Samantha's Amazing Acro-Cats (2016) - full transcript
[environmental sounds]
[alarm clock rings]
[cat purrs]
[cat meows]
[thud]
[cat meows]
What's wrong, Oz?
Oz?
[cat meows]
Oz?
Oz?
Oz?
[cat gently purrs]
[van door closes]
[Samantha]
I'm used to
doing everything myself.
Every day I wake up,
my back hurts.
What day does it all fall apart?
I don't know.
I think my worst fear
is getting old.
[plucky intro music]
[Samantha]
I knew I wanted to
be an animal trainer since
I was seven years old.
Any time you train an animal,
you achieve that moment
where they understand,
they get the trick.
-It's called
the light bulb moment.
-[bell dings]
Where you see the little
light bulb go off in their eyes.
When the raccoon
finally understands
that you're supposed
to take the basketball
and put it through the hoop.
That's an amazing moment.
You feel like this, like a
little bit of an electric wave
between you and the animal,
so there's a sort of telepathy.
The first animal I trained
was a dog and then a ferret
and then a rat.
I'm Samantha and this is Julie.
We're from Samantha's
Amazing Animals,
also known as
Rat Company and Friends.
I became known as
the "Rat Lady of Chicago".
Whoo!
-Samantha!
-Hey, Pauly!
[Pauly] What are you doing?
Oh God! Oh God!
-[Samantha] Oh, my rat!
-Ah!
Do you have real rats, though?
We got a whole room
full of rats waiting for you.
Come on up.
Come on, he's really friendly.
I don't like rats, man.
I'm not into that whole thing.
I mean they're nice and stuff,
I think they're cool,
but you're The Rat Woman,
I'm The Weaz.
Weaz and rats aren't
a good combination.
It got me a lot of talk shows,
but it didn't go anywhere.
[Samantha]
About five years ago,
I decided that I really wasn't
happy doing what I was doing.
I had an exotic zoo, and I was
doing educational programs
for schools and libraries.
So I thought: "Well,
you know, let's go with cats."
[ding, ding]
Okay, Tuna.
Kitty, kitty! Come on.
Over here.
Over here.
Good job!
Roll. Roll.
[Samantha]
I guess I just got bored
with dogs over the years
and find it more rewarding
to work with an animal
that gives you a hard time.
Actually, it's a lot of work.
It gets harder each year,
more expensive each year,
but uhm, I want to do this
for the rest of my life.
And I plan on working
until the day I die.
There's no retirement
in the animal world.
[Samantha]
I'm one of those fortunate
people that actually
got to, you know be,
do what I wanted
to be when I grew up
although I'm not really
totally grown up yet.
Yeah, I don't think you can.
If I grow up totally,
then there's no way I can
live this kind of lifestyle.
It's not, well a grown up
does not
sleep on the side of the road
in a bus full of cats.
[truck rattling through snow]
[sustained keyboard sounds]
[human pretends to be animal]
Ladies and gentlemen,
the show will begin momentarily.
-[audience laugh]
-Please remember
photography is allowed.
-[clapping]
-And laser pens are not.
Thank you.
Enjoy the show.
[audience claps]
[Samantha] Welcome to the show!
[theatrical music]
Eddy, here we go. Oskey!
Puffy and Sookie!
Wicky!
[Brazilian percussion]
[Samantha] Pinky on guitar!
Pinky!
[ding, ding, ding, ding]
My name is Samantha!
This is Lynsi.
I know a couple of you
are probably wondering:
"Do all those cats
live with her?"
Yes, yes all the cats
do live with me.
This is actually set up
in my living room.
And the band over there
is set up in my kitchen.
That is my kitchen table,
in fact.
I eat standing up or in my car
because not everything tastes
better with cat fur in it.
[Samantha] Living the dream.
[Lynsi]
I've been working
with Samantha for two years.
It's like Night
of the Living Dead.
Zombies! Back!
I think I had
like a career crisis
when I was like
getting close to 30?
But now like, everything
sort of come together.
He, he, okay.
What is it about Samantha,
though, that attracts people?
It's because she lives this life
that people think about
and, you know,
they're too afraid to do it.
If we could just stay
on the road, that's what
both of us like to do.
[gentle guitar music plucks]
[Samantha] All right,
now, the question is
which credit card is going
to work to fill up this beast?
That's a great question.
Pick a card, any card.
Let's try, this is
the one we want to use.
And this is probably
the one we'll have to use.
My costs are insane.
I have to make $3,000
a week to break even.
It's like I can see
the island of gold,
but the ice is cracking
beneath my feet [chuckles].
So I'm like: "Oh, am I
going to make it there
before the ice cracks
and I fall through?
Am I going to make it
to the island of gold?
[cabaret music]
I've done a lot
of production work,
and I need to focus
on the produ...
on like the production
end of things.
So, you know, I've got
all these videos and pictures,
and I've been trying, you know
I've been trying to get them to
post it so they can...
I mean basically, I need my
website totally revamped
so that it's promoting
more production work.
I mean, like we're--
we like live in a bubble.
we don't know what's going on.
[Samantha] Hi, Caesar, it's mom.
I told you I'd be home.
Short trip this time. Hi!
Doesn't really even feel
like I have a home,
it feels more like
I have a work,
and I just sleep on the couch
of my work every day.
Dakota! Pinky!
You're gonna miss band practice.
Can you do this standing up?
-[drum beats]
-[Samantha] Good job.
I have three different cats
that play the keyboard.
Pinky's the only guitar player
that plays this guitar,
and she's always here
for band practice.
The one day that she wasn't,
it turned out she was sick.
I had to rush her to the vet
she had a fever of like a 104.
Ah Caesar, no. Caesar,
I know what you're doing.
Don't call me an asshole
in front of the TV people.
Did you hear that? He said A...
He goes: "Ass, Ass."
You have to listen for it,
but he mutters under his breath.
[Samantha] I came from
Pleasantville.
My parents had
the perfect marriage,
like what you see on television.
They lived for the kids.
That's where
I lost my virginity,
in the backyard
right uh, by the cornfield.
So this is Lincoln
Elementary School.
That's where
the hell first started.
You know, I was bullied.
I mean I was not--
I did not get along at all here.
And I was really kind of
an ugly duckling too,
so I was like
not accepted at all.
And guys would
ask me out as a joke.
Once I hit high school,
I was very boy-crazy.
I mean I, you know, if a guy
found out I had a crush on them,
they're like, "Ew!"
I was a cootie.
So it was not uh--
it was not a good time
for me at all.
[gentle melancholic music]
Dad?
Hey, dad.
[Warner] Samantha was born
in New Castle, Indiana.
Then we moved to Dallas,
Michigan,
where she did her grade school
up to the fifth grade.
And she was
extremely happy there.
When she got to Princeton,
it was very bad for her.
She was shy,
wasn't accepted too well.
She just didn't
have any friends.
She always had cats around.
As her life developed,
she found some
relationship with animals
that helped fill the void
of some of these girls
she would have liked
to be friends with.
She told me just the other day
that she, she cried herself
to sleep every night.
If it wasn't for her animals,
which she was always
involved in,
I don't know what we'd have.
We need that right person
to see our show
and to see that, you know,
the potential for money making.
We need sold out shows.
National publicity.
We need a proper agent.
Hi uh, are you
a cat lover at all?
Uhm, yeah.
Because we have a show tomorrow.
I don't know
if any of you who live
around here are cat lovers,
we have a show tomorrow
featuring trained amazing cats.
[store owner] Oh my!
Here, come on. Have a seat.
[Lynsi]
We are definitely learning
that we work for each other.
-Yeah, I know.
-Seems obvious, but--
But a lot of times
it hasn't been my fault.
Yeah.
We've had venues that have said:
"Okay, we're going to let you
book our theatre."
And then when we try to get
back to them to narrow down
the time and the day,
they don't call us back.
And then we finally trick them
into picking the phone up
by calling under
a different number.
And they pick up,
and then we find out
that they changed their minds
and decided our show
wasn't a fit for their venue.
Or they think it's a kids' show.
And it's really not.
I mean, kids can enjoy it,
but the humor is adult-oriented.
It's been happening
quite a bit lately. It's, its--
It kind of feels like dating.
Hey, Aaron.
Here, take some postcards.
Hand them to strangers.
I'll buy you liquor and food.
Hopefully this isn't going to be
a rags to shopping carts story,
[laughs] Hopefully it goes
the other way, rags to riches.
[typing]
[Samantha] I'm really anxious.
And I really
didn't do much makeup.
-I mean-- I can tell.
-You can tell?
I think you should put a
little sparkle eye stuff on.
What am I missing? My ears!
Should I do another shot,
do you think?
Yeah?
Tuna, the light!
[crowd laughs]
-It's the light right there.
-[crowd cheers]
[circus music]
-Tuna! Tuna!
-She's making a break for it.
Is she making a break for it?
Yeah. This way. Tuna!
[Samantha whistles] Tuna.
Really?
[audience laughs]
The show was terrible, really.
Buffy was a wreck.
What was the matter, Buffy?
What happened?
She didn't, she act like she's
never seen the stage before.
Pudge, who is usually
pretty bomb-proof...
I, Pudge what happened?
What happened?
[shakes cat food] Who else?
Who else disappointed me?
I'm gonna blame
Samantha's anxiety for it.
They do pick up on it.
[Samantha] Uh, well we know
one of the cats had
a little digestive issue.
And crapped in the carrier.
And it's pretty icky.
So I'm rinsing it out.
Good fertilizer, uhm--
It's not, it's one of
the less glamorous aspects
of this cat circus.
I'm like out here,
some days there aren't
any glamorous aspects
[laughing] to the cat circus.
[Lynsi] One of the neat things
about Samantha and one of
the frustrating things is
that she doesn't always think
things all the way through.
If she had sat down
and planned out this cat circus
from start to finish,
it would have probably
been so overwhelming
it would have never happened.
So it's almost like she had
to just throw herself into it
and see what happens,
and then it is really
difficult, but it's like:
"Well, I've already gone
this far. I'm just
gonna keep on going."
And she does.
I mean, she, she wants to do
what she wants to do
to be happy.
I mean, she really is like
putting it all out there
for this cat circus, you know.
It's like do or die. [chuckles]
[Samantha] They're always
gonna screw me over.
I just don't know which one,
which one is gonna fail me,
which one is gonna make me look
like an idiot. It's exhausting.
I had to put a lot of energy--
That's why I don't want to
talk to anybody after the show.
Keeping that energy up
and trying to keep the show
funny and flowing
while keeping the animals on cue
and have, you know, just that
whole thing mixed together.
It's what I was doing
in my living room
and now it's out of my living
room, in front of a crowd,
and I'm shy, terribly shy.
The killer of a cat show
is when you're like
a nervous wreck because then
the cats are like:
"Why are you nervous?
Now we're nervous. Now we're
gonna really fuck you over."
[Lynsi] Samantha gets a little
nervous. It's her show,
so the pressure is really
on her you know,
and I just try to help.
[laughs]
-So I'll take...
-Okay, okay.
The chicken will go across,
then I'll take that off
leave the chicken there
put Dallas on the cart,
whistle him back,
and then you'll have
all the time to deal with that.
Okay, all right.
Okay, I'll try to remember that.
-Like here?
-[Aaron] Take a look
at something real quick, okay?
Okay.
[Samantha]
As I get older,
time just slips by.
So many times I thought
my ship was gonna come in.
My sleeping schedule
and my work habits,
and you know,
it's really surprising
that I'm not dead or in jail.
But now that I am alive.
God, I hope I can check out
by like 62 or something.
That would be--
seem like good, 62.
What am I gonna do? Wheel out
on stage? "Welcome to the show!"
I can buy myself
another ten years on stage
with uh, plastic surgery
and exercise.
You know as long
as I stay in good health
and keep myself in shape,
both mentally and physically,
then there's no reason why I
can't just continue to perform.
You know, I've been
chasing a dream
and never really--
Uh, there's so many things
I don't know.
I just have to work harder.
Things are looking good.
I know, I really
you know, part of me thinks:
"Am I just gonna be a one-hit
wonder?" Am I gonna be,
you know, another uh,
ah ha, you know
just that once, you know.
I'm just gonna end up, you know,
oh, you know, I'll be like:
"All a bunch of assholes."
You know?
[Samantha] I don't want to
end up like that.
It's just struggling
and frustrating because
I get setbacks, and--
So yeah, that's my,
that's my drama.
[Letterman theme tune]
Towels, gloves, shoes,
children's toys.
-One night, how many?
-Eleven. Eleven different
things.
Do you remember the first item?
To me, it was a piece of glove
that was on our bed.
-A little Latex glove, I thought
Jim left it on the bed.
-Right.
-[audience laughs]
-It wasn't me.
[laughs] Very little.
[Samantha] The cat had stole
some neighbor's bra went viral,
not the cat band with amazing
cats playing instruments.
And here we're back down
trying to find venues.
So I might not have a job
for like two months.
So, what about you?
-Oh yes the
perfect woman, right?
-Yeah, the perfect woman.
-She works for Ringling.
-Yeah.
[circus music]
They make her look good.
[Samantha] I feel like they
don't have the same kind of
attitude about animals.
They aren't pets.
The problem with my cats
is that they're pets.
Tex!
Tex! Focus, focus!
[Samantha]
Why have an animal if it's
just going to be a possession?
Well you know, if there's
really any joy in that?
Feels like there should be
some sort of relationship there.
If you're going
to have a relationship,
you have to spend quality time.
It's an activity
that both animal
and human can do together.
[Samantha] I've got
a lot of cats.
I'm not gonna tell you how many.
But I will say that I am single.
[audience laughs and claps]
And I will probably
stay that way.
[crowd applauds]
If you're gonna do cats,
you really have to
immerse yourself
and just deal with
the "crazy cat lady" stigma.
It's like: "ooh, how many cats
do you have?"
I mean, it's like
I'm a leper or something.
It's like: "Seriously, people,
it's my job. It's what I do."
Yes, I love what I do. I like
guys that have cat allergies
because then they can never
set foot in here
and then they never know,
they never see it.
Because that's like could be
the breaking point you know,
They see it, they're like
you know their eyes get--
It's killed the social life.
When I was a rat lady,
I got so much game.
All those cute little punk
rock boys, you know.
So it's now the cat--
And I keep trying: "No, it's not
cat lady, it's cat woman."
A little bit more,
you know, appeal.
[circus music]
[crowd applauds]
[whispering] Look at her,
look at the flirty stance.
[laughs]
We have to lower this.
-Top one first?
-Uh, all right, top one first.
[clattering]
I just have to, uh--
I'm gonna give that
pizza crust to the rats.
Or let her--
No, the chickens go--
Everything's gonna
go back there.
[clatter and cats meowing]
[Samantha] Pinky!
Can you make it down?
Hmm?
This is usually like
a deal breaker with guys.
When they see them all like
massed together like this,
it's like, "Ooh.
How many cats do you have?"
Wow, and then they count,
One, two--
I'm just kinda going with it
because he's all happy and giddy
so I'm like: "Okay. Well,
I'm kinda happy and giddy too."
I'm a romantic girl. I really--
People don't think I am,
but I really am
a super romantic girl.
And I love that
teenage love feeling.
I really, really
like Stewart a lot.
[calm guitar music]
Oh, and Aaron
texted me last night.
-What was with the late texting?
-I know because he was like,
sleeping question mark,
and I was sleeping, so I was
just gonna leave it alone,
but something made me feel like
he just needed
to talk or something.
He's like: "Aw,
I was just missing you."
He's trying to find
a flight, like out on Saturday
and leave the next day
to surprise me.
It wasn't working out.
-Aw.
-I know. He's so sweet.
-Hm.
-He is.
-They're gonna find him dead.
-What?
They're gonna find him dead
because he misses you so much,
he's just, he's gonna
just die, you know.
And it'll be like, yeah,
cause of death missing Lynsi.
I view the guy as my reward.
You know, I work hard
all week or whatever
and then I get to spend time
with, you know, somebody that's
my... the guy of my life.
If he's here every day,
it no longer becomes a reward,
it becomes a responsibility.
You know, I don't think married
means being miserable.
-You do. [scoffs]
-Yes, I do.
[laughs] Oh my God.
This relationship
is making me happy
and then if it goes
the other way where I'm less--
Where I'm more miserable
than happy, then I am dead.
That's just, you know--
You know, some people like
to work through these things
and talk about stuff.
Hm. That's interesting.
Good for them.
-[both laugh]
-Good for them.
[jolly piano music]
And now in just a moment we're
going to have the cat band play.
They're the only cat band
in the world. The Rock Cats.
Pinky on guitar.
Nuy on keyboards.
And Fiji on drums.
[drum beats]
I was planning
on bringing Stewart home
for Thanksgiving and Christmas
and stuff, you know.
And, uh, I decided to break up
with him instead.
Figured if I could--
because I think my dad
would have liked him a lot.
So I thought, Oh, you know
I'll bring home a nice guy,
for a change.
I was just bored.
I was bored.
We had nothing in common.
Yeah, I had to pull the plug.
I'm going to cook
my mother's famous stuffing.
[Warner] Her mother's in
a nursing home.
She got to see
her first show down here,
but she sat in
the Alzheimer's section, so...
She doesn't know her,
doesn't know Sam,
doesn't know me.
It's a hard thing.
So, essentially
her, her brother dead,
her mother out of it,
Sam is all I got.
Other than this damn cat.
[Samantha] I asked the doctor
yesterday about my mom.
And the doctor said that:
"Well, I'd be surprised if
she lived past the summer."
And then he's like,
"I wouldn't be surprised
if your dad went before you
mom." And I was like oh--
[ahem]
So that was kind of like--
I wasn't really
expecting to hear that.
So he could go at any time,
and I would be like loaded with
guilt because I don't
come home often enough.
I mean, and a lot of it
is my schedule
and there's a lot
of stuff to do.
I mean, I'm finding
the time to jet off to,
you know,
Key West for four days.
But I'm not finding the time
to come here like once a month.
So, I mean, I feel
kind of guilty about that but,
I just don't want to.
It's depressing.
It's like, it's , it's uhm--
That's where I feel like
I'm a horrible, selfish person.
Pinky loves me the best.
And I love her the best.
And, you know, we have this--
She slept on my pillow
every night,
and, you know,
she growls if I move her.
And those blue eyes.
[guitar twang]
[Samantha]
I have a lot of cats
to take care of.
And the medical bills,
and all, you know, their
medical bills as well as mine.
I'm really not prepared.
[typing]
[Samantha]
If I don't succeed,
that's not an option.
There's so many things I don't
know about, like how to do--
Because my parents
took care of so much.
I just have to work harder,
and I'm tired, to be honest.
I'm really tired.
I'm getting older.
My body's falling apart.
I can't give up. Are you
kidding? If I give up,
if all those lives
that are depending on me
and the show
and my abil-- I mean,
the last thing
I can do is give up.
Just when my whole world
has like fallen apart
and I think there's
no hope or something,
something swoops in
to save me at the last second.
Time will solve it.
At some point,
the answer will come
and, and I'll
move forward at that point.
[street party sounds]
Somebody just put a post
on my Facebook page
saying that we made The Soup,
and I didn't know
what The Soup was, so.
But she knew,
so she was like: "Oh my God!"
-Comedy Central.
-Comedy Central. So--
-Well.
-I guess it depends
what he said. [laughing]
Yeah, yeah. Well,
they said you looked great.
Oh.
[carnival music]
[Lynsi] The 24-hour bar.
Let's not go home.
-Do us.
-Pussies!
-[cameras clicking]
-And I think he's gonna
give us a good review.
Tell her we're on Talk Soup.
See if she knows what it is.
Oh, we're on Talk Soup!
Do you know we're on Talk Soup?
-[laughing]
-Yes!
Is this our street?
[alarm clock rings]
Okay, we have to leave
in like ten minutes.
I know, I'm moving.
I'm feeling... woo! Yeah!
[crowd chatters]
Can we go on the other side?
-All right.
-Awesome. Thank you very much.
Sorry for the late start
and the packed conditions.
A lot of people wanted
to see the show
and we weren't really
prepared and-- ah!
Thank you so much
for your patience.
This is Tuna!
[crowd] Tuna! Tuna! Tuna!
[crowd] Tuna! Tuna! Tuna!
-Tuna! Tuna!
-I know, I know.
They were all cheering Tuna.
And what did Tuna do?
Come out and like
roll around
and like rub up against things.
Her ego is going to be
totally out of control now.
-[cameraman] It was awesome.
-[Samantha] Oh, Good.
[cameraman] People loved it.
Both shows.
Yeah, it was,
it was a great crowd, so.
[Samantha]
There are more and
more fans on Facebook
and the cat fans out there.
I hope that something
breaks soon, though,
so it's not quite the struggle.
That's what I hope.
That somebody realizes that
they can make money off of me
and make me more money
so that everybody's
happy and comfortable
and I can pay people
a decent salary.
[typing]
[audio from the computer]
If your cat can do this, then
you definitely must love cats.
♪ Yeah, you must love cats
♪ Yeah, you must love cats
[audio on computer]
The Rock
Cats are part of a bigger show
called Acrocats.
I'm about to meet their creator,
Samantha Martin,
who's been training animals
out of her home
for over 25 years.
One, two, three, four, Rock
Cats! Rocking Chicago!
Rock Cats!
-[Samantha laughs]
-[man]
Free forming, man.
I like it.
-I like what you're doing.
-[Samantha] Dewey
totally dissed him.
[announcer] For one weekend,
ladies and gentlemen,
and one weekend only,
the amazing felines will be in
Denver at the Bug Theater. We're
talking about the Acrocats.
I'm sorry.
The show has already started
-and we are completely full.
-I bought tickets.
I know, but you
should have been here
before the show started.
I was waiting
for the last 15 minutes.
Welcome to the show!
They do all kinds of feats.
Agility, prowess, pushing carts,
riding skateboards, ringing
bells, turning on lights.
It's truly amazing.
Let's hear it for the Acrocats!
[crowd cheering]
Yes!
[gentle piano music]
[Samantha]
I will be happy being
on the road for nine months.
In fact, if I didn't have
to go home tomorrow night,
I would have stayed
another night after the show,
just because I'll do anything
to avoid coming back here.
I spent, I spent a lot of time
working on those.
You are a horrible cat.
And you're purring away,
aren't you?
This is for, for you and Tara.
Where'd that go?
[melancholic piano music]
[Warner] I solved everything.
I know.
I need you to
stick around for a while.
-You know, I've kind of grown
a little attached to you.
-I hope.
You know, a little bit. You're
not so bad. [laughing fondly]
[Warner coughs]
[plucked gentle guitar]
[Samantha]
I thought I was
ready for my parents to go.
When they went, I realized
that I had a lot of regrets.
I'm not ever gonna have
the kind of love again
and that kind of support.
[Samantha] Pinky! Hi!
Who's my favorite, Pink?
You are, sweetie! Hi, Pink.
I know, honey. I'm sorry.
-[meow]
-Come on. Oh, you know
you're my girl.
You know you're my girl.
Come on, I know.
-[meows]
-Oh, I know. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, Pink. Oh.
-I know.
-[meow]
I know, honey.
I'm sorry. Come on.
But soon I promise, soon.
[thunder ]
[car not starting]
Just a matter of time
before this thing goes
and I got to spend
like two grand to get
another one in here.
That's gonna be fun.
[engine not starting]
[typing]
[Samantha] Start!
[engine not starting]
Just set this up here.
[clatter of pots]
I'm tired.
Okay.
Out of order.
Are you shitting me?
[Samantha]
I'm tired of being poor.
You know, in my 20s, I was like
happy with being poor,
living on the edge.
In my 30s, I still was pretty
happy by living on the edge.
And my parents helped me out
from time to time too,
so it really wasn't like
I was totally on my own.
But now I'm like,
you know, starting to rethink.
That I may not want to travel
forever and ever and ever.
You know,
I mean, that would
just be too difficult.
And I certainly don't want
to end up in a trailer park.
And then I feel like
I'm on the verge
of losing Lynsi, though.
Okay. Well, I should go
because I need to
get the rest of this stuff
in a bag and get it downstairs
just in case,
it's like, on the off chance
that Samantha actually gets here
when she says she's going to.
Bye.
[cameraman] Why do you have
a book of diamonds here?
Well, did you guys know
my dad's a jeweler?
And he owns jewelry stores
in Virginia Beach
and so I'm getting
my gemology degree right now.
My back-up plan,
you know, in case.
Can't pin all my hopes on cats.
I don't want to be like
in my 40's sleeping
in truck stops, like
pinning my hopes on these cats.
And I want to be married.
Like what if--
Is my husband gonna be cool?
What if I would
have a baby? Right?
Not saying that I do,
just saying what if.
So, it's just good
to have another option.
I would love
for the cats to make it
and us to get like an awesome
gig somewhere, but...
I'm about to have
an anxiety attack because
this crap is in my way.
Now I'm going
to wash my hands because
I stuck my hand in cat poop.
Oh, I have a cream soda.
[door shuts]
Wow, you're really
gonna go for the gold.
She's picking out
her engagement ring.
Because, I mean, those are
pretty sharp diamonds there.
Yeah, that's nice.
Nothing but the best.
Then, what are you gonna be?
A gemologist?
-Yup.
-Wow.
A gemologist slash,
uh cat trainer?
[gentle music]
[Samantha] Shit. Shit.
You know, I'm just, just
really, really frustrated
with the whole thing.
I just want it to be done.
I just want out.
I want out.
And I can't, I don't feel I--
I, you know,
I need someone up there.
Today we're packing.
And we're leaving
for California.
You know, I am
kind of settling down
a little bit with Aaron.
Because I'm in love.
Did you hear that?
Was that for me?
I'm still packing.
[Samantha] I don't harbor
ill feelings for her.
You know, I'm not gonna
sabotage anybody's thing.
[typing]
I cried every day
after Pinky died.
I put her to sleep and I could
barely hold it together.
She was my favorite cat.
I was her human.
Like she loved me the best.
All the other cats,
they don't love me the best.
-[animal-carer] She doesn't want
the babies to grow up out there.
-Yeah.
The guy said: "I can't
take care of these."
He said: "Someone
put them in my mailbox."
And I open the box and here's
these three little faces
like baby birds
looking up at me.
[Samantha] Aw.
Thank goodness you
found them and it wasn't
too cold or anything.
How could you put
a little animal in a box
and just hope someone
else deals with it?
[Samantha] I'll take them all.
[Samantha] With cats, they don't
have the same kind of love
as a human love.
You know, there's nothing
more comforting than like,
just lying on the couch
watching TV and, you know, just
having a cat curled up here,
you know,
and a cat curled up here,
and then, you know,
just like Oz hugs you and,
you know, animals are healing.
They give you a reason
to get out of bed
in, on a day that you might
not want to get out of bed.
They, they love you
unconditionally.
[Samantha]
They don't care if you're
wearing makeup or not, you know.
The love is genuine.
[gentle music]
It was a tough year, last year.
An awful year.
Because I missed
my parents a lot more
than I thought I would.
I no longer have that
like, validation that, like,
somebody that's proud,
is proud of me.
So that kind of uh, yeah
that affects me a lot more
than I thought.
I was at a crossroads of like
maybe I should just quit.
I had a crappy assistant.
I was just like miserable
on so many levels
that I was like,
why should I even bother?
I need a newer model of vehicle.
There was a hole in the floor
and the ceiling was caving in.
That's when we did
the Kickstarter.
[Samantha]
Hello! I'm Tuna from
Tuna and the Rock Cats.
[groovy music]]
So the Kickstarter kind of
brought me back to life.
A lot of people mentioned it
on their blog,
and we have a PayPal button,
a donate button.
Quite a few fans
actually donated.
Because we had all the support,
all this money that came in.
We were able to buy
the Cat Bus, which is great!
Look I mean,
it's an amazing looking bus.
Fans of the cats,
fans from all over the country
really kind of kept me going
because they came together
and came up with
this large sum of money.
Over $30,000.
Jax, Buggles, Tuna, and Dakota.
Ta-da! This is
the new Kitty City.
It's kind of
like a studio apartment.
We have this kitchen area here
where we have all the amenities.
We have a sink, stove,
uh oven,
microwave, and a pretty
full size refrigerator.
These are the condos.
The ones that don't get along
with the other cats,
don't want to live
with the commoners.
They really do have
the best digs in the house.
Welcome to the show!
[applause]
My name is Samantha.
And this is Christine.
Thank you.
Now, since April of 2009,
I've fostered and found homes
for 113 cats and kittens.
But the other reason
I put the show together
was to inspire people
to train their own cats
because you can train your cat
to do everything
you see our cats do.
[audience laughs]
It was amazing,
and you could tell that they
really cared about the cats.
-It was cat-tastic!
-It was cat-tastic.
People think cats can't
do that sort of stuff,
and it's just fun to, like,
actually see them perform stuff.
[Samantha]
People are just now
starting to really see that
their-- that cats are capable.
The cat-cafes are
opening up everywhere.
You know, it's the right time.
Cats are a good
investment right now.
I can't imagine anything
stopping me, really.
It's like a good time
to be a cat trainer.
No matter what terrible
thing has happened,
something good has
ended up coming out of it.
But I will say that I am single.
And I will probably
stay that way.
[Christine] Welcome to the show!
[Samantha]
I have a million
goals in life, really.
There's so much
that I still want to do.
I mean, I'm not done yet.
Please welcome
Samantha and the Acrocats!
[Stephen Colbert]
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment
you've all been waiting for--
the Acrocats.
Samantha Martin
and the amazing Acrocats!
[Samantha]
This show is about my life
and what my life
is with these cats
and what their personalities are
and where they came from
and my relationship with them.
I'm the only one
that can do the show.
No one else.
Because it's my story.
[theme music]
[alarm clock rings]
[cat purrs]
[cat meows]
[thud]
[cat meows]
What's wrong, Oz?
Oz?
[cat meows]
Oz?
Oz?
Oz?
[cat gently purrs]
[van door closes]
[Samantha]
I'm used to
doing everything myself.
Every day I wake up,
my back hurts.
What day does it all fall apart?
I don't know.
I think my worst fear
is getting old.
[plucky intro music]
[Samantha]
I knew I wanted to
be an animal trainer since
I was seven years old.
Any time you train an animal,
you achieve that moment
where they understand,
they get the trick.
-It's called
the light bulb moment.
-[bell dings]
Where you see the little
light bulb go off in their eyes.
When the raccoon
finally understands
that you're supposed
to take the basketball
and put it through the hoop.
That's an amazing moment.
You feel like this, like a
little bit of an electric wave
between you and the animal,
so there's a sort of telepathy.
The first animal I trained
was a dog and then a ferret
and then a rat.
I'm Samantha and this is Julie.
We're from Samantha's
Amazing Animals,
also known as
Rat Company and Friends.
I became known as
the "Rat Lady of Chicago".
Whoo!
-Samantha!
-Hey, Pauly!
[Pauly] What are you doing?
Oh God! Oh God!
-[Samantha] Oh, my rat!
-Ah!
Do you have real rats, though?
We got a whole room
full of rats waiting for you.
Come on up.
Come on, he's really friendly.
I don't like rats, man.
I'm not into that whole thing.
I mean they're nice and stuff,
I think they're cool,
but you're The Rat Woman,
I'm The Weaz.
Weaz and rats aren't
a good combination.
It got me a lot of talk shows,
but it didn't go anywhere.
[Samantha]
About five years ago,
I decided that I really wasn't
happy doing what I was doing.
I had an exotic zoo, and I was
doing educational programs
for schools and libraries.
So I thought: "Well,
you know, let's go with cats."
[ding, ding]
Okay, Tuna.
Kitty, kitty! Come on.
Over here.
Over here.
Good job!
Roll. Roll.
[Samantha]
I guess I just got bored
with dogs over the years
and find it more rewarding
to work with an animal
that gives you a hard time.
Actually, it's a lot of work.
It gets harder each year,
more expensive each year,
but uhm, I want to do this
for the rest of my life.
And I plan on working
until the day I die.
There's no retirement
in the animal world.
[Samantha]
I'm one of those fortunate
people that actually
got to, you know be,
do what I wanted
to be when I grew up
although I'm not really
totally grown up yet.
Yeah, I don't think you can.
If I grow up totally,
then there's no way I can
live this kind of lifestyle.
It's not, well a grown up
does not
sleep on the side of the road
in a bus full of cats.
[truck rattling through snow]
[sustained keyboard sounds]
[human pretends to be animal]
Ladies and gentlemen,
the show will begin momentarily.
-[audience laugh]
-Please remember
photography is allowed.
-[clapping]
-And laser pens are not.
Thank you.
Enjoy the show.
[audience claps]
[Samantha] Welcome to the show!
[theatrical music]
Eddy, here we go. Oskey!
Puffy and Sookie!
Wicky!
[Brazilian percussion]
[Samantha] Pinky on guitar!
Pinky!
[ding, ding, ding, ding]
My name is Samantha!
This is Lynsi.
I know a couple of you
are probably wondering:
"Do all those cats
live with her?"
Yes, yes all the cats
do live with me.
This is actually set up
in my living room.
And the band over there
is set up in my kitchen.
That is my kitchen table,
in fact.
I eat standing up or in my car
because not everything tastes
better with cat fur in it.
[Samantha] Living the dream.
[Lynsi]
I've been working
with Samantha for two years.
It's like Night
of the Living Dead.
Zombies! Back!
I think I had
like a career crisis
when I was like
getting close to 30?
But now like, everything
sort of come together.
He, he, okay.
What is it about Samantha,
though, that attracts people?
It's because she lives this life
that people think about
and, you know,
they're too afraid to do it.
If we could just stay
on the road, that's what
both of us like to do.
[gentle guitar music plucks]
[Samantha] All right,
now, the question is
which credit card is going
to work to fill up this beast?
That's a great question.
Pick a card, any card.
Let's try, this is
the one we want to use.
And this is probably
the one we'll have to use.
My costs are insane.
I have to make $3,000
a week to break even.
It's like I can see
the island of gold,
but the ice is cracking
beneath my feet [chuckles].
So I'm like: "Oh, am I
going to make it there
before the ice cracks
and I fall through?
Am I going to make it
to the island of gold?
[cabaret music]
I've done a lot
of production work,
and I need to focus
on the produ...
on like the production
end of things.
So, you know, I've got
all these videos and pictures,
and I've been trying, you know
I've been trying to get them to
post it so they can...
I mean basically, I need my
website totally revamped
so that it's promoting
more production work.
I mean, like we're--
we like live in a bubble.
we don't know what's going on.
[Samantha] Hi, Caesar, it's mom.
I told you I'd be home.
Short trip this time. Hi!
Doesn't really even feel
like I have a home,
it feels more like
I have a work,
and I just sleep on the couch
of my work every day.
Dakota! Pinky!
You're gonna miss band practice.
Can you do this standing up?
-[drum beats]
-[Samantha] Good job.
I have three different cats
that play the keyboard.
Pinky's the only guitar player
that plays this guitar,
and she's always here
for band practice.
The one day that she wasn't,
it turned out she was sick.
I had to rush her to the vet
she had a fever of like a 104.
Ah Caesar, no. Caesar,
I know what you're doing.
Don't call me an asshole
in front of the TV people.
Did you hear that? He said A...
He goes: "Ass, Ass."
You have to listen for it,
but he mutters under his breath.
[Samantha] I came from
Pleasantville.
My parents had
the perfect marriage,
like what you see on television.
They lived for the kids.
That's where
I lost my virginity,
in the backyard
right uh, by the cornfield.
So this is Lincoln
Elementary School.
That's where
the hell first started.
You know, I was bullied.
I mean I was not--
I did not get along at all here.
And I was really kind of
an ugly duckling too,
so I was like
not accepted at all.
And guys would
ask me out as a joke.
Once I hit high school,
I was very boy-crazy.
I mean I, you know, if a guy
found out I had a crush on them,
they're like, "Ew!"
I was a cootie.
So it was not uh--
it was not a good time
for me at all.
[gentle melancholic music]
Dad?
Hey, dad.
[Warner] Samantha was born
in New Castle, Indiana.
Then we moved to Dallas,
Michigan,
where she did her grade school
up to the fifth grade.
And she was
extremely happy there.
When she got to Princeton,
it was very bad for her.
She was shy,
wasn't accepted too well.
She just didn't
have any friends.
She always had cats around.
As her life developed,
she found some
relationship with animals
that helped fill the void
of some of these girls
she would have liked
to be friends with.
She told me just the other day
that she, she cried herself
to sleep every night.
If it wasn't for her animals,
which she was always
involved in,
I don't know what we'd have.
We need that right person
to see our show
and to see that, you know,
the potential for money making.
We need sold out shows.
National publicity.
We need a proper agent.
Hi uh, are you
a cat lover at all?
Uhm, yeah.
Because we have a show tomorrow.
I don't know
if any of you who live
around here are cat lovers,
we have a show tomorrow
featuring trained amazing cats.
[store owner] Oh my!
Here, come on. Have a seat.
[Lynsi]
We are definitely learning
that we work for each other.
-Yeah, I know.
-Seems obvious, but--
But a lot of times
it hasn't been my fault.
Yeah.
We've had venues that have said:
"Okay, we're going to let you
book our theatre."
And then when we try to get
back to them to narrow down
the time and the day,
they don't call us back.
And then we finally trick them
into picking the phone up
by calling under
a different number.
And they pick up,
and then we find out
that they changed their minds
and decided our show
wasn't a fit for their venue.
Or they think it's a kids' show.
And it's really not.
I mean, kids can enjoy it,
but the humor is adult-oriented.
It's been happening
quite a bit lately. It's, its--
It kind of feels like dating.
Hey, Aaron.
Here, take some postcards.
Hand them to strangers.
I'll buy you liquor and food.
Hopefully this isn't going to be
a rags to shopping carts story,
[laughs] Hopefully it goes
the other way, rags to riches.
[typing]
[Samantha] I'm really anxious.
And I really
didn't do much makeup.
-I mean-- I can tell.
-You can tell?
I think you should put a
little sparkle eye stuff on.
What am I missing? My ears!
Should I do another shot,
do you think?
Yeah?
Tuna, the light!
[crowd laughs]
-It's the light right there.
-[crowd cheers]
[circus music]
-Tuna! Tuna!
-She's making a break for it.
Is she making a break for it?
Yeah. This way. Tuna!
[Samantha whistles] Tuna.
Really?
[audience laughs]
The show was terrible, really.
Buffy was a wreck.
What was the matter, Buffy?
What happened?
She didn't, she act like she's
never seen the stage before.
Pudge, who is usually
pretty bomb-proof...
I, Pudge what happened?
What happened?
[shakes cat food] Who else?
Who else disappointed me?
I'm gonna blame
Samantha's anxiety for it.
They do pick up on it.
[Samantha] Uh, well we know
one of the cats had
a little digestive issue.
And crapped in the carrier.
And it's pretty icky.
So I'm rinsing it out.
Good fertilizer, uhm--
It's not, it's one of
the less glamorous aspects
of this cat circus.
I'm like out here,
some days there aren't
any glamorous aspects
[laughing] to the cat circus.
[Lynsi] One of the neat things
about Samantha and one of
the frustrating things is
that she doesn't always think
things all the way through.
If she had sat down
and planned out this cat circus
from start to finish,
it would have probably
been so overwhelming
it would have never happened.
So it's almost like she had
to just throw herself into it
and see what happens,
and then it is really
difficult, but it's like:
"Well, I've already gone
this far. I'm just
gonna keep on going."
And she does.
I mean, she, she wants to do
what she wants to do
to be happy.
I mean, she really is like
putting it all out there
for this cat circus, you know.
It's like do or die. [chuckles]
[Samantha] They're always
gonna screw me over.
I just don't know which one,
which one is gonna fail me,
which one is gonna make me look
like an idiot. It's exhausting.
I had to put a lot of energy--
That's why I don't want to
talk to anybody after the show.
Keeping that energy up
and trying to keep the show
funny and flowing
while keeping the animals on cue
and have, you know, just that
whole thing mixed together.
It's what I was doing
in my living room
and now it's out of my living
room, in front of a crowd,
and I'm shy, terribly shy.
The killer of a cat show
is when you're like
a nervous wreck because then
the cats are like:
"Why are you nervous?
Now we're nervous. Now we're
gonna really fuck you over."
[Lynsi] Samantha gets a little
nervous. It's her show,
so the pressure is really
on her you know,
and I just try to help.
[laughs]
-So I'll take...
-Okay, okay.
The chicken will go across,
then I'll take that off
leave the chicken there
put Dallas on the cart,
whistle him back,
and then you'll have
all the time to deal with that.
Okay, all right.
Okay, I'll try to remember that.
-Like here?
-[Aaron] Take a look
at something real quick, okay?
Okay.
[Samantha]
As I get older,
time just slips by.
So many times I thought
my ship was gonna come in.
My sleeping schedule
and my work habits,
and you know,
it's really surprising
that I'm not dead or in jail.
But now that I am alive.
God, I hope I can check out
by like 62 or something.
That would be--
seem like good, 62.
What am I gonna do? Wheel out
on stage? "Welcome to the show!"
I can buy myself
another ten years on stage
with uh, plastic surgery
and exercise.
You know as long
as I stay in good health
and keep myself in shape,
both mentally and physically,
then there's no reason why I
can't just continue to perform.
You know, I've been
chasing a dream
and never really--
Uh, there's so many things
I don't know.
I just have to work harder.
Things are looking good.
I know, I really
you know, part of me thinks:
"Am I just gonna be a one-hit
wonder?" Am I gonna be,
you know, another uh,
ah ha, you know
just that once, you know.
I'm just gonna end up, you know,
oh, you know, I'll be like:
"All a bunch of assholes."
You know?
[Samantha] I don't want to
end up like that.
It's just struggling
and frustrating because
I get setbacks, and--
So yeah, that's my,
that's my drama.
[Letterman theme tune]
Towels, gloves, shoes,
children's toys.
-One night, how many?
-Eleven. Eleven different
things.
Do you remember the first item?
To me, it was a piece of glove
that was on our bed.
-A little Latex glove, I thought
Jim left it on the bed.
-Right.
-[audience laughs]
-It wasn't me.
[laughs] Very little.
[Samantha] The cat had stole
some neighbor's bra went viral,
not the cat band with amazing
cats playing instruments.
And here we're back down
trying to find venues.
So I might not have a job
for like two months.
So, what about you?
-Oh yes the
perfect woman, right?
-Yeah, the perfect woman.
-She works for Ringling.
-Yeah.
[circus music]
They make her look good.
[Samantha] I feel like they
don't have the same kind of
attitude about animals.
They aren't pets.
The problem with my cats
is that they're pets.
Tex!
Tex! Focus, focus!
[Samantha]
Why have an animal if it's
just going to be a possession?
Well you know, if there's
really any joy in that?
Feels like there should be
some sort of relationship there.
If you're going
to have a relationship,
you have to spend quality time.
It's an activity
that both animal
and human can do together.
[Samantha] I've got
a lot of cats.
I'm not gonna tell you how many.
But I will say that I am single.
[audience laughs and claps]
And I will probably
stay that way.
[crowd applauds]
If you're gonna do cats,
you really have to
immerse yourself
and just deal with
the "crazy cat lady" stigma.
It's like: "ooh, how many cats
do you have?"
I mean, it's like
I'm a leper or something.
It's like: "Seriously, people,
it's my job. It's what I do."
Yes, I love what I do. I like
guys that have cat allergies
because then they can never
set foot in here
and then they never know,
they never see it.
Because that's like could be
the breaking point you know,
They see it, they're like
you know their eyes get--
It's killed the social life.
When I was a rat lady,
I got so much game.
All those cute little punk
rock boys, you know.
So it's now the cat--
And I keep trying: "No, it's not
cat lady, it's cat woman."
A little bit more,
you know, appeal.
[circus music]
[crowd applauds]
[whispering] Look at her,
look at the flirty stance.
[laughs]
We have to lower this.
-Top one first?
-Uh, all right, top one first.
[clattering]
I just have to, uh--
I'm gonna give that
pizza crust to the rats.
Or let her--
No, the chickens go--
Everything's gonna
go back there.
[clatter and cats meowing]
[Samantha] Pinky!
Can you make it down?
Hmm?
This is usually like
a deal breaker with guys.
When they see them all like
massed together like this,
it's like, "Ooh.
How many cats do you have?"
Wow, and then they count,
One, two--
I'm just kinda going with it
because he's all happy and giddy
so I'm like: "Okay. Well,
I'm kinda happy and giddy too."
I'm a romantic girl. I really--
People don't think I am,
but I really am
a super romantic girl.
And I love that
teenage love feeling.
I really, really
like Stewart a lot.
[calm guitar music]
Oh, and Aaron
texted me last night.
-What was with the late texting?
-I know because he was like,
sleeping question mark,
and I was sleeping, so I was
just gonna leave it alone,
but something made me feel like
he just needed
to talk or something.
He's like: "Aw,
I was just missing you."
He's trying to find
a flight, like out on Saturday
and leave the next day
to surprise me.
It wasn't working out.
-Aw.
-I know. He's so sweet.
-Hm.
-He is.
-They're gonna find him dead.
-What?
They're gonna find him dead
because he misses you so much,
he's just, he's gonna
just die, you know.
And it'll be like, yeah,
cause of death missing Lynsi.
I view the guy as my reward.
You know, I work hard
all week or whatever
and then I get to spend time
with, you know, somebody that's
my... the guy of my life.
If he's here every day,
it no longer becomes a reward,
it becomes a responsibility.
You know, I don't think married
means being miserable.
-You do. [scoffs]
-Yes, I do.
[laughs] Oh my God.
This relationship
is making me happy
and then if it goes
the other way where I'm less--
Where I'm more miserable
than happy, then I am dead.
That's just, you know--
You know, some people like
to work through these things
and talk about stuff.
Hm. That's interesting.
Good for them.
-[both laugh]
-Good for them.
[jolly piano music]
And now in just a moment we're
going to have the cat band play.
They're the only cat band
in the world. The Rock Cats.
Pinky on guitar.
Nuy on keyboards.
And Fiji on drums.
[drum beats]
I was planning
on bringing Stewart home
for Thanksgiving and Christmas
and stuff, you know.
And, uh, I decided to break up
with him instead.
Figured if I could--
because I think my dad
would have liked him a lot.
So I thought, Oh, you know
I'll bring home a nice guy,
for a change.
I was just bored.
I was bored.
We had nothing in common.
Yeah, I had to pull the plug.
I'm going to cook
my mother's famous stuffing.
[Warner] Her mother's in
a nursing home.
She got to see
her first show down here,
but she sat in
the Alzheimer's section, so...
She doesn't know her,
doesn't know Sam,
doesn't know me.
It's a hard thing.
So, essentially
her, her brother dead,
her mother out of it,
Sam is all I got.
Other than this damn cat.
[Samantha] I asked the doctor
yesterday about my mom.
And the doctor said that:
"Well, I'd be surprised if
she lived past the summer."
And then he's like,
"I wouldn't be surprised
if your dad went before you
mom." And I was like oh--
[ahem]
So that was kind of like--
I wasn't really
expecting to hear that.
So he could go at any time,
and I would be like loaded with
guilt because I don't
come home often enough.
I mean, and a lot of it
is my schedule
and there's a lot
of stuff to do.
I mean, I'm finding
the time to jet off to,
you know,
Key West for four days.
But I'm not finding the time
to come here like once a month.
So, I mean, I feel
kind of guilty about that but,
I just don't want to.
It's depressing.
It's like, it's , it's uhm--
That's where I feel like
I'm a horrible, selfish person.
Pinky loves me the best.
And I love her the best.
And, you know, we have this--
She slept on my pillow
every night,
and, you know,
she growls if I move her.
And those blue eyes.
[guitar twang]
[Samantha]
I have a lot of cats
to take care of.
And the medical bills,
and all, you know, their
medical bills as well as mine.
I'm really not prepared.
[typing]
[Samantha]
If I don't succeed,
that's not an option.
There's so many things I don't
know about, like how to do--
Because my parents
took care of so much.
I just have to work harder,
and I'm tired, to be honest.
I'm really tired.
I'm getting older.
My body's falling apart.
I can't give up. Are you
kidding? If I give up,
if all those lives
that are depending on me
and the show
and my abil-- I mean,
the last thing
I can do is give up.
Just when my whole world
has like fallen apart
and I think there's
no hope or something,
something swoops in
to save me at the last second.
Time will solve it.
At some point,
the answer will come
and, and I'll
move forward at that point.
[street party sounds]
Somebody just put a post
on my Facebook page
saying that we made The Soup,
and I didn't know
what The Soup was, so.
But she knew,
so she was like: "Oh my God!"
-Comedy Central.
-Comedy Central. So--
-Well.
-I guess it depends
what he said. [laughing]
Yeah, yeah. Well,
they said you looked great.
Oh.
[carnival music]
[Lynsi] The 24-hour bar.
Let's not go home.
-Do us.
-Pussies!
-[cameras clicking]
-And I think he's gonna
give us a good review.
Tell her we're on Talk Soup.
See if she knows what it is.
Oh, we're on Talk Soup!
Do you know we're on Talk Soup?
-[laughing]
-Yes!
Is this our street?
[alarm clock rings]
Okay, we have to leave
in like ten minutes.
I know, I'm moving.
I'm feeling... woo! Yeah!
[crowd chatters]
Can we go on the other side?
-All right.
-Awesome. Thank you very much.
Sorry for the late start
and the packed conditions.
A lot of people wanted
to see the show
and we weren't really
prepared and-- ah!
Thank you so much
for your patience.
This is Tuna!
[crowd] Tuna! Tuna! Tuna!
[crowd] Tuna! Tuna! Tuna!
-Tuna! Tuna!
-I know, I know.
They were all cheering Tuna.
And what did Tuna do?
Come out and like
roll around
and like rub up against things.
Her ego is going to be
totally out of control now.
-[cameraman] It was awesome.
-[Samantha] Oh, Good.
[cameraman] People loved it.
Both shows.
Yeah, it was,
it was a great crowd, so.
[Samantha]
There are more and
more fans on Facebook
and the cat fans out there.
I hope that something
breaks soon, though,
so it's not quite the struggle.
That's what I hope.
That somebody realizes that
they can make money off of me
and make me more money
so that everybody's
happy and comfortable
and I can pay people
a decent salary.
[typing]
[audio from the computer]
If your cat can do this, then
you definitely must love cats.
♪ Yeah, you must love cats
♪ Yeah, you must love cats
[audio on computer]
The Rock
Cats are part of a bigger show
called Acrocats.
I'm about to meet their creator,
Samantha Martin,
who's been training animals
out of her home
for over 25 years.
One, two, three, four, Rock
Cats! Rocking Chicago!
Rock Cats!
-[Samantha laughs]
-[man]
Free forming, man.
I like it.
-I like what you're doing.
-[Samantha] Dewey
totally dissed him.
[announcer] For one weekend,
ladies and gentlemen,
and one weekend only,
the amazing felines will be in
Denver at the Bug Theater. We're
talking about the Acrocats.
I'm sorry.
The show has already started
-and we are completely full.
-I bought tickets.
I know, but you
should have been here
before the show started.
I was waiting
for the last 15 minutes.
Welcome to the show!
They do all kinds of feats.
Agility, prowess, pushing carts,
riding skateboards, ringing
bells, turning on lights.
It's truly amazing.
Let's hear it for the Acrocats!
[crowd cheering]
Yes!
[gentle piano music]
[Samantha]
I will be happy being
on the road for nine months.
In fact, if I didn't have
to go home tomorrow night,
I would have stayed
another night after the show,
just because I'll do anything
to avoid coming back here.
I spent, I spent a lot of time
working on those.
You are a horrible cat.
And you're purring away,
aren't you?
This is for, for you and Tara.
Where'd that go?
[melancholic piano music]
[Warner] I solved everything.
I know.
I need you to
stick around for a while.
-You know, I've kind of grown
a little attached to you.
-I hope.
You know, a little bit. You're
not so bad. [laughing fondly]
[Warner coughs]
[plucked gentle guitar]
[Samantha]
I thought I was
ready for my parents to go.
When they went, I realized
that I had a lot of regrets.
I'm not ever gonna have
the kind of love again
and that kind of support.
[Samantha] Pinky! Hi!
Who's my favorite, Pink?
You are, sweetie! Hi, Pink.
I know, honey. I'm sorry.
-[meow]
-Come on. Oh, you know
you're my girl.
You know you're my girl.
Come on, I know.
-[meows]
-Oh, I know. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, Pink. Oh.
-I know.
-[meow]
I know, honey.
I'm sorry. Come on.
But soon I promise, soon.
[thunder ]
[car not starting]
Just a matter of time
before this thing goes
and I got to spend
like two grand to get
another one in here.
That's gonna be fun.
[engine not starting]
[typing]
[Samantha] Start!
[engine not starting]
Just set this up here.
[clatter of pots]
I'm tired.
Okay.
Out of order.
Are you shitting me?
[Samantha]
I'm tired of being poor.
You know, in my 20s, I was like
happy with being poor,
living on the edge.
In my 30s, I still was pretty
happy by living on the edge.
And my parents helped me out
from time to time too,
so it really wasn't like
I was totally on my own.
But now I'm like,
you know, starting to rethink.
That I may not want to travel
forever and ever and ever.
You know,
I mean, that would
just be too difficult.
And I certainly don't want
to end up in a trailer park.
And then I feel like
I'm on the verge
of losing Lynsi, though.
Okay. Well, I should go
because I need to
get the rest of this stuff
in a bag and get it downstairs
just in case,
it's like, on the off chance
that Samantha actually gets here
when she says she's going to.
Bye.
[cameraman] Why do you have
a book of diamonds here?
Well, did you guys know
my dad's a jeweler?
And he owns jewelry stores
in Virginia Beach
and so I'm getting
my gemology degree right now.
My back-up plan,
you know, in case.
Can't pin all my hopes on cats.
I don't want to be like
in my 40's sleeping
in truck stops, like
pinning my hopes on these cats.
And I want to be married.
Like what if--
Is my husband gonna be cool?
What if I would
have a baby? Right?
Not saying that I do,
just saying what if.
So, it's just good
to have another option.
I would love
for the cats to make it
and us to get like an awesome
gig somewhere, but...
I'm about to have
an anxiety attack because
this crap is in my way.
Now I'm going
to wash my hands because
I stuck my hand in cat poop.
Oh, I have a cream soda.
[door shuts]
Wow, you're really
gonna go for the gold.
She's picking out
her engagement ring.
Because, I mean, those are
pretty sharp diamonds there.
Yeah, that's nice.
Nothing but the best.
Then, what are you gonna be?
A gemologist?
-Yup.
-Wow.
A gemologist slash,
uh cat trainer?
[gentle music]
[Samantha] Shit. Shit.
You know, I'm just, just
really, really frustrated
with the whole thing.
I just want it to be done.
I just want out.
I want out.
And I can't, I don't feel I--
I, you know,
I need someone up there.
Today we're packing.
And we're leaving
for California.
You know, I am
kind of settling down
a little bit with Aaron.
Because I'm in love.
Did you hear that?
Was that for me?
I'm still packing.
[Samantha] I don't harbor
ill feelings for her.
You know, I'm not gonna
sabotage anybody's thing.
[typing]
I cried every day
after Pinky died.
I put her to sleep and I could
barely hold it together.
She was my favorite cat.
I was her human.
Like she loved me the best.
All the other cats,
they don't love me the best.
-[animal-carer] She doesn't want
the babies to grow up out there.
-Yeah.
The guy said: "I can't
take care of these."
He said: "Someone
put them in my mailbox."
And I open the box and here's
these three little faces
like baby birds
looking up at me.
[Samantha] Aw.
Thank goodness you
found them and it wasn't
too cold or anything.
How could you put
a little animal in a box
and just hope someone
else deals with it?
[Samantha] I'll take them all.
[Samantha] With cats, they don't
have the same kind of love
as a human love.
You know, there's nothing
more comforting than like,
just lying on the couch
watching TV and, you know, just
having a cat curled up here,
you know,
and a cat curled up here,
and then, you know,
just like Oz hugs you and,
you know, animals are healing.
They give you a reason
to get out of bed
in, on a day that you might
not want to get out of bed.
They, they love you
unconditionally.
[Samantha]
They don't care if you're
wearing makeup or not, you know.
The love is genuine.
[gentle music]
It was a tough year, last year.
An awful year.
Because I missed
my parents a lot more
than I thought I would.
I no longer have that
like, validation that, like,
somebody that's proud,
is proud of me.
So that kind of uh, yeah
that affects me a lot more
than I thought.
I was at a crossroads of like
maybe I should just quit.
I had a crappy assistant.
I was just like miserable
on so many levels
that I was like,
why should I even bother?
I need a newer model of vehicle.
There was a hole in the floor
and the ceiling was caving in.
That's when we did
the Kickstarter.
[Samantha]
Hello! I'm Tuna from
Tuna and the Rock Cats.
[groovy music]]
So the Kickstarter kind of
brought me back to life.
A lot of people mentioned it
on their blog,
and we have a PayPal button,
a donate button.
Quite a few fans
actually donated.
Because we had all the support,
all this money that came in.
We were able to buy
the Cat Bus, which is great!
Look I mean,
it's an amazing looking bus.
Fans of the cats,
fans from all over the country
really kind of kept me going
because they came together
and came up with
this large sum of money.
Over $30,000.
Jax, Buggles, Tuna, and Dakota.
Ta-da! This is
the new Kitty City.
It's kind of
like a studio apartment.
We have this kitchen area here
where we have all the amenities.
We have a sink, stove,
uh oven,
microwave, and a pretty
full size refrigerator.
These are the condos.
The ones that don't get along
with the other cats,
don't want to live
with the commoners.
They really do have
the best digs in the house.
Welcome to the show!
[applause]
My name is Samantha.
And this is Christine.
Thank you.
Now, since April of 2009,
I've fostered and found homes
for 113 cats and kittens.
But the other reason
I put the show together
was to inspire people
to train their own cats
because you can train your cat
to do everything
you see our cats do.
[audience laughs]
It was amazing,
and you could tell that they
really cared about the cats.
-It was cat-tastic!
-It was cat-tastic.
People think cats can't
do that sort of stuff,
and it's just fun to, like,
actually see them perform stuff.
[Samantha]
People are just now
starting to really see that
their-- that cats are capable.
The cat-cafes are
opening up everywhere.
You know, it's the right time.
Cats are a good
investment right now.
I can't imagine anything
stopping me, really.
It's like a good time
to be a cat trainer.
No matter what terrible
thing has happened,
something good has
ended up coming out of it.
But I will say that I am single.
And I will probably
stay that way.
[Christine] Welcome to the show!
[Samantha]
I have a million
goals in life, really.
There's so much
that I still want to do.
I mean, I'm not done yet.
Please welcome
Samantha and the Acrocats!
[Stephen Colbert]
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment
you've all been waiting for--
the Acrocats.
Samantha Martin
and the amazing Acrocats!
[Samantha]
This show is about my life
and what my life
is with these cats
and what their personalities are
and where they came from
and my relationship with them.
I'm the only one
that can do the show.
No one else.
Because it's my story.
[theme music]