One of the first images we got to see from the new movie version of Pet Sematary is that of the zombie cat above. This is not a graphic; it's a real cat actor. A sweet-looking cat actor.
im too scared to see Pet Sematary I think but I would like to say I support how handsome and big that cat is pic.twitter.com/imheRO04Rk
— tom schwartz’s transition lenses (@rachelmillman) April 4, 2019
Gabriella Paiella marveled at the vast difference in the cat's apearance, so she sought out the crew responsible. She spoke to groomer Tanya Graham and trainers Melissa Millett and Kirk Jarrett about how the five cats used for the film were given their movie looks.
Tanya: It took almost two months of training to get them fully comfortable with the makeup. We used a protocol with desensitization to really get them used to that. We started out with just doing a cat in a dry tub having catnip parties. That was a lot of fun. Then we did the cats enjoying the dry tub with lots of treats, so they got some pâté and kitty treats. Then we started doing a little bit of water each time, slowly increasing the amount of water each time just to make sure they were comfortable with that process.
Melissa: We did it so progressively that the cats were comfortable with the bathing and comfortable with the makeup. We knew that if we didn’t acclimate the cats to the makeup, they’re licking it off.
Read about the process of doing a cat's makeup at The Cut. -via Digg