"strategically smeared tuna" to get the real ones to run in one direction.
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".
More about how the ad was made, here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Herders
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