I love this! Where do you get the clicker - is there a brand that is "cat-friendly"? I know nothing about clicker training but I'm going to read up on it since you and FeralMom both recommend it so highly. Finn is smart, needs stimulation, and is both food AND affection motivated. Thank you!I find clicker training works really well. It's basically the same as you would do for a dog. Although if the cat has a very lazy disposition, he may not be into it. But if he is alert and seeks stimulation OR is particularly food or affection motivated, then he's a great candidate (food motivated kitties are the easiest to train).
Thanks to you and Moxiewild, I'm going to look into this. Your tricks sounds awesome - do YOU have any vids? I would love to see them! I'm sure you've seen the video of the cats doing tricks on America's Got Talent or something like that. I've watched that again and again - showed it to my family as proof of feline intelligence and ability to learn.Clicker training involves zero scolding, zero correcting, only reinforcing the things you DO want, ignoring what you do not want...
You've said this before, but for some reason it just clicked with me as far as my computer goes. I'm going to put tape on my laptop before I go into Finn's room. Here's hoping it works - will keep you posted!I just use double sided tape, which worksawesomely for my cat. I do mean, perfectly well, awesome results with my double sided tape.
I'll do that, too. I'm in a habit of rotating because Charlie gets bored with food very quickly and I find that if I rotate the food and flavors, I can make it through a whole case of food without him going 'off' of it. I had TONS of food that he refused to eat now from before I was wise to his ways (I've since used it up feeding it to Finn - it's high-quality food). Sometimes the most blatant things can escape us - it just never occurred to me to limit the brands to one food to help Finn's tummy. I am suspecting supplements, too. The Comfort Max, the L-Lysine, and the Jackson Galaxy Safe Space are all items I've added to his food. I eliminated the L-Lysine and saw a slight improvement in on stool yesterday, but most were still runny. Today I eliminated Comfort Max and will see what tomorrow holds. I will limit his food to one brand now.You may want to consider settling on only one (1) brand for now,
No other brands, and see if his little tummy can adjust to 1 brand of food
and settle down?
Oh, I won't. They were probably only out for about 7 minutes total. I'm too scared to let them out for longer than that! I'm afraid more minutes=more opportunity to get into a scuffle. If that happens eventually, how will I know when to intervene? Once one of the cats submits, the other one will usually back off, won't they?However, don’t let your guard completely down yet. Lol I firmly believe that they will be good for each other but in a new situation, roles are not yet established.
Definitely. I can sense that Finn is getting more and more restless being shut in the room, and he's been slightly less affectionate the last few days and a little more agitated. He was really wild once he got out of the room today. I mean, is it normal for the new guy to pounce the resident cat right off the bat? Or is that uncommon?Keep a close eye on them
Okay, that was funny!! A patty cake festival - oh that made me laugh.I really doubt you’ll have anything more than a patty cake festival.
This makes me feel a LOT better. If you, who have rescued as many cats as you have, have never needed the net, my chances of needing one are slim. PHEW! Today when I saw Finn crouch and wiggle-bottom at Charlie I grabbed the closest thing to me, which was a glass of water, and was prepared to toss water on them. Which I'm sure is NOT advisable. Any suggestion for how long I should try to leave them out next time? Also,I never needed the net but.... as you can see, the cats enjoy it. Lol
Thanks so much - and I sure hope so!!Wonderful news! THIS sounds so great!! Congrats, Buffster!
Sounds like things are going the right way!!
Ahhh, it really does me good to hear about others' experiences! I can only imagine some of the dust-ups you've seen and the kitty drama you must witness on the daily. Okay, I'll try not to be a ninny and allow them some time to work it out when I get the 'sense' that they are both in the right mood.Crouching and wiggle bottom means Finn was going to pounce or make a dash for Charlie but that isn’t necessarily a threat as they do that during play too. That wiggle butt always cracks me up. The kitty cha cha. I am betting it would have been playful but if there was a startled hiss in return, there could have been some patty cake going on. Some swatting isn’t always bad. It’s done to establish rules, boundaries, hierarchy and in play. Some of this just has to be allowed. You can slowly increase the time they are together. At some point you will have to just see what happens but taking it calm and relaxed makes all go better. If you are seriously scared about Finn going bananas, get a cardboard box and if it is a complete emergency ( I can’t imagine would EVER be needed) you can drop it over whichever cat you can cover to end the issues and use it to guide the kitty into a safe place. I prefer a box over a blanket just because nobody can bite through it or jump on the cat under the blanket. You’ll probably just find the cats both want to play in the box. Cats love getting in boxes! Be prepared for the cat under the box to give you a serious stink eye once you lift the box off! Stink eye, tail flip, turn their back to you and flounce away! Total disgust! Seriously, a little scuffle won’t be the end of the world. Just keep going cuz you’re doing great. I have to stop Previous nearly every day. I think that he has made it a game. Who can I chase to make Mom stop what she is doing? Precious really wants to play but not everyone appreciates it. Muffin crouched down and growls. It sounds awful but it’s all about her just telling Precious to bug off! Nobody has gotten bitten or even a scratch. Swat, yep. Major game of , let’s match paws? Yep. Like two little bears rearing up. Chase the scaredy cat and double back to steal their treats! I allow some of this. No treat stealing but as long as no one is really scared, it about cats behaving like cats. Precious chases Smokey, Smokey chases Bonjure, Bonjure jumps in my lap and it’s all over. Imagine you are babysitting a couple of kids. Some kids are little angels, some are very active, some will want to be babied and some will have a wicked sense of humor.
Increase the visit time as you feel comfortable with it.