Monkey the Cat Hunts for Dinner

For dog training I really like Michael Ellis from Leerburg.com. His free videos are really all you need, some of the paid dvds can be repetitive, but ultimately he keeps up with the latest trends and I think is amazing with dogs. Everyone has their own theory it seems though..

I'm going to try teach my cat to fetch using clicker training. When she was a kitten, she used to fetch things I threw and then drop them at my feet.

I'd be fearful that if they were toilet trained there'd be some nasty surprises on the seat or the bathroom floor.

I'm sure there's a dark brown side to the glamour of potty trained kitties which we don't see.

It's hard work, but it goes like this (over a couple of months!) only move onto the next step when the cat is comfortable

  1. move the litter box next to the toilet
  2. slowly raise it to toilet height
  3. put it over the toilet seat
  4. make an insert for the toilet with litter in, and small hole for drainage
 (i used a sheet of 5mm pvc iirc, and a heat gun to mould it into a bowl that sat over the rim of the bowl)
  5. slowly use less litter
  6. when there's no litter left, make the hole slightly  bigger
  7. keep repeating making the hole slightly bigger
  8. when the hole is full size, take the insert away

In the end I went back to the litter tray as it was distressing cat 1 too much.

The worst thing about this training is it takes months, and I only had one toilet, and removing the inset litter tray was a huge pita!

There was something quite odd about going to the toilet and it being occupied by a cat though!

Here's a pic of cat3, happy as larry. Even after I put the litter tray back he carried on using the toilet for a few weeks

https://thisaintnews.com/static/user/pics/1219881600/1220319...

I think it would work best if I had 2 toilets, so it wasn't such an effort for me and guests to use it, and if there was only 1 cat instead of 3.

It's too much work trying to train 3 cats to use it at the same time, and to convince them the floor is not a better option

This is absolutely true. I had a cat that refused to stay indoors during the day. He was constantly getting injured in fights with other animals (mostly not cats, I believe). An infection almost killed him, except we were willing to plunk down the money to get the wound attended to and for the antibiotics. Wearing that cone of shame was the worst 3 weeks of his life.

So go about locking up your cats, feel safe and happy about that. And meanwhile maybe your little buddy lives to 20? Do you think he/she is happier living a life locked away inside your house, waiting for you to show up and maybe pay a little attention to him/her?

I've had outdoor cats my whole life. Grew up in a rural setting, and if I was outside, so were animals I was close to.

Some cats do not seem to have enough common sense to stay out of trouble, or are just too adventurous in general. If they are indoor only and one is serious about that and does entertain them, they live long, and I believe happy lives. But, if they get out, even a few times, I see that as cruel, unless they reject it and some do, content to stay indoors.

If your environment is cat hostile, expect maybe a third of cats to do well. It's not pretty, and something I see as a driver to have indoor cats.

To me, it comes down to this:

Cats --most cats, and in particular, the really bright ones, present as little people to me. They have a sense of self and presence of mind that I find notable. It's a shared life, and they have a part in that, much like people do. Down deep, they understand that we want them there and that means they do what they do and doing that is largely OK, because we would assert ourselves otherwise.

Friendship or close bonds with cats are special because of this. They really do make choices, have specific people preferences, and treat you like an equal in their eyes. I love that about them.

And to me, I can't keep 'em indoors because of that. My experiences with indoor cats are good, but my experiences with outdoor cats are GREAT! I get to see more of who they are, and our adventure times outside in the yard are awesome.

One can learn to communicate with cats and actually have sophisticated dialogs. (as far as animals go) To make this happen, it's important that you engage with the cat a lot when it's young. You learn how to understand it, and it will understand you.

If this interaction doesn't happen, and you don't push the boundaries of it, the cat gives up and is happy to work with what does work. No worries. But if you want to get close, the work is on you. The rewards are great though. Highly recommended.

I've been impacted by a cat to a point where I still feel genuine grief over one special one we lost a few years ago to disease. That one was bonded to us on a level I've rarely experienced with animals before. My wife got ill, and that cat stepped up big. Somehow she knew it mattered. Best friends for life kind of thing. I'm convinced she helped my wife recover from some near death medical issues by sheer force of will and being there. Not just hanging out, but being there. Hard to explain, so I'll stop.

The way I see this is the cat makes it's choices. We can help them make better choices and give them comfort and security too. An outdoor cat who is well bonded to you will share it's life with you gladly, and the time with the cat is worth it, even when it's short sometimes.

It's much like humans who choose how they want to live. We don't always make the smarter choices either. Cats are independent creatures deserving of similar respect in terms of how they journey through life.

And watching them outside, senses alive, hunting, exploring is pretty awesome! Mine share that experience with me, sometimes to the point of giving me that, "hey, quiet!" look. They don't mind that I am there, and if I get the laser pointer, or some string, or sticks, etc... and play, the best play is outside. They seems to go, "full cat" when outside, and I find that compelling and amazing to be a part of.

Seems to me, such a difference in the cat means it's not so simple. Some cats crave it, others don't. Humans need to do the work to live with their cat and give them the same freedom that cat does to be who they are.

Had a couple die early due to stupid humans doing stupid things. :(

Dry food is tied to obesity due to being higher in carbs, and obesity -> higher chance of diabetes.

As for nutrition - high end dry food will always be better than cheap wet food but overall, from what I've gathered from many vets, is that wet food is better.

So I can see the argument for "wet food is taking better care of your cat" but, unless you notice your cat getting overweight, I don't think kibble could be considered harmful.