Another Cat Story

[JohnFox]

You need to work harder at it Geezer. My cat knows sit up, lay down, and get down. The first one was taught using treats, the second with affection (he wouldn't get petted unless he laid down), and the last with the back of my hand. Each one only took a couple of attempts.

Cats are pretty smart, once you find the right motivation...

Oh .. and for anyone upset about the back of my hand bit. DJ (short for Don Juan Del Gato, the greatest (neutered) cat lover in the world) was getting a bit bitey with Brenda. He would sit on the back of the couch, then walk over and bite her. I recognized that he was trying to be dominate. Now, the couch sits in the middle of the room, not against the wall. So .. one day, when he got up on the back of the couch, I walked over to him and said 'get down'. Of course, he didn't. So I said it again. He still didn't. The third time I took the back of my hand and tossed him about two feet away from the couch to the floor. He got up, walked a few feet, sat and started to clean his fur (and salve his pride). I walked over, petted him, and said 'good kitty'.

Since then, 'get down' has always worked. And he stopped biting Brenda.

Here is DJ....

[NWDave]

Here is DJ....

Hey, I just saw your cat in a commercial on TV last night. He was the new "Home Security". Same dang pose too. If you see DJ licking his chops, I'll know he's the one. The commercial basically shows the couple in bed, sheets drawn up to under the chin, eyes wide open and a slight tinge of fear in the eyes, with the "Home Security" Panther on a table (much like DJ), staring at the couple and licking it's chops. Uncanny.

[Shep]

Cats and dogs are a lot smarter than we generally give them credit for.
Used to have a big black tomcat that always wanted to play.
I would throw a little rubber ball for him to chase and he would go nuts trying to catch that bouncing ball.
He figured out that I would only throw it a few times for him before I got bored with it. So he started bringing it back after he chased it down.
I would keep throwing it for him if I didn`t have to go and get it all the time.
Not everyone could say their cat would play fetch.
Little varmit learned how to open drawrs, kitchen cabinet doors, and sliding closet doors.
He couldn`t open the fridge. He knew how, just didn`t have the stength/leverage to do it. Saw him try it plenty of times.
Pretty smart for a cat.
He was also a con artist. He wasn`t allowed on the kitchen table. Didn`t matter if I gave him the same food I was eating or catfood, he always just assumed that whatever I had was better.
Sometimes he would get into fights with other cats. And if he was a little beat up, I would feel sorry for him and give him something off of my plate.
One day when he was begging for something off my plate and I wouldn`t give it to him, he picked up one paw and started limping around. Then looked up at me as if to say "See, I`m wounded. Don`t you feel sorry for me?"
When I finished laughing I gave him part of my hamberger.
Old Tom knew a good scam when he saw one. After that, at every meal he would go into his crippled cat act until he got his reward.

[JohnFox]

Good story Shep. DJ hasn't figured out yet how to open a door that's shut all the way, but I sometimes spy a little black paw reaching UNDER the door and trying to pull it open. (AZ homes with forced air units have about a inch or two gap at the bottom of the bedroom and bathroom doors to allow for air return.)

Now .. cats can also be pretty ... ignorant. After Brenda and I got married, I helped move her from Ohio to Phoenix. It took four days (we weren't in a hurry) and each night we would stay at a La Quinta hotel because they are pet-friendly. We'd get to the room and let the cats out of their pet carriers for the night (yes .. we had a portable litter box.) The next day, they would get put back into their crates for the trip. The second morning we did this, they tried to hide so we couldn't put them back, but they weren't that good.

The third morning, when we were ready to go, we couldn't find the cats. We looked and looked and looked ... no cats. Finally, I called Brenda over and pointed at the beds. On each side of the bed near the floor, you could see a small, almost indistinguisable lump under the bed covers that would be easy to overlook. The cats had gotten between the bed cover and the platform and were completely hidden ... almost.

The little tails that stuck out each side were a dead giveaway.

It took the cats over three years to forgive me for that trip.