The Caught Stealing Cat Has A Surprising Connection To One Of Stephen King's Darkest Movies

Oftentimes in modern movies, when we see an animal on screen, there's a strong chance that it's a CGI creation. That CGI is pretty convincing much of the time, but it's never quite like the real thing. There's a personality that a real animal can bring. That's part of what makes director Darren Aronofsky's latest movie, "Caught Stealing," so damn fun. Yes, it's a busy crime caper anchored by "Elvis" star Austin Butler, but it's Bud the cat who proves to be a little scene-stealer.

The film centers on Hank Thompson (Butler), a former high-school baseball phenom who can't play anymore and is now serving as a bartender at a New York City dive bar. One day, his punker neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to take care of his cat Bud for a few days. Hank and Bud are then unwittingly caught in the middle of a bunch of gangsters who all want something they think he's got. As chaos ensues around Hank, Bud is there to help lighten the tension and offer this former baseball player something of an emotional anchor.

Bud is portrayed by Tonic the cat, who is something of a movie star in his own right. Tonic's resume also includes Dewey from Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving" and, most notably, he was one of the eight "pack of diva" cats who brought Church to life in 2019's "Pet Sematary." Directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer the film served as the second major motion picture adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name, following the 1989 version by Mary Lambert. It should also be noted that Bud was portrayed by several cats in "Caught Stealing," with Tonic being just one of them.

The 2019 version of "Pet Sematary" has its differences from King's novel, but Church the cat is one of the most important characters, as he provides proof positive that sometimes dead is better. While there were multiple cats who helped bring Church to life in that film, Tonic was one of them, and he's probably the biggest movie star of the bunch. He has more than 14,000 followers on Instagram, and his account is full of photos of memorable red carpet appearances and whatnot.

For anyone who has seen both of these movies, it would be painfully obvious to state that they are wildly different works of cinema. "Pet Sematary" is "scary as hell," as Chris Evangelista put it in his review for /Film in 2019. It's a horrific ride with a cat — and eventually people — who are brought back from the dead thanks to a very special, evil graveyard. On the flip side, "Caught Stealing" is a fun yet emotional, high stakes crime caper. Not only are the films totally unalike, but the cat at the center of each of them is as well.

Church starts out as a quintessential family pet before becoming something absolutely hellish. Bud, meanwhile, is a lovable little bundle of fluff who is just a bit rambunctious but is lovable to the end. We often think of human actors, such as Butler, as having a great deal of range. But Tonic has proved through these two movies that cat performers can have impressive range too.

"Caught Stealing" opens in theaters on August 29, 2025.