--- title: 'Pet Sematary' Star Leo the Cat Dies description: Leo, a former shelter cat, who played an undead feline named Church in the remake of the classic 1989 film 'Pet Sematary,' died unexpectedly. canonical: https://time.com/5598293/cat-pet-sematary-dies/ author: Madeline Fitzgerald article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-05-30T18:11:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:38:06.897Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Pet Sematary' Movie's Breakout Star Leo the Cat Dies og:description: Leo, a former shelter cat, made his film debut this April og:url: https://time.com/5598293/cat-pet-sematary-dies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f092a3c1f2e9d54/69894a94656a3fe1bbbd72da/pet-sematary-cat-leo-dies.png?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'Pet Sematary' Cat Leo Dies og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Pet Sematary' Movie's Breakout Star Leo the Cat Dies twitter:description: Leo, a former shelter cat, made his film debut this April twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f092a3c1f2e9d54/69894a94656a3fe1bbbd72da/pet-sematary-cat-leo-dies.png?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Pet Sematary_'s Breakout Star Leo the Cat Dies by [Madeline Fitzgerald](https://time.com/author/madeline-fitzgerald/) ## Madeline Fitzgerald May 30, 2019 6:11 PM UTC  YouTube by [Madeline Fitzgerald](https://time.com/author/madeline-fitzgerald/) ## Madeline Fitzgerald May 30, 2019 6:11 PM UTC Just weeks after his big screen debut, Leo, the Maine Coon crossbreed cat who played (spoiler alert) an undead feline named Church in the 2019 remake of the classic 1989 film _Pet Sematary,_ has died unexpectedly. Leo was a shelter cat prior to his role in _Pet Sematary,_ which premiered in April. In an interview with the [AV Club](https://film.avclub.com/pet-sematarys-animal-handlers-answer-our-questions-abou-1833889552), animal trainer Kirk Jarrett explained that that Leo was “different from any other cat I’ve seen. He’s got this beautiful face, and these eyes that are so expressive.” Though there were four different cats who played the role of Church in the film, Leo was the most prominent, especially in advertisements. “Leo is a confident sit-stay cat. His role is as the undead Church; that was his whole purpose, to be the poster child,” said Jarrett. (Leo literally features on the film’s posters.) “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.” Following the film’s production, Jarrett adopted Leo. As all cats should, Leo developed a following on Instagram, where he currently has over 17,000 followers. It was on the social media platform that Jarrett chose to announce Leo’s death, writing on Thursday, “It is with deep sadness that we tell you that Leo has passed away. He will forever be missed by his human and fur family. May his star always shine bright.” Jarrett did not announce the cause of Leo’s death. _Pet Sematary,_ which premiered on April 5, is a remake of a 1989 film and based on a Stephen King novel of the same name. The film stars Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz as a couple that moves to rural Maine with their two children and cat, finding an animal graveyard in the woods behind their new home. 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