Pet Sematary star Leo the cat has passed away.
The Maine Coon played the undead version of Church in this year’s new adaptation of the hit Stephen King novel.
Animal trainer Kirk Jarrett, who adopted Leo after filming, announced the news on the furball’s popular Instagram account earlier today (May 30).
Sharing a photo of Leo relaxing at home, Jarrett wrote:
It is with great sadness that we tell you that Leo passed away. He will forever be missed by his human and fur family. May his star always shine bright.
Jarrett regularly shared pictures of Leo for his 16,000 followers on Instagram, including many adorable ones of the kitty enjoying the film’s red carpet premiere.
That bow tie!!!
While a total of four cats played Church in 2019’s Pet Sematary, Leo’s grumpy face made sure he was the one to appear on the film’s posters.
According to Jarrett, in a recent interview with The AV Club, Leo was born to play the undead Church, describing him as ‘the poster child’.
He said:
Leo is a confident sit-stay cat. His role is as the undead Church; that was his whole purpose, to be the poster child. The cat you see all across the different platforms, and in the trailer, almost any time he’s in in the undead makeup — that was Leo.
church_aka_leo/Instagram
Fellow animal trainer for Pet Sematary, Melissa Millett, agreed Leo was perfect for the part.
She added:
Part of it was that he’s just got such a cool look, different from any other cat I’ve seen. He’s got this beautiful face, and these eyes that are so expressive. But during the training phase, you look at yourself as a coach, and you figure out the strengths of all your team members. We did end up using Leo for almost all of the undead stuff.
We will never forget you Leo!
