth of July, and while in my living room, gathered everyone around to see an astounding magic trick. As a dozen or so people looked on (including my boss at the time as well as my girlfriend�s parents), I had a card selected and returned to the deck. I gave the deck a quick shuffle then made the following announcement: �Ladies and Gentlemen, I am about to perform the most amazing card trick that you will ever witness in your lives. You will be telling your grandchildren about this one, I shit you not. First, I need my magical counterpart to assist me�Please let me introduce to you, The Amazing Felini!� I hushed everyone in the room and I made the high-pitched whistling sound that awakes my cat from slumber in search of a yummy kitty treat. Little did the audience know that I had not fed the cat all day up until this point and he was starving. I had also previously attached a sparkly red cape with a large �F� on it, to his collar. So out from the basement comes running to the center of the room my cat, red cape flowing and all. People were dying with laughter. It got so noisy that the poor cat almost freaked out and booked, but he was too darn hungry. I quieted everyone down, and with deck in one hand and cat treat palmed in the other, my cat took his position in the center of the room waiting patiently to catch a flying card and get a yummy treat. �I will attempt, not only to find your card with an amazing one handed cut, but your card will fly out of the deck, sail across the room, and be caught in mid air, by my counterpart, the Amazing Felini!� More laughter, but this one was tense with disbelief and what could be considered pity. �Silence, please! Now, for the first time, please NAME YOUR CARD!� The somewhat concerned spectator said, �um...the four of clubs.� A hush fell over the room. The cat salivated. I stood in dramatic pose for a brief moment�and then�.a quick, fancy one hand pivot cut and... ZZZZZZZZZZZING! Out goes one card, the four of clubs, spinning out from the deck flying across the room! The audience stares in disbelief! I am moments away from stardom! This is truly the most amazing card trick I have ever done in my life!!!! I wish I could tell you that the Amazing Felini made a dazzling leap and snatched that baby right out of thin air and made me a star that day. I wish I could tell you how beautiful it was and conclude this tale with the victory of my successful magical foolishness, but as we all know in magic, all that glitters is not gold. The sad reality is that although my shot was perfect and I had the right card, the cat did absolutely nothing other than watch it sail over his head and the card bounced off the back well and fell behind the entertainment center without anyone even seeing what it was. Through it all, the Amazing Felini just sat there and looked at me as if to say, �Feed me, you idiot.� Bummer. But I didn�t give up. I continued to perform it over the years whenever there was a gathering or party at my house. It did eventually work. It worked maybe one time out of every five or six times I tried it. That means for every couple times it didn�t work, there was a one where a few people witnessed a miracle of ridiculous proportion. We were successful in our presentation about a total of maybe half a dozen times. Yes, there are people out there who have seen my cat snatch their selected card right out of the air, and still talk about it to this day, but it was never so primed like that first night we attempted it, and I never had such a prestigious audience. One of my big regrets in my magical past is that it didn�t work that first night when everything was just right. But at least we tried and had a lot of fun together. Puschkin was killed several years ago by a speeding car right in front of our home. My wife found him. I miss that crazy cat, he was a cool pet and a good friend. Our new cat has no interest in flying cards. Can I blame him? Animals, like people, are unique; each possessing itheir own personality and special gifts. You just have to play whatever cards are dealt you in life and take advantage of the oppurtunities that you are given. I was dealt a good hand with Puschkin. So if you EVER hear of a tale of an amazing card trick where a guy sends a card spinning out of the middle of his deck and it was caught in mid air by his cat, rest assured that it actaully did happen. It�s no urban legend, it�s not fiction. That was US. |
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