British #cat makes it big in Russia

Stars in TV ads

By Emma Woollacott, Mar 23, 2015

TK

A British Shorthair cat has become an unlikely star in Russia, appearing in photo shoots and television commercials.

While Dusya belongs to a British breed, she was born in Russia and bought as a kitten by Kirov resident Vladimir Koshechkin.

"I noticed that she was really smart right at the beginning, and although cats are notoriously difficult to train she really picked up things easily, especially when food was involved," he tells the Daily Mirror.

Mr Koshekin says that Dusya has earned around £2,000 so far - more than most Russians make in a year. She recently starred in an ad for a Russian telephone company in which she is in a bad mood and looking for a place to sleep.

"It was only 30 seconds in the end but she spent two days doing the shooting, and worked 15 hours a day just to get it exactly how they wanted," he says.

So what do you do if you think your pet could be a star? First, make sure it really has the right temperament. Your animal will need to be comfortable in confusing and noisy situations, as well as, obviously, friendly and obedient. It's worth teaching the animal certain tricks, if possible - in particular, the ability to go to a particular person or place on demand.
There are a number of casting agencies that specialise in animals - although, just like those that deal with people, some are keener on accepting fees up front than on actually getting their clients work. Look out for one that is clear about charges and can point to successful contracts for its clients.

Alternatively, there's YouTube. Indeed, it's been estimated (though not entirely convincingly) that as much as 30% of traffic on the site consists of cat videos. In Britain, research from Viral Spiral found that Brits share more cat pictures online than selfies - which is really saying something.

Most of these pictures sink without trace. But if your pet succeeds in catching popular attention, it could mean big bucks.

The highest-paid cat in the world is probably internet sensation Grumpy Cat, who now has two books and a movie to her name as well as a huge YouTube following. Her cross expression is believed to have earned her owners, Tabatha and Bryan Bundesen, a whacking £64 million so far.

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