Sarah and I were given the responsibility of training Bluebell, one of our non-performing cats, to go into the show next year. I was excited! This was the first animal that I was going to get to train myself from the very beginning.

One of the comments we hear all the time is, "I didn't know that you could train cats!" Well, take it from me, you can! It just takes patience, persistence... and little pieces of chicken!

The behavior we were training Bluebell to do is what we call an "A-to-B": Bluebell would start at Point A and run across the stage to Point B. Of course, we couldn't get her to do this on the first attempt, so we broke the behavior down into small pieces.

First, we started by training Bluebell to go from cat crate to cat crate. In each crate, we'd place part of her diet so going into the crate would be a positive experience for her. We also used a clicker so we could later "call" her with the clicker and she would associate the sound with finding a treat in her crate.

Gradually, we moved the crates further and further apart until Bluebell was running the whole length of the stage to get from one crate to the other. Bluebell was doing so great, improving each day. We were very proud of her. After about two weeks, Bluebell was performing her whole behavior: entering through a curtain onto the stage, down a set of stairs, across the stage, through another curtain, and jumping up into her crate.

Once Bluebell was running her whole behavior, the next step was to get her to run the behavior alongside Dudad, who would be her "costar" in the show. Bluebell and Dudad would run side-by-side across the stage.

Running alongside Dudad didn't distract Bluebell at all. As a matter of fact, it seemed to improve her performance. She was faster and more focused, as if she were racing Dudad to get to their destination.

Bluebell won't actually get to perform in front of an audience until next March when Busch Gardens reopens for its 2006 season, but she will continue to train and reinforce her behavior, as well as get acclimated to performing with music, sound effects and, ultimately, an audience.

I was very proud of Bluebell. She was a pleasure to train and a delightful "student." I was also very proud of Sarah and myself. We trained Bluebell professionally and patiently, and we felt like proud parents each time Bluebell advanced and improved. Now, each time I see Bluebell perform the behavior that we trained her to do, my heart swells with pride.

You can watch Bluebell perform her role in the show by clicking one of the links below: