Watch the Trained Rats and Cats of Cirque du Sewer

Instead of elephants and clowns, Cirque du Sewer is revamping the concept of a circus by featuring the perfect furry assistants: cats and rats!

You have never seen a circus act quite like this one — Melissa Arleth and her assistant Vitaliy have trained her furry friends jump through flaming hoops, complete obstacle courses, and walk on a rope for an unbelievable finale.

Acrobats with Rats and Cats

Cats and rats can be trained — Believe It or Not! The animals are the stars of this show, performing their own tricks alongside collaborative stunts and comedy bits by Melissa and Vitaliy.

Melissa’s animals are all rescues, and they travel the country with her to perform at various fairs and festivals under the name Cirque du Sewer. 

Flipping Out

Some of the stunts her feline and rodent costars can do include balancing acts, jumping through flaming hoops, and racing through obstacle courses. Besides the cute antics of her creatures, Melissa also performs slack rope walking, acrobatics, juggling, and more.

When they aren’t on the stage or the road, you might find Cirque du Sewer on the screen! They have performed on NBC’s  America’s Got Talent and Nickelodeon’s Unleashed , to name a couple, as well as ABC’s  The Gong Show with one of her adorable — and talented — rats. Check out the performance below and get a feel for the incredible training and work both Melissa and her rat have put in to showcase such mind boggling stunts.

Want to stay up to date on this talented troupe’s latest stunts (or just see some cute pictures of cats and rats)? Follow Cirque du Sewer on Instagram to see behind the scenes of their circus life and to find out when they’ll be performing near you!