Send Me More Stories About Cancer
“It’s my gift in life to be able to figure out an animal’s mind and what motivates them,” says Samantha Martin.
Martin, 54, is the founder of the Amazing Acro-Cats and the Rock Cats, a traveling troupe made up of typical domestic short-haired cats, a groundhog, a chicken and two rats that perform jaw-dropping circus-like acts and even play music. “We’ve added a saxophone and a trumpet, so it’s taken on a free-form jazz feel,” explains Martin, who, outfitted in cat’s ears and either a catsuit or a ringmaster’s outfit, is a big part of the show.
Checking boxes off a seemingly endless to-do list before she departs, Martin is preparing to hit the road in her brand-new bus for a southwest tour. Before she brings the Acro-Cats on tour, though, Martin has one last appointment: getting her bloodwork done to make sure she is still cancer-free.
Meet the Acro-Cats.
Healing Cancer? Cats Can Help
Diagnosed in early 2018 with stage 3 colorectal cancer, Martin was forced to cut last year’s tour short to begin her treatment.After five-weeks of oral chemotherapy, Martin underwent one surgery to remove the cancer and a second seven weeks later to “reconnect” her. While the treatments had side effects, including fatigue, bowel issues, “chemo brain,” and post-operative pain, Martin was comforted by her animal companions, which include 27 cats, an African serval and two Labradors.
“The purring sound lowers blood pressure and helps people to heal, emotionally and physically,” she says. “It’s science.”
“The purring sound lowers blood pressure and helps people to heal, emotionally and physically,” she says. “It’s science.”
A self-described “outcast” with few friends, Martin discovered that she had an unusual rapport with animals early in life.
At the age of 10, she started training the family Lab, and when she was 16 years old, she caught a rat, smuggled it into her dorm room at military school and taught it to do tricks. “I was drawn to misfit animals like rats and snakes,” Martin says. “If nobody likes it, it must be special.”
Later, she enrolled in an animal behavior class at the local community college and ultimately earned a degree in animal service. After interning at a store that trained exotic animals to perform in film, television and live shows, Martin took a job running the rodent and reptile department at a local pet store.
Samantha Martin running a couple of her cats through a routine.
Finding Her Calling
One day, a movie production team stopped in and asked if she could train rodents to climb into a box for a key scene in their film. “I can train them to crawl in a box and answer a telephone,” she told them.
It turned out to be her big break. While she was on set, a WGN news crew showed up and filmed her, later airing a segment that got picked up by CNN and aired around the world. It led to a slew of television spots, including high-profile gigs on Geraldo and Inside Edition.
To supplement her film work, Martin worked as a wildlife educator, giving talks at schools, libraries and birthday parties. She turned her two-flat building in Chicago into a private “zoo,” with a reptile room in the basement and a space for farm animals out back. The whole house smelled like animals, she recalls, but she didn’t mind. “I started coming up with ways to teach them, so that I could demonstrate their abilities with cute tricks,” Martin says.
For example, after watching her coati, a relative of the raccoon with a long nose, dive headfirst into a laundry basket and fish out a pack of gum buried deep in a pants pocket, Martin started putting treats in other places. Eventually, the coati could open a mail box, take out a wallet, remove a rolled-up dollar bill and unroll it to find a treat. She likewise taught groundhogs to raise flags and raccoons to play basketball.
The Rock Cats, the Acro-Cats’ house band.
Founding The Acro-Cats
Not to mention her many cats. Weary of giving talks at schools (“I don’t care for children,” she says), in 2005, Martin put her cats to work, launching first the Rock Cats and then the Amazing Acro-Cats. “There are a million dog trainers, but very few cat trainers, and I like a challenge,” Martin says.
It wouldn’t be possible without clicker training, she explains, a method of pairing a clicking sound with a treat to encourage the desired behavior. Starting out with art gallery openings, night clubs and birthday parties, Martin eventually rented a theatre in Chicago for a six-week run. People showed up in droves. “The cats sucked, but people loved the act so much,” Martin says, remembering their first performances.
“The cats sucked, but people loved the act so much,” Martin says, remembering their first performances.
Over the years, Martin’s cats have appeared on Animal Planet’s Pet Star, Must Love Cats and Animal Witness. Her favorite one, Tuna, now deceased, also starred in the independent movie, Zeke. Most recently, Martin and her feline friends appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where Martin says they “bombed.” “I’m terrified of public speaking, and the cats feel your stress,” Martin explains.
Martin is proud of what she’s been able to accomplish with her cats.
Fur-Ever A Feline Foster Mom
Not just an entertainer, Martin has made it her mission to foster cats as well. She’ll take on an entire litter, train them all and keep the most talented for the act. Those that remain are available for adoption, a service she runs out of the front of her tour bus. Over the past decade, Martin has found “fur-ever” homes for 228 felines.
“You’ve already adopted a cat that has developed a relationship with people, a cat that will meet you at the door and give you a high five,” she says. I can’t save the world, but I can help people build a relationship with their cat.”
“I’m one of the luckiest people alive… because I’ve had all these animals giving me all this unconditional love.”
Martin knows all too well how impactful such relationships can be, offering companionship as a child and comfort in the wake of her cancer diagnosis. That said, she has plenty of human friends and supporters too, people who accept and even embrace her for her uniqueness. When her insurance policy denied a claim, for example, she launched a GoFundMe and raised $76,000, which allowed her to keep the lights and feed the animals on during her nine-month treatment.
“I’m one of the luckiest people alive,” Martin says. “Everybody has sad moments, but overall, I’m a pretty happy person, because I’ve had all these animals giving me all this unconditional love.”
