NEW YORK - Who said you can't train cats?

Chupa and Ulia, ages 12 and 14, are spending their senior years leaping over brooms and themselves. They're so well-trained, Chupa gave me a high-five on command.

The cats belong to mother-daughter duo Svitlana and Maryna Savitsky. They're circus performers. For the next couple of months, they and their cats will be showing off their tricks at the Big Apple Circus.

“It takes a lot of patience and a lot of time, so the first thing that you need to do is to make the cat trust you, totally,” said Maryna Savitsky.

The show is currently in its 42nd year. Jack Marsh is the show's executive producer.

“I think it's so universal. It's something that you can go to as a grandparent and take your grandkid, and you're sitting there seeing these amazing physical things that are impressive, but they're also impressive to your grandkid at the same time,” Marsh said.

He doesn't perform. But he knows how to juggle. It's a skill I can't seem to master, but it's one he puts to use both literally and figuratively as he tries to stage the big show.

Doing the unbelievable is part of the circus' charm. S Caleb Carinci Asch stands on horses as they gallop in a circle. He also likes to do flips from one to the other.

“When I stand on them, they're balancing me up there because they love me, and obviously because I feed them, they make sure I stay safe,” said Asch.

He's been a circus performer for most of his life. This is his first time performing here, at the Big Apple Circus, a show, he says, that's like no other production he's performed in.

“There's a certain energy here that's kind of unexplainable, I guess,” Asch said. “But this is a very accepting audience. They're very eager.”