Former male model finding fame for fur balls

LONDON -- American ex-model Adam Grant knows how to get talent to perform for the camera.

"I need you to relax... relax. Can you do that for me," Grant asks the model, while rubbing his shoulders under the bright lights during a shoot in central London.

The model happens to be a dark orange-colored, domestic long-hair cat named Dusta. She's auditioning to be represented by Grant's agency, PetLondon Models. The kitty scurried off and hid behind the set earlier, but the lure of catnip, treats and Grant's wooing eventually got Dusta into her groove, allowing the photographer to shoot the long-hair as she played with a toy.

Grant has seen this kind behavior from the talent before. The New York native and his British wife Melody Lewis represent more than 2,000 animal models, from ordinary cats and dogs, to the more unusual like iguanas, snails, horses and snakes.

Their agency books pets for promotional events, print ads and television spots for big-name brands including London's iconic Harrods department store, the DreamWorks' animated film "Puss in Boots," and a commercial for travel website Expedia that saw a dog don a wig.

"You name any corporation within the English and American market, from food to commercials, to stills, to events; we do it," Grant says.

Strapping a toupee on a canine isn't the strangest booking PetLondon Models has handled. There was the micro pig photographed wearing diamond earrings for Russian Vogue ("Basically, this pig had on more than 50 carats," Grant says). Or the still fantasy photo shoot that called for a unicorn: the client booked a white horse. "We added a horn and we made him a little pink, worked a little tie-dye on the mane, made him sparkly, and he was the most magical unicorn that you ever did see," Grant says.

CBS News watched anxious pet owners trot out their felines for a PetLondon Model cat casting call. Shrea Daniel was there, hoping the day would lead to more work for Dusta. Her cat recently appeared in a photo feature in a popular London newspaper.

"At first, Dusta was a bit nervous, but we got him into (cooperating with the shoot) in the end," Daniel said.

Pet owner and IT consultant Mark Cheese is confident his snow-white cat Teddy has a future in runway work with fashion models, or in print advertising campaigns. He told CBS News that when he takes his two-year old cat for a walk in the park, people constantly tell him Teddy is beautiful.

"Teddy has got a lot of character, he's very personable and can be easily trained," Cheese said, cuddling Teddy ahead of his PetLondon photo shoot.

Grant says his former days being photographed for magazines gave him the perspective to ensure pets are treated well on the job.

"When I was a model, they weren't so particularly kind to the talent," Grant says about photographers and directors. "I make sure they are extra kind to the animal."

His wife says that working cats, for example, can earn about $50 per hour. Cheese's cat Teddy shot his first professional booking just days after the casting call; featured in a cat litter campaign.

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