Who says you can't teach a cat tricks?

Dec 05, 2008, 11:55 PM

So my step-sister was over here with her puppy and her puppy does NOT get along with our cats at all (he chases our big mama cat around so she runs and hides, while my kitty just sorta stares at him like "Uh...what is this loud thing" when he barks at her, sometimes she runs away, other times she stands her ground hisses and swipes at him, I guess it's just a matter of how bold she is on any given day he's there.... Cats just don't know how to play like dogs do. Anyways, so the kitties were stuck in the bedrooms, my kitty was in my room, so I came it to hang out with her for awhile.

Anyways, from the time she was a kitten we discovered that the LOVES to play fetch. But only with little tinfoil balls that we make. She's so cute when she plays fetch, sometimes she'll drop it a few feet away from you, sometimes she drops it literally right at your feet, other times she runs off with the ball and hides it in your shoes, or in your purse if it's on the floor. A lot of times we find them in her food and water bowls

So, I played fetch with her in my room, now, it's kinda a small room, so I had to get a little creative. So I made her do some trick fetch moves. For example:

. I'd toss it onto my desk so she'd have to jump up onto the chair and then onto the desk to get it (easy for her to do)
. Toss it into my closet for looking around small spaces (easy too)

But the hardest fetch trick for her to do was when I tossed it up onto the top bunk (my bed is a bunk bed) she kept on looking around the bottom bunk expecting it to fall back down! My kitty is wise in the laws of gravity and probability...common sense? well, not so much. I had to show her me placing the ball up on top a couple times before she got the picture and jumped up...but she learned the trick!

Who says you can't teach a cat tricks? Lol.

PS: Speaking of my kitty I added a bunch more pictures of her to my gallery so you should check it out!

pachyderm · Dec 06, 2008, 07:36 AM

One of my cats has learned when I am pretending to be a monster, and likes to arch her back and puff up her tail, because she knows it is play and she will get rubbed instead of attacked. Sometimes she initiates the play. She is a character.

free2beme · Dec 06, 2008, 09:02 AM

hey kaika!!!

i have a friend who said the same thing about cats,
you can't teach a cat tricks
he said he preferred dogs because dogs are smarter
and cats can't even learn tricks.

i began teaching my cat, Reebok, some tricks.

now he can sit,
sit up on his hind legs and
wave (spread his toes and appear to wave) all on voice command.

he can also catch a treat in his paws
and put them in his mouth with his paws and eat them
all this while sitting up.

my friend was amazed!!!!!!!!!!

he now has a cat as his only pet.

Dec 06, 2008, 09:25 AM

I think cat's are just as smart as dogs, they just don't want to learn tricks

I don't think either of us would have the patience to teach her new ticks like sit and wave though, that's really cool

nowheretorun · Dec 06, 2008, 09:32 AM

i like cats

Dec 06, 2008, 09:37 AM

Me too, everyone else in my family is more of a dog person, but I'd much rather take a cat any day. Out of all the different kinds of pets I have had they seem to have the most personality. (and contrary to popular belief, cats love affection...just on their terms

)

nowheretorun · Dec 06, 2008, 09:47 AM

m om just inherited a cat from sis cause it was attacking the baby! ive never seen a cat do that... mom began by searching for the cat in every corner (making it want to hide more) and now it is still hiding somewhere.. during the night (i was staying at moms cause of some issues) the cat put a paw on my foot while i was sleeping.. i wanted her to climb on up and curl up with me, but still acclimating to moms' (me and the cat lol)... i like to get them as kittens, but i have adopted a few and they turned out allright... for some reason tho, not everyone in the family knows how to be friends with a cat.. i just dont get it, never had a problem of any kind.....

Dec 06, 2008, 10:39 AM

I could see a cat cuffing a baby.

Babies are loud
cats don't like loud things
Babies are grabby
Most can't can't tolerate being poked, prodded, pulled, etc. by a baby for long periods of time.

It is niether's fault. A baby can't help it, and a cat can only take so much outside it's comfort zone before it loses it's patience and swipes. It's why you should NEVER leave a baby alone with ANY animal because pet's aren't babysitters and they can't understand that the baby is just a baby, they just know that some new animal is very grabby and drools and is annoying keeps tormenting them.

I've never gotten a kitten before, except when our cats give birth. This happened once when I was six, but the mom and all of her kittens were black so when the got sick the vet got so confused who's cat was who's so he gave them all to the shelter, again when I was about 9, and we raised the kittens and gave them all to good homes, and again last year, except she only had one kitten and we decided it wouldn't be fair to separate her from her only baby.

nowheretorun · Dec 06, 2008, 10:45 AM

(((Kaika))))) you bring Humanity back into my senses

babies and separation dont mix too well ive noticed....

Dec 06, 2008, 12:56 PM

Thanks

The two that we have now are "my" kitties
(you can see the pictures of them at my albums)

Though I'm not at mom's 24/7 so she takes care of them 90% of the time. I've fed them, given them water, petted, played with them, and cleaned up after them except for the litter box (maybe I'll invest in one of those self-cleaning ones lol. I can't imagine it being too bad though, I've cleaned up grosser stuff)

free2beme · Dec 07, 2008, 10:35 AM

kaika,

for easier litter cleaning, i use litter pan liners.

(u can get them at walmart- Van Ness is the best)

they are like garbage bags made to fit litter pans.

you fit them in the pan and pour the litter on top.

to change litter just take out the bag, litter and all.

makes for as you say 'less gross stuff'

nowheretorun · Dec 07, 2008, 10:48 AM

my little sis has promised mom she would come by once a week to care for moms' cat and she probably wont be perfect at it, but she'll try.... enjoying you enjoying the kittens

free2beme · Dec 07, 2008, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaika

It is niether's fault. A baby can't help it, and a cat can only take so much .......they just know that some new animal is very grabby and drools and is annoying keeps tormenting them.

i think you're right.

this is just my opinion, but
i think since cats are pack animals,
they are also looking for or attempting to be the alpha cat,
the leader of the pack.

i am the alpha cat at my house.
i love my cats- they are family, but
i determine what is the limits for acceptable behavior.
(no aggravating other cats, no getting on kitchen counters)
a squirt with the water bottle or just a shake of the bottle most times works.
they still play and act like cats
but are fairly peaceful.

any way .... it works here and

free2beme · Dec 07, 2008, 11:03 AM

a baby in the house makes things dfferent though....

baby's safety has to come first

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