I am Lila (the fluffy) and my sister is Angel (the tabby). We came from same litter and we are about 10 weeks old now. Before being rescued we were living under a deck but now we live in a mansion! We spent our first Christmas with our new family and their relatives and sure enough people can be fun! At some point they all were talking about New Year’s resolutions. We don’t fully understand what that is but it seems like a good plan to follow in the year ahead! Our list would be very short: sleep, eat, play and getting lots of love from our humans. I also understood that in cats' ‘world it is a MUST to train one’s humans. I’ve heard you even wrote a book on the subject, is that so George? Then, we definitely need your help! Where do we start?
Gratefully yours,
Lila
Dear Lila,
Start as you mean to go on. Help your humans settle in to a sensible regime - regular meal times and regular times for sleep. Train them with reminders. Reminders include rubbing, loud purring, winding round feet, walking to the food bowl, even nipping toes under the duvet if they show signs of wanting to lie in at weekends rather than get your breakfast.
Establish petting boundaries. Some humans are cat harassers. They want to kiss and hug and stroke for hours. Or they insist on petting in no-go areas like the lower tummy. A sharp nip will usually train them to stop. Punishment teaches them what is acceptable. Be humane - just a nip, rather than a bite which draws blood.
Litter trays (one for each cat) should be cleaned twice a day. If your human is idle about this, show them what you want. As soon as they clean the tray, use it. This makes the point that you were waiting for it to be cleaned. If they still don't get the message, and the tray is filthy, pee outside the litter tray.
You can learn more about rewards and punishments in my book, One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human. Celia pretended she had written it but her role was purely secretarial, as I cannot type. I was the real author.
Yours
George, the real author.
Establish petting boundaries. Some humans are cat harassers. They want to kiss and hug and stroke for hours. Or they insist on petting in no-go areas like the lower tummy. A sharp nip will usually train them to stop. Punishment teaches them what is acceptable. Be humane - just a nip, rather than a bite which draws blood.
Litter trays (one for each cat) should be cleaned twice a day. If your human is idle about this, show them what you want. As soon as they clean the tray, use it. This makes the point that you were waiting for it to be cleaned. If they still don't get the message, and the tray is filthy, pee outside the litter tray.
You can learn more about rewards and punishments in my book, One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train its Human. Celia pretended she had written it but her role was purely secretarial, as I cannot type. I was the real author.
Yours
George, the real author.
Good advice George. Loved the Litter Tray advice. My human sure picked up on that trick in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteGood advice and excellent book! I've laughed my head off reading it! And, I've learned a lot!
ReplyDeleteKudos to you George (and Celia for her secretarial role)
Diego
You look so lovely! I'm in love with you girls :-)
ReplyDeleteGeorge, where can I find the book? Through your website or book store?
Leo
All Celia's (sorry, all George's books) are on Amazon.com
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Celia-Haddon/e/B001K8EQKG/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_21?qid=1483804277&sr=1-21
Read almost all her books! Love them :-)
Shumba
Definitely my humans are cat harassers; they want to hold and kiss me all the time!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to apply small, gentile bites :-)
Zoro
I'm reading the book; I'm reading the book :-)
ReplyDeleteI discovered my humans have quite a complete library when it comes to Celia's books!
Chico
The book about Tilly (Tilly, the ugliest cat in the shelter) really touched my heart!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful memoir!
Carla, the tuxedo cat