computer-generated". Filming Location and conditions Cat Herders was filmed during December 1999 at Tejon Ranch, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. Established in 1843, it is, at nearly 270,000 acres, the largest continuous expanse of private land in California. The landscape features a "dramatic tapestry of rugged mountains, steep canyons, oak-covered rolling hills, and broad valleys" and cowboys on horseback still herd cattle along the open grazing land. Filming was accomplished over five days of wintry conditions, workers in goggles and full face masks battling through rain, snow, fog, sleet, blowing sand and fierce 40mph winds. As one worker recalls: "Shooting this spot was the most cold and miserable shooting days I've ever had. Out in the plains, freezing cold, wind so strong it would catch your car door and bend it back." On set, the cats were housed in individual cages in "trucks filled with movie cats". At night, "interspecies bonding" occurred with crew members bringing cats back to their hotels:"we actually snuck a cat into our motel room because he had had surgery and needed to recuperate. So he lived under the bed". Script The copywriter was Greg Hahn, but "the script came largely out of the improvised quips of the cowboys, replacing cattle with cats". Cat training and filming The commercial called for differing feline skills, including running, water scenes, or staying motionless. To prepare for filming, 50 cats and their trainers travelled to Tejon Ranch a week before the crew. For the dramatic river-crossing, Art Director Dean Hanson told Adweek, Trainers taught the cats to swim by starting them out in one-quarter inch of water, then gradually building the pool to swimming depth. . . . Since we were shooting in nippy weather, our 'river' was actually a small pool warmed by a portable heater, like a little cat Jacuzzi. Cats worked in shifts to film the herding scenes, with head trainer Karin McElhatton hiding in tumbleweeds to issue verbal directions. The illusion of cats stampeding was achieved by using clickers normally associated with food. During filming, clickers prompted the felines to run downhill, towards food which was out of shot. At other times, cats were lured by "strategically smeared tuna". Animal welfare Monitored by the American Humane Association, horses and cats were filmed separately in order to prevent "accidental tramplings". For scenes where both are required, a computer-operated motion-control camera is used to film