I just found out for a fact this morning, that cats are smarter than they appear to be. They are just too stubborn and willful for their own good. This is the case with my cat anyway.
My cat has seizures, which are infrequent,usually averaging about once a month, and of generally short duration, probably under a minute. Due to this, and the fact that she sleeps in my bed, I am constantly trying to get her, with little success, to confine herself on an area of the bed on which i have gathered some old shirts and blankets. Most of the time, she just growls and hisses at me, and gets madder and madder, the more I try to convince her, verbally and physically, to lay on this area.
This morning, when my clock went off, she was insistent upon waking me up, but it was hard, as always, forme to roust myself. She did thismorning what she usually does. She wished her tail across my face. She pounced on the door, raking her claws down it. back up in the bed, she punches at the doorknob with one paw. She tried to sit her ass on my face, and found out quick that was not going to happen, so she continued her assault in other ways. She licked my eyelids. She gnawed at my arm, at my hand, at my fingers. The only thing she didn’t do to me she couldn’t, because my arm pits this morning were not availaible for her to gnaw on. That usually does the trick when nothing else will.
I forgot how logn this went on, but I finally gatheed enough energy to raise up, whereupon I told her that if she wanted something to eat, she would have to first get on her bed. I meant of course the pile of blankets and shirts that I had arranged for her to sleep on with so little success. When I told her this this morning, I ponted at them.
Immediately, she got on them, and lowered herself down on them upon my further urgings, all the time meeting my gaze as she curled up and lay there. That did it. How could I not reward that? I got up and fed her.
But I guarantee tonight she will be just as stubborn, just as willful, when I try to get her to lay on them tonight. What the hell. She’s a cat, right? She’s smart as a whip, and I love her dearly, but it’s just the animals nature to be independant minded and self assertive. Frankly, I don’t think I would have it any other way.
9 comments:
Lola's figured out that our eyelids are open when we're awake, so her MO is to tap our eyelids with her paws until they open.
I make a game out of it, it is actually an amusing experiment you might want to try sometime if you have a morning where you have the time. Just lay there and act like you are still asleep, and just see what all kinds of tricks she will try to attempt to wake you up. What does it for me is gnawing on my armpit, or licking my eyebrows-talk about a weird feeling.
What kind of cat is Lola? Mine is a calico.
Cats are fucking brilliant. Mine will sometimes stand near me, face a few inches from mine, eyes wide, and make little mouth-closed meows. Or, another EXTREMELY bright trick she has thought up is this. She knows that I do not like noise. Therefore, she will find whatever she can to make noise in the morning. Be it repeatedly stamping on a piece of paper, licking the mini blinds, or licking a plastic bag. Anything to make an annoying crinkle sound. She purs wildly when I finally get up to pee. Just the success of having me get out of bed must be reinforcing enough.
I have some tips on how to train your cat to sleep on the "bed" if you would like. Just let me know. My neighbor, for example, has used these principles to teach her cat to sit on command.
Sure, I could use some tips, as long as it doesn't involve pain or humiliation or anything else cruel. She is better about it than she used to be, it's just taken some time to convince her that I am adamant about it.
Lola's a bit of a runt- tuxedo markings with Siamese face, and tiny.
Okay. I think it best that you use some shaping. I hope your cat doesn't have a weight problem, because this works best with treats.
You could start by saying a command like "BED" and placing her on her "bed." Then give her a treat and praise her. Do this several times. I'd also keep treats handy for when she wanders onto her bed accidentally. When you catch her there, say the commend "BED" and give her a treat & praise. Eventually she will learn that the command "BED" is connected with treats and praise. That will at least get her to the bed.
Now, you can engage in some recorrection. Let's say you catch her on your bed instead of her bed. You go to her and tell her "NO! BAD!" very loudly and then redirect her to her bed. Provide praise ("Good girl") and lots of petting and a treat.
Let me know how this goes.
She is overweight, but it wouldn't matter anyway, there isn't anything she likes I could use as a treat, with the sole exception of tuna juice from canned tuna. She doesn't even care for the actual tuna-just the liquid.
And even if I could use that, it would only last as long as the time it takes me to go to sleep, after which she will get up and go where she wants. I even tricked her the other night into thinking I was asleep to see if she would do it, and sure enough I heard her creeping off it, quietly, to keep me from waking up.
Oh well,it's not that big a deal. Show me a perfect animal pet, and I'll show you a perfect child. In other words, there ain't no such animal.
Oh come on - all animal companions are perfect. Perfect for their human companions/pet parents. :) My cat aggravates me sometimes. Then I realize that she is just like her mommy - jumpy, loud, and high strung. And tone good looking cat.
:P - ha ha . pun intended
Oh, and yes - cats are good at being sneaky, aren't they?
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