What would you do for a million dollars? Would you dive into a swimming pool full of squiggly snakes? Would you walk on a tightrope 30 feet in the air? Would you tiptoe into the dark unknown and dare to try thinking like … a human?

Gemini the cat thought that last one was quite the tall order, but then he started dreaming about how many fuzzy mice he could acquire with that kind of cash. In the end, the dollar signs were too much to resist.

Margaret Mays of San Diego, California, first met Gemini when she went to Pahrump, Nevada, to volunteer with Best Friends’ Great Kitty Rescue. Gemini had been living in rough circumstances, to say the least, but even back then he was a mellow guy, as easygoing as they come. When Gemini’s picture showed up on the Best Friends website later, it brought back a whole truckload of memories. She knew he belonged with her, and she adopted him. After she took him home, though, her other cats gave him the brush-off. They even hissed their disapproval from time to time. Yet Gemini couldn’t care less. He’d yawn back at them and set to work looking for a food bowl.

So here we have a cat with awesome social skills, an ability to shrug off strange new situations, and a desire to inhale any food within pouncing distance. As such, when Margaret heard about a new game show called "Think Like a Cat," she was intrigued. Especially when she learned they were looking for cats with good temperaments who could hold their own in a feline eating contest, which was one part of the show.

So they went down to Hollywood for an audition. Margaret says that Gemini held his own just fine. He aced the behavior test. She aced the quiz portion. Now all that remains to be seen is how well they won over the judges. The main part of the show involves a series of games to see if the person and cat are in sync thought-wise.

If Gemini can pull it off and win top prize, he’ll have the rags-to-riches story of the century!

Story by David Dickson
Photo by Sarah Ause

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