People who are REALLY into dog training: this is my dog Sirius Rex and he can scale a 9 ft wall, turn off light switches, get me a beer, and tear you apart limb from limb
People who are REALLY into cat training: this is my cat Greg Allanis of the Afternoon Islands and his job is to pose for judges. Sometimes he goes through obstacle courses. That motherfucker keeps turning off the lights while I’m working though
“Cool, but can she do it in a public space?”
Yezzir!
We went out to get the cats raw food today and took a stop in the indoor shopping centre to eat some lunch. Once I was waiting for my fiancé to finish, I decided to do some more proofing of Darts tricks, and though she won’t do “lay down” as quickly for dinner just yet, she absolutely nailed it today!
Usually I fully proof her cues before trying them out in public or on a walk, but took the chance today because I thought “why not?” and she absolutely blew me away with how well she did, especially considering we started learning this trick 5 days ago! 😍
We ended up putting on a trick show for over 10 people in the end and absolutely made their day! 🥹
Do you think she did well? 🤔
Jasper has decided the litter box is not being cleaned to his standards. I have heard normal cats sometimes express this by peeing elsewhere - Jasper, however, is not a normal cat.
Now, Jasper lives with two humans that hate having their tasks disrupted. Consequently, screaming his demands at the top of his lungs (his initial strategy) usually results in him being locked in the bathroom. That is obviously not the desired outcome, so after much experimentation he arrived at the following:
1. Select target.
2. Sit on them.
3. When they get up, they have to move you.
4. This is when you make your demand (or demands, as the case may be.)
Coincidentally, the humans are usually getting up to go to the bathroom, which is where Jasper’s litter box is. So, he will happily follow you to the bathroom, at which point he makes his (equally well-plotted) request.
He sits in front of the box. He half-heartedly digs at the litter with one paw. He looks up at you with big green eyes. And he meows his saddest little meow. Just once. Not demanding, just so, so sad. How do you say no to that? You scoop the litter for him. He waits patiently. When you’re done, he winds around your legs in thanks, then cheerfully does his business.
It’s worth noting that Jasper’s two ADHD humans have not, historically, scooped the box for him every day. Or even every other day. Little man has tolerated this for years with apparently no complaints. But now that he has figured out how to ask for it, he wants it every day. Every time, probably.
Domestic cats (Felis catus) prefer freely available food over food that requires effort - PMC
I like how this study says that “six laboratory cats failed to contrafreeload.”
So…putting that double negative together (and recognizing the sample size of 17 isn’t amazing), you can say “science suggests some cats are literally freeloaders.”
(OK, and I’ll acknowledge that the human-cultural context of “freeloading” and the animal-training context aren’t exactly identical.)
(Bonus picture of Thunder, who does this for treats)
Although I’m curious now. In the study, they provided freely available food and puzzles in the same room, and cats tended toward the freely available food. But can you extrapolate that this means they are happier overall with freely available food? Maybe the puzzle is best for supplementary, special treats. Bijou only gets her Meow Mix Irresistible Soft Treats when she does tricks, and she’ll do them even though her food and water bowls are full. Especially during “crazy time” when she has high energy. (Zoomies, swatting at my leg if I don’t pay attention to her, almost always in the mornings and evenings.) She’ll only do 5-10 tricks before walking away, which I understand is the norm for cats. (I have not tried simply filling the bowl with Irresistibles to see if she goes for that.)
Consider this human anecdote regarding rewards for engaging activities vs. freely available rewards:
A new year is here and I want to admit that 2025 was so hard for me but also I am not going to give up until my dreams are coming true.
Last year I felt the ending of astrology and cat psychology but I am still doing the fight even though the real estate is turning into my main job.
Fight is my only option for what I love. So I am still here if you need anything regarding your cat, helping you with your astrology chart, a pet sitter in Portugal or a property here.
I want to wish you all an amazing 2026!
I’m trying to see something. Aka my sister claims “it’s natural” and “you can’t control cats” while I say that they can be trained out of it and redirected to climb something else.
Were you able to train cats out of climbing the tree?
Yes
No, but I tried
No, but I don’t mind them being in the tree / didn’t try training them
Just want to see the answer
See Results
My theory is that cats know what is “naughty” because they recognize the objects/places that are important to us when we interact with them, so when they want attention they try to mess with that specific thing to get our attention. They can’t speak to us.
All decked for Christmas
We’re all ready for Christmas over here especially Snowy and his interchangeable Christmas outfit.
Can you guess what we’ve got Snowy for Christmas? Cat Nip And Treats!!
The little furball is going to love his gift this year. Wishing everyone the best Christmas wishes this year love from Nick + Snowy
Brushing the Baby-
He always enjoys being brushed and pampered like the spoiled little kitty he is!
Always remember when you go to brush your cat or any animal for that matter, let them sniff the brush and always test how they react to it before going ahead with it, just like I did looking for his approval as not every cat or other furry friends likes to be brushed!
So I taught my cats to high five for snacks. (It’s was easier than getting them to lay down and I can’t just keep saying “Sit” over and over.)
Unrelated to that, we have a significant problem about chips in this household, aka my cats disagree about it being a human only snack. There are regular break ins in the snack cabinet, is all I’m saying
And I was just eating chips on the couch and red cat jumps up. I can see that he is eyeing the chips bag, he is not sneaky. So I put up a hand to stop him, but instead of trying to push his way around it as he usually does, there is a change of approach. I get a very gentle “high five”.
He looked rather insulted when I laughed at him loudly and it did not result in getting a chip.
A fun little Apollo update:
I finally gave in and I let him spend the night in my room with me. Aside from some running and questionable noises (I think he was playing in his carrier I have under my bed) he slept pretty well!
—💖—
Woke up to an easier Demon Time than usual because he’s not dying to get into my room at 5 am, so another win. He actually made his way downstairs by himself once he was more awake so I don’t have him on my ass while I shower!
I think I’ll let him sleep in my room from now on, and if he wants to move himself downstairs, he is free to…
I just worry about him being a Velcro kitty… once he gets his bearings, I am going to be resuming life, but don’t want him crying when I leave or anything. So with that, I think more scheduled time apart is in order, especially since he’s going to be sleeping with me.
A glimpse into this morning’s outside time. And a little bit of what cat training looks like.
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Truth: Nope! Scratching is a natural instinct to mark territory, stretch, and maintain claws. They aren’t being malicious, they’re just being cats!
The solution isn’t punishment, it's redirection. Provide a better, more appealing option (like a sturdy sisal post) right next to the ‘bad’ spot. Make it fun with catnip!
