There are actually four cats who play the non-puppet sections of Salem's act.
There are cat trainers and it's their jobs to work with animals and train them.
The trainers are there everyday and work with them when the actors are not there.
The cats, just like the human actors, have to rehearse.
Source: Jenna Leigh Green
The names of the cats are Elvis, Lucy, Witch and Salem (the youngest).
Elvis can move his mouth as if he's talking, and is used for scenes where the puppets would be inappropriate.
Lucy's the one who walks and stops.
Witch is the holding cat, she lets you hold her and rub her behind the ears.
Salem is the "hyper" one. He'll do stuff like jump on a ball of yarn.
Source: Melissa Joan Hart (October issue of Nickelodeon Magazine)
Lucy unfortunately unexpectedly died on Friday 24 April 1998.
Source: Barry
One of the cats' trainers, Mark Watters, says it's really not any more difficult
to train a cat than a dog: Your motivation is different. The dog is the
only animal in the world that will do things for you because it loves you.
[With cats] we use a little food reward and teach them that working is fun.
Nick Bakay, a writer on Sabrina and the voice of Salem, is amazed at how
well Watters has taught the cats: I have two
cats and a dog. I
know the difference between the dog's ability to be obedient and the cats',
[who are] completely aloof.
Certain cats, too, are more trainable than others. Watters says: You can train any of
them to do things, but for them to be able to handle going
out and the exposure of the lights - things that are very scary for cats -
you need the right personality.
Source: Los Angeles Times Article
Another one of the cat trainers is called Cathy Pitman.
Source: Pam Elyea
According to Nick, Elvis is mellow, has the
sweetest disposition and they all love him.
Source: Nick
Bakay (read the interview)
I could not find any other pages relating to the cats who play Salem.
Do you have more material? Pictures or sounds of Salem? Information? Corrections? Comments? Links? Please e-mail them to me: py8ieh@bath.ac.uk.