Clicker training your cat for fun

Next stop: Fun Town!

Yes, fun! Check out this video by a kid named Daniel King who has clicker trained his cats to run agility courses (mostly jumping). Look how much fun he is having, and his kitties are having, and they are all having together! 

J3dXT301i8k#!

And such great exercise, too. It puts my play sessions with the Cat Dancer to shame, it really does.
 
As you can tell from the video, Daniel has evidently used clicker training with his cats. Presuming he followed the standard clicker training procedures, this really proves the power of clicker training and positive reinforcement. 
 
Yes, you can clicker train a cat! And while you can train a cat to do a lot of things, both you and your cat will find it easiest and most enjoyable if you train your cat to do something it already kinda wants to do - like jump over an obstacle.
 
The first thing you will need is a clicker. You can buy them at most pet stores. If you can, find a relatively quiet clicker. Some clickers I have seen have been SUPER LOUD CLICK because they are meant to be used outdoors training dogs. Your cat doesn't need to be startled every time you click it.
 
(In fact, you don't even really need an official clicker. Anything you have that makes a small sound will do, like a ball point pen. The important thing is that you always make the same noise. A clicker is convenient, though.)
 
Next, you need to find the reward that really turns your cat's crank. Every cat is different. This high-value treat might be a lick from a spoonful of meat baby food (no veggies, please), a tiny dab of canned cat food, some of the cool new cat treats on the market (like freeze-dried shrimp), or a quick swipe with the brush (for those cats who really dig being groomed). 
 
Begin by cementing the association between the click and the treat. Give your cat the treat, and click just as she eats it. Dab of baby food - click. It won't take long before your cat associates the click with the treat.
 
Now you can start shaping your cat's behavior with the clicker. You can start by teaching him to touch an object with his nose. If you hold out (say) a clean chop stick, your cat will probably naturally want to sniff it. The instant his nose touches the target, click - and then treat.
 
Soon you and your kitty could be flying over those jumps together!

Dad's Cat Food

Kitties love this cat food variety.

Having cats can be a great thing; I have two of them so they really keep me busy inside the house. However, selecting the proper food for your cats can be harder than what you would think. You have a particular variety and brand, but then you turn around and there is a new brand of food coming out with more flavors for your cat. This is when I decided to pick up a little bag of Dad's Cat Food the last time I was at the store and thought I would share what I think of this food.

The first thing you will notice is no matter the flavor of Dad's Cat Food you buy, it looks like most of the other food you can buy for your cats. So you do not have to be concerned about this looking any different then the normal food you are used to seeing for your cats. However, you may find the smell of the food when you are getting it out of the bag is better than most of the brands I have used in the past.

A second thing you will notice with the Dad's Cat Food is the cats absolutely love this food. I know from my experience when I was using other brands of food, I would not have to fill their bowls for a couple of days at a time. However, with the Dad's Cat Food I am filling my cat's food dishes at least once a day, sometimes twice a day, depending on what they are doing during the day.

Feeding your cats can be a chore because of all the foods you have to select from. This is when you may want to consider the different choice of Dad's Cat Food. Once you have tried this food for your feline friends, you will not turn back to the other brands you were using.

Another happy ending

And another cat who had no business being a barn cat!

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about a kitten I adopted that was dumped at the barn where I board my horses.  At the time the momma cat hadn't been seen in a while, so we assumed she was dead or gone.  Then I started hearing reports of her being seen, and set out to catch her.

It took a week or two, but we finally caught the cat -- only it wasn't the mother.  It was an adult spayed female, and we aren't sure whether the momma ever was dumped with the kittens, or whether this cat showed up at about the same time and everyone assumed she was the momma.

What was perfectly clear, though, was that this cat had no business being an outdoor cat at all, let alone a barn cat: She was declawed.  I really don't know what her previous owners were thinking when they dumped her, since without claws she was defenseless -- not that claws would have done much good against a coyote, but at least it might have helped -- not to mention she would have a hard time catching mice and rabbits (the entire point of a barn cat, last I checked).

My mom, who is planning on keeping her as long as she gets along with the other cats, took the cat to the vet and she is in surprisingly good health for having been dumped about a month ago.  She is probably two or three years old, the vet said.  I suspect that she has been an indoor cat all her life, until her previous owners decided they couldn't keep her, and dumped her at the barn -- and, never having been outside before, she freaked out and stayed hidden. 

We think she was living under a small building at the barn, since that's where she was always seen.  I also suspect that someone was feeding her (even before I started leaving food out in an effort to catch her), and that's why she isn't skinny from her ordeal.  Despite being very affectionate, she is scared by pretty much everything, and I don't think she would have lasted much longer if we hadn't caught her, especially with winter coming on.

The extreme selfishness of people never fails to amaze me -- to declaw this poor cat, and then to decide they don't want it anymore, and instead of taking it to a shelter where she will hopefully find a good home, dumping her in an environment where survival is tricky at best even for a cat with claws!  What were her previous owners thinking? ****

Pine cat litter

Fresh scent and easily obtainable

Choosing the proper cat litter can be harder than you would imagine. This is when you should know more information about the pine cat litter and why you need to use this. Once you know more information about this cat litter, it is easy to see just why this is a great choice to make. 

The first reason you should select the pine cat litter is that it smells nice and fresh. Since this litter smells nice, you do not have to be concerned about the litter scent infiltrating into your home or the smells irritating you. Without this, you may have trouble covering the smell in your home that most litter produces.
 
Another reason you need to know more information about pine cat litter is that you can find this in multiple stores. Since you can find this in the stores, you will not have to be concerned about it not working for your needs. It's beneficial that you can find this particular cat litter in a variety of stores and don't need to special order it. 
 
Something else you should know about pine cat litter is that cats tend to like this variety more than other litter brands and types. Since they are enjoying the pine cat litter more, you do not have to be concerned about the cats using the potty outside of the litter box.
 
Having the best cat litter around can be a great thing. This is when you should know more information about the reasons you should be using the pine cat litter, rather than anything else. 

Cat snuggle party disrupted by police

"Come out with your paws up!"

Iceland can get pretty chilly this time of year. What's a stray neighborhood cat to do but throw a snuggle party in an unoccupied home? Unfortunately, the home's human neighbors noticed "several cats" moving in and out of the house via an open window. They contacted police for assistance, and when the officers arrived on the scene they found several cats (two or three; their report was unclear) which were "snuggling on a couch that had been left behind by the previous residents."

The snuggling cat party was broken up, the aforementioned snugglers were evicted, and police officers secured the property. One wonders, when will the next cat snuggle party spring up? And where?
 
This is not the first time police have been called out to deal with a cat problem. Although typically these calls involve cats being mistaken for a cougar or an escaped circus lion.
 
If the problem of cat snuggle parties becomes a serious problem in Iceland, perhaps police officers would do well to consider bringing the cats onto the force, in the same way that a criminal can become a valuable information resource. The Los Angeles Police Department has adopted several colonies of feral cats and put them to work in their stations and parking garages. 

 
The Working Cats Program in Los Angeles re-homes captured colonies of feral cats and puts them to work as the ultimate form of non-toxic, eco-friendly rodent control. These colonies are cats who could never be put in homes. The program captures, spays or neuters, microchips, and vaccinates the animals before finding responsible parties who will pledge to provide lifetime care for the cats (including providing food and water, and annual medical checks). 
 
Mice and rats have become a huge problem for several police departments in southern California. The feral cat teams were so successful at eradicating vermin in the Wilshire Division's parking lot that the LAPD requested more cats for the Southeast, Central, and Foothill divisions. 
 
Japan, however, has kicked it up a notch: the Kyoto police force have a cat named Iemon who is an official police cat. Found abandoned at the age of two weeks, Ieamon (pronounced "ee-eh-mon") even has his own official police cat outfit. 
 
Lemon spends most of his time at the station, where he assists the officers with important duties like tapping at pencils and lying on desks. However, Iemon is brought along when Kyoto police respond to reports of suspicious phone calls, where he provides emotional support to victims who are comforted by the friendly, fuzzy officer. 

The TRUE life of a barn cat

The sole survivor of someone's "happily ever after" fantasy

A few weeks ago, people started saying they'd seen a kitten at the barn where I board my horses.  I didn't think much of it until about a week later, when I found a kitten in bad shape in a horse's stall.  It was mewing frantically as I rounded the corner, and when I spotted it, it was struggling to get up.  The horse's hind foot was hardly an inch in front of the kitten's body.

I ran into the stall to rescue the kitten, but soon after I picked it up, it went into a nearly comatose state.  It was barely breathing, its eyes were crossed and unresponsive, and the only sign that it was still alive was the feeble protest it sometimes made by opening and closing its mouth when I moved it around.  It was pretty clear the poor thing had been stepped on -- and only just before I arrived on the scene, too, if the frantic cries that drew me were any indication.

I rushed the kitten to an emergency vet, but even after an IV and a cocktail of drugs, it wasn't responding -- it was breathing a little more easily, and that was it.  After giving it a little time, I reluctantly gave the vet the go-ahead to euthanize the kitten.  As much as I wanted it to survive, I wasn't prepared to spend a thousand or more in emergency care for a stray kitten we weren't even sure would make it.

Even though I knew I had done all I could to save the kitten, and even though I knew I'd given it a more comfortable death than suffering on the floor of that horse's stall, it was a difficult decision to make.  I cried more than I thought I would, considering the kitten wasn't even mine.  But after having gone through that, when a friend texted me the next day to say that there was another kitten, I knew I had to make every effort to catch it before it suffered the same fate.

It took a few days and ultimately a feral cat trap, but we caught the second kitten.  Around this time, I also started hearing reports of a third kitten, which hadn't been seen in a while, and a momma cat, which was seldom seen but still around.

The kitten we did catch was scared at first, but very quickly got used to -- and even enjoyed -- being handled.  Now, a week and a half later, she happily seeks out attention.  She was clearly not a feral kitten -- at eight weeks, her age when we caught her, she would have had a much harder time getting used to people if that was the case.

It is pretty obvious to me that someone dropped off the momma and her kittens at our barn, probably because they didn't want to have to go through the trouble of finding homes.  They probably thought the momma cat and her kittens would become barn cats and live happily ever after.  I mean, what cat wouldn't love to run around catching mice all day?  Paradise for cats, right?

Wrong.  Not only do kittens have no idea that they have to stay away from horses' feet, kittens and adult barn cats have to be worried about being dinner for an owl, fox, or coyote (especially at a barn on the edge of an open space park, as mine is).  My mom looked it up and reported that the expected life span of a barn cat is only one to three years -- a fraction of what a happy, beloved indoor cat lives.

Being a barn cat can, of course, be a blessing for a feral shelter cat that otherwise will never be adopted.  But it's not a life for a cat that has previously had a home and a bowl of food to eat from every day.

This story has a happy ending for at least one of the kittens -- this little one has found a home with me, and will be spayed, fed, and loved for the rest of her life.  But one of her siblings has died, and her momma and at least one more sibling are unaccounted for -- likely dead.  Only one out of three (or more) survived more than a few weeks!  Does that sound like an ideal life to you?

Tuxedo Stan is running for mayor

This candiate is promoting a local spay/neuter program.

Right on the heels of learning about Stubbs, the Cat Mayor of Talkeetna, now comes this story from the chilly depths of Canada. Tuxedo Stan is a 3-year-old long haired tuxedo cat who is running for Mayor of Halifax on the Tuxedo Party platform. Tuxedo Stan, a former stray himself, is hoping to "raise awareness about the stray cat problem in Halifax."

Tuxedo Stan's campaign is advocating a city-sponsored spay, neuter, and adoption program. Unfortunately, the city of Halifax is facing a huge issue with stray cats numbering in the thousands living on the streets. 
 
Municipal law actually bans animals from running for office, which means that Tuxedo Stan is a long shot candidate indeed. He is a true maverick, campaigning tirelessly in the hopes of catching the attention and imagination of Halifax residents. And once he has their attention, Tuxedo Stan hopes to convince them to spay or neuter their pets.

Tuxedo Stan's campaign began when his owners noticed that his Facebook page, where he poses as "the face of stray cats in Halifax," was becoming extremely popular among residents. After receiving 2,300 fans in three months, Tuxedo Stan's owners decided it was time for Tuxedo Stan to hit the campaign trail.
 
Tuxedo Stan is not just raising awareness of the problem of Halifax's stray cats. He is also raising funds for the animal welfare society, through the proceeds of sales of his campaign buttons, lawn signs, and t-shirts. The funds will go to a city-wide "spay day," when low-income families can have their cats spayed or neutered at little to no cost.
 
This campaign is a great way to raise awareness of this issue. It boggles my mind that pet owners would be so irresponsible as to not spay or neuter their cats. It's such a simple way to end so much animal suffering, both in Halifax and throughout the world. Between the pain and suffering experienced by stray cats, to the number of cats overwhelming shelters and having to be euthanized, there is no reason not to neuter your cat.
 
If you are concerned about the cost of the surgery, there are many organizations in Canada and the United States which help low-income families cover the cost of spaying and neutering. The ASPCA has a database of these charities here on their website, so that you can search to find them in your area.
 

Beware of cats and open windows

Yes, cats can fall out of open windows.

Yes, cats enjoy open windows. They love to lay on a perch by a window. They love fresh air like we do. However, if your windows are up high, your cat can fall and get hurt if she is lying in front of an open window.  Don’t take open windows lightly and don’t depend on her nine lives saving her. Each year, cats fall out of windows. They get hurt and they die.

Cats aren’t invincible. They can stumble and fall just as we can. Their claws can’t always save them, either. It is us humans who must take the steps to protect them.  Here is how we can.

First, keep all windows that are unprotected closed. Secondly, consider protecting a window or two for your sake and your kitty’s sake. How can you protect them? You can protect them by applying some bars or some kind of barrier to the outside that will allow air to pass through but will protect kitty from falling through the window and the screen. 

Yes, if kitty starts to fall even the screen may not prevent her from falling if the force of the fall is strong. Plus, think about this factor: The bars and the barriers will also detour intruders from breaking into your home. This is a win-win situation for you and kitty.  

While you are installing those barriers, you might also want to install a nice perch on the inside for kitty to lie. Make the perch a soft one where she can sit and bird watch, people watch or just state into space. This will make kitty especially happy and don’t we all want a happy, as well as a safe kitty?

 

Help your cat avoid Halloween stress

Tips to keep your cat calm during Halloween

Yes, Halloween can be a fun Halloween. First, there is the spooky decorating. Then we get to come up with fun and crazy costumes to wear. Finally, nobody would ever forget the candy. In fact, this is a huge event for many humans. However, this holiday can be a stressful time for our feline friends.

First, most cats will tell you, if they could speak, that they do not like change. Decorating to them is change. Yes, those dangly spiders may be fun for them to play with on a short basis. But when you start changing every little item in the room, they realize something is up and they don’t like that.

Next, there are the costumes that you love. The masks hide your face. The long dresses and capes make them wonder what is wrong with you. The excessive makeup has weird smells. The wild hair keeps them from getting as close to you as they live. They just don’t like the costumes, even if you are trying to dress up as a human version of them.

The candy, of course, draws no attention to them. They can’t or shouldn’t be eating candy. They eat their kitty food.

What’s left? The trick or treaters and the guest will be visiting. Cats, by nature, do like guests. They do not like a lot of noise. Most cats do not like children they do not know or any humans they do not know. This means the night of an ever ringing door bell or a knocking door will not be a fun one for the cat of the house. What is a cat owner to do?

The cat owner should try to spend some quality time with kitty before he or she changes into costume. This could be time spent playing and feeding kitty quietly. Then kitty can watch while he changes his or her owner changes into costume. The owner can explain what is happening and that the night won’t last forever. Then he may wish to keep kitty occupied in a back room, with the door closed, while the guests begin to arrive. This will keep kitty away from the noise and will help avoid kitty from accidentally getting out of the house during all the chaos. 

 

Cat behavior decoded

How cat's ears reveal their mood.

Cats are mysterious animals, but ones which people tend to love. Since they are so mysterious, though, a person may want to learn more about what cat's movements means. When people know this, it is easier for him or her to know what their animals are thinking at any given time. However, the main focal point for this will be their ears, as they can give you quite a bit of information. This is mainly based off of my experience with my cats. 

Normal position for the cats ears are up and perky. This generally means the cat is very happy and not thinking about doing anything naughty. However, a person may also notice when the ears are up like this that the animal is sucking in noise and the ears will turn like a little radar dish toward a sound if they do not want to move their head. 

The next position that people may find is the one which can be frightening if you see the cat coming toward you. This is when the ears are laying flat back against their head. When the ears are flat like this, it generally means the cat is getting ready to pounce and this can mean the owner may be the target, or something else that is not expecting to be pounced upon. So this is the position many people find when the animals are hunting or pouncing on prey. 
 
Getting a cat can be exciting. However, people may want to know more about the behavior of a cat and how to predict it. When people know more information about the cat's ears though, it is easy for them to predict what the cat is going to do in the next few minutes. 

Pages