Act's animals do the darnedest things.

Byline: Carolyn Lamberson The Register-Guard

It turns out you really can't train a house cat.

Sure, Gregory Popovich's Comedy Pet Theatre sports a den of feline stars that leap through hoops and jump off poles and walk around his legs - all seemingly on command or on cue.

But Popovich will let you in on a little secret.

`They not follow your voice command as a dog,' the Russian-born juggler, comedian and circus star said. "We as humans have to follow their natural habits.'

It's been more than 10 years since Popovich first introduced animals in his act. His menagerie now includes 14 house cats and a pack of dogs - all adopted from animal shelters, he proudly notes - and an assortment of mice and birds.

The human and animal stars of Popovich's Comedy Pet Theatre will roam free in the Hult Center's Silva Concert Hall on Saturday during an afternoon matinee.

Popovich, a fourth-genera- tion circus artist who has performed with the Moscow State Circus and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus - was starring in a show at the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas when one day he noticed his pet cat acting funny.

`He acting so funny, he do many funny stuff that I decide to show him on stage with no training, nothing,' Popovich said via cell phone from Florida. "Like accidently, this kitty cat go inside my briefcase, I go on stage and accidently, I free the kitty.

The audience reacted very well.

`I start to search and find out nobody else works with cats. So I was first person in the United States to work with kitty cats.'

Popovich gained world renown as a juggler and clown, but his transition to animal trainer came somewhat naturally, he said.

`My mom, she's an animal trainer in Russia. She used to train dogs, and I myself grow up among the pets,' he said. "I help my mom and I know how to train the dogs.'

But cats are a different story. He has no tips to help you keep your cat from clawing the couch. The trick to incorporating cats into his act involves closely observing their natural behavior.

`I spend a lot of time with them when they are kittens and I see what is their favorite treat, and what they like to do, without any pushing from my side.

`As soon as I find out what they like to do, I follow their natural habits. Let's say one cat ... will like to sit down on your shoulders.

`So based on this natural habit, I create trick where the cat jumps from a big tall pole to my shoulders.'

The family tradition

The show is more than a series of pet tricks. It features five other performers and acrobats from Russia, as well as Popovich's 13-year-old daughter, Ana- stasia. She's created two acts for the show, one involving hula hoops and the other in which she has trained a white dove.

Popovich plays a character much like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp. One day, his homeless fellow meets a homeless dog; together they go off to join the circus. The show follows a story line, with lots of comedy elements thrown in.

"It's not like circus show, primitive show, with just one trick or one act,' he said.

After a career in the Moscow State Circus, Popovich came to the United States in 1991 to join Ringling Bros. He became the first Russian circus artist to perform in the Ringling Bros. center ring.

He now spends his summers in Branson, Mo. The rest of the year, he's on the road with the pets - who travel in a custom-built trailer.

At age 41, it's a life Popovich can't see changing any time soon.

`Because this is part of my life, to work with animals, I don't see any future `I'm gonna change my life' extremes. So I'll do this as long as possible.

`The show has become more artistic. It can be done at 70 years old or maybe 75 years. I don't see any problems ahead.'

As for the animals, Popovich seems horrified at the notion that they would go back to the shelter when they are too old to perform. They are, he said, a part of the family.

`So they'll be in the house and don't go on the show, and enjoy the rest of their life in our house. Me and my wife and my daughter are very big pet lovers. Part of style of our life is to work with the pets.'

EVENT PREVIEW

Gregory Popovich's Comedy Pet Theatre

When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street

Tickets: $20 for adults, $10 for youth and students, through Hult Center ticket office, 682-5000 or www.hultcenter.org

ADOPTION DAY

Up to five dogs and eight kittens will be looking for new homes at the Hult Center on Saturday. No, they not running away from the Comedy Pet Theatre. They're all animals from the Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene that will be up for adoption. The animals will be available for inspection from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the Hult Center lobby, before Popovich's show.

CAPTION(S):

Gregory Popovich and his animal friends will unleash the laughter Saturday afternoon at the Hult Center. `I spend a lot of time with them when they are kittens. ... As soon as I find out what they like to do, I follow their natural habits.." - GREGORY POPOVICH