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My cats are smart. They are inquisitive. And they are easily bored.
Lately I have been teaching them how to do things. I taught Tiny to come up on my bed when I call him, and taught Christy to play a game where I hold something up and say "Knock it down!" and she knocks it down. They both play fetch, with their own modification: I do the fetching. They knock a small object off a table, wait for me to put it back up, and then deliberately knock it down again. Both cats know how to use treat balls, and stay out of cupboards more because they know there's not much interesting in there than because they can't get in. Christy likes to play with paper towel rolls, so I keep them locked in a closet with a knob on the door that they can't turn; thankfully neither one is into toilet paper. Tiny and I chase each other up and down the hallway. They are active mostly when I'm home. Both cats know how to tell me when their food dish is empty, their water bowl is stale, or their litter box is dirty. I can also call them to come up on their window perch, but they get treats there, so that's hardly teaching them anything they don't already know!
So far, when I've taught them things, it's mostly been incidental, me noticing things they like to do, or them noticing things that I do, and finding patterns, and eventually being able to communicate and predict each other.
I'm starting to think that they would actually enjoy learning tricks of some sort. I don't mean the way dogs enjoy it, because they're so happy that you think they're a good doggie. These cats would probably enjoy it because they would know they were smart and they were figuring something out.
Tiny is a brown tabby DSH who is very good at "reading" me. He can read my body language and nudge me out of a shutdown, because he sees me acting odd and doesn't like it. He's got anxious tendencies and hates thunderstorms and sneezes. He enjoys running, but not climbing, and likes to keep all four feet on the ground. He likes treats, but he's not strongly food-motivated.
Christy is a little calico DSH who has fast paws and a small body. She squeezes herself into tiny places and there's nothing she can't get into or climb on top of. She's shy, but she's a real cuddlebug with the people she trusts (i.e., me). She balances easily and swats at anything that moves. She's very dextrous, and the only reason she can't open doors is that the doorknobs in my apartment all take a good deal of force to turn. If they're open even a crack she can get through them. Christy loves food and will lick plates if they're left out.
So... what do you think? What sorts of things might they enjoy learning? I don't want to train them for acting or anything silly like that; I just know they are both the sort of cat who likes to figure out new things and I want to give them some new things to figure out.
Got any good references for cat training?
Lately I have been teaching them how to do things. I taught Tiny to come up on my bed when I call him, and taught Christy to play a game where I hold something up and say "Knock it down!" and she knocks it down. They both play fetch, with their own modification: I do the fetching. They knock a small object off a table, wait for me to put it back up, and then deliberately knock it down again. Both cats know how to use treat balls, and stay out of cupboards more because they know there's not much interesting in there than because they can't get in. Christy likes to play with paper towel rolls, so I keep them locked in a closet with a knob on the door that they can't turn; thankfully neither one is into toilet paper. Tiny and I chase each other up and down the hallway. They are active mostly when I'm home. Both cats know how to tell me when their food dish is empty, their water bowl is stale, or their litter box is dirty. I can also call them to come up on their window perch, but they get treats there, so that's hardly teaching them anything they don't already know!
So far, when I've taught them things, it's mostly been incidental, me noticing things they like to do, or them noticing things that I do, and finding patterns, and eventually being able to communicate and predict each other.
I'm starting to think that they would actually enjoy learning tricks of some sort. I don't mean the way dogs enjoy it, because they're so happy that you think they're a good doggie. These cats would probably enjoy it because they would know they were smart and they were figuring something out.
Tiny is a brown tabby DSH who is very good at "reading" me. He can read my body language and nudge me out of a shutdown, because he sees me acting odd and doesn't like it. He's got anxious tendencies and hates thunderstorms and sneezes. He enjoys running, but not climbing, and likes to keep all four feet on the ground. He likes treats, but he's not strongly food-motivated.
Christy is a little calico DSH who has fast paws and a small body. She squeezes herself into tiny places and there's nothing she can't get into or climb on top of. She's shy, but she's a real cuddlebug with the people she trusts (i.e., me). She balances easily and swats at anything that moves. She's very dextrous, and the only reason she can't open doors is that the doorknobs in my apartment all take a good deal of force to turn. If they're open even a crack she can get through them. Christy loves food and will lick plates if they're left out.
So... what do you think? What sorts of things might they enjoy learning? I don't want to train them for acting or anything silly like that; I just know they are both the sort of cat who likes to figure out new things and I want to give them some new things to figure out.
Got any good references for cat training?
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