Boyfriend does an Otis

[Christina Websell]

I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous night awake
and then working all day I was looking forward to unconsciousness last
night.
I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my bedroom
door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it one bit. "Go
away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For ten minutes. I was just
dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause MEow pause...etc.
I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated voice that if he didn't
want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20 minutes later
he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow, meowmie, get up
NOW.."
I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire downstairs
or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me (given that he's
never done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie with her Tommy's down the
well thing ;-)
So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or call the fire brigade
or something. There was no fire or flood.

Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl, smirked, and
said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're up now?"

I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and shut the
back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to come back in.
There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the weather is warm, I
knew he would be ok.

When I got up and opened the back door he rushed inside. I told him very
firmly that he must not wake me in the night, as it's meowmie who gets him
the money for toonas and she cannot do it if he wakes her by being a
greedyboy.
It's not a punishment for him to be put in the conservatory, it's just to
make him realise that he will not be fed if he wakes me 4 a.m.
If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced his idea that it's OK
to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't. Instead he had a negative
experience and I doubt he will do it again.
Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for breakfast? I
don't think he will.
Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.

Tweed

[Stormmee]

if i didn't free feed because of nurotic tiger i would have done same as
you, Lee
"Christina Websell" > wrote in message
...
>I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous night awake
>and then working all day I was looking forward to unconsciousness last
>night.
> I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my bedroom
> door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it one bit.
> "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For ten minutes. I
> was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause MEow pause...etc.
> I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated voice that if he
> didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20
> minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow,
> meowmie, get up NOW.."
> I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
> downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me
> (given that he's never done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie with her
> Tommy's down the well thing ;-)
> So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or call the fire brigade
> or something. There was no fire or flood.
>
> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl, smirked,
> and said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're up now?"
>
> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and shut the
> back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to come back
> in. There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the weather is
> warm, I knew he would be ok.
>
> When I got up and opened the back door he rushed inside. I told him very
> firmly that he must not wake me in the night, as it's meowmie who gets him
> the money for toonas and she cannot do it if he wakes her by being a
> greedyboy.
> It's not a punishment for him to be put in the conservatory, it's just to
> make him realise that he will not be fed if he wakes me 4 a.m.
> If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced his idea that it's
> OK to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't. Instead he had a negative
> experience and I doubt he will do it again.
> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for breakfast?
> I don't think he will.
> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.
>
> Tweed
>
>
>

[Adrian[_2_]]

Christina Websell wrote:
> I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous night
> awake and then working all day I was looking forward to
> unconsciousness last night.
> I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my
> bedroom door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it
> one bit. "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For
> ten minutes. I was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause
> MEow pause...etc. I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated
> voice that if he
> didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20
> minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow,
> meowmie, get up NOW.."
> I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
> downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me
> (given that he's never done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie with
> her Tommy's down the well thing ;-)
> So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or call the fire
> brigade or something. There was no fire or flood.
>
> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl,
> smirked, and said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as
> you're up now?"
> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and
> shut the back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling
> to come back in. There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and
> the weather is warm, I knew he would be ok.
>
> When I got up and opened the back door he rushed inside. I told him
> very firmly that he must not wake me in the night, as it's meowmie
> who gets him the money for toonas and she cannot do it if he wakes
> her by being a greedyboy.
> It's not a punishment for him to be put in the conservatory, it's
> just to make him realise that he will not be fed if he wakes me 4 a.m.
> If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced his idea that
> it's OK to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't. Instead he had a
> negative experience and I doubt he will do it again.
> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for
> breakfast? I don't think he will.
> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with
> it.
> Tweed

He might let you sleep in 'till 4:30 tomorrow. <eg>
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

[Christina Websell]

"hopitus" > wrote in message
...
On Jul 1, 9:04 am, "Christina Websell"
> wrote:
>>
> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl, smirked, and
> said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're up now?"
>
> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and shut the
> back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to come back in.
> There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the weather is warm, I
> knew he would be ok.
>
> > Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.
>

Is there some Merkin word for a conservatory? It sounds like
(conserve) maybe
a pantry? Nah, you wouldn't stick him in a pantry, unless in the UK
they are
very big. Besides....we keep *food* in pantries!

A conservatory is a room made of glass, often attached to the back of your
house.. I don't know what it's called in American.
A pantry is something else.

Tweed

[Christine BA]

hopitus kirjoitti:
> Is there some Merkin word for a conservatory? It sounds like
> (conserve) maybe
> a pantry? Nah, you wouldn't stick him in a pantry, unless in the UK
> they are
> very big. Besides....we keep *food* in pantries!

I would hazard a guess that it's a kind of "winter garden" or "green
room" - a glassed in verandah/porch kinda thingy where one might grow
plants in pots and maybe have some furniture so one might take a meal
when the weather's nice etc. Kinda like a balcony in an apartment, but
probably big as a room.

--
Christine in Finland
christal63 (at) gmail (dot) com

[Jofirey]

"Christina Websell" > wrote in
message ...
>I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous
>night awake and then working all day I was looking forward to
>unconsciousness last night.
> I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my
> bedroom door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate
> it one bit. "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did.
> For ten minutes. I was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW
> pause MEow pause...etc.
> I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated voice that if
> he didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later.
> 20 minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up,
> Meow, meowmie, get up NOW.."
> I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
> downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn
> me (given that he's never done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie
> with her Tommy's down the well thing ;-)
> So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or call the fire
> brigade or something. There was no fire or flood.
>
> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl,
> smirked, and said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as
> you're up now?"
>
> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and
> shut the back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him
> wowling to come back in. There's a cat bed in there, he can get
> outside, and the weather is warm, I knew he would be ok.
>
> When I got up and opened the back door he rushed inside. I told
> him very firmly that he must not wake me in the night, as it's
> meowmie who gets him the money for toonas and she cannot do it if
> he wakes her by being a greedyboy.
> It's not a punishment for him to be put in the conservatory, it's
> just to make him realise that he will not be fed if he wakes me 4
> a.m.
> If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced his idea
> that it's OK to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't. Instead
> he had a negative experience and I doubt he will do it again.
> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for
> breakfast? I don't think he will.
> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away
> with it.
>
> Tweed
>
>
My bet is that if you are tired enough you will put him in the
conservatory before you go to bed.

Jo

[Jofirey]

"Christina Websell" > wrote in
message ...
>
> "hopitus" > wrote in message
> ...
> On Jul 1, 9:04 am, "Christina Websell"
> > wrote:
>>>
>> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl,
>> smirked, and
>> said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're up
>> now?"
>>
>> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and
>> shut the
>> back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to come
>> back in.
>> There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the weather
>> is warm, I
>> knew he would be ok.
>>
>> > Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
>> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away
>> with it.
>>
>
> Is there some Merkin word for a conservatory? It sounds like
> (conserve) maybe
> a pantry? Nah, you wouldn't stick him in a pantry, unless in the
> UK
> they are
> very big. Besides....we keep *food* in pantries!
>
> A conservatory is a room made of glass, often attached to the back
> of your house.. I don't know what it's called in American.
> A pantry is something else.
>
Usually here it would be a sun porch. If you are high toned and
live in the north east you might call it a conservatory. Often the
room where you would keep house plants, and one you might well not
heat in the winter.

Jo

[Winnie]

On Jul 1, 11:56*am, Christine BA > wrote:
>
> I would hazard a guess that it's a kind of "winter garden" or "green
> room" - a glassed in verandah/porch kinda thingy where one might grow
> plants in pots and maybe have some furniture so one might take a meal
> when the weather's nice etc. Kinda like a balcony in an apartment, but
> probably big as a room.
>

That is what I have, an enclosed balcony, aka an atrium.
It is Rusty's room where he sleeps, eats,
and uses his litter box. The door is closed at night and he waits
patiently for me
to get up in the morning to let him out andd feed him.

Winnie

[Marina]

Christina Websell wrote:
<snippers>
> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for breakfast? I
> don't think he will.
> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.

I think you have a better chance of teaching him manners if you ignore
him completely when he meows outside your door. Don't yell back at him,
not even to tell him to shut up. He will be pleased at any kind of
attention, even if it's negative. It will encourage him to continue.


--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

[jmcquown[_2_]]

"Christina Websell" > wrote in message
...
>I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous night awake
>and then working all day I was looking forward to unconsciousness last
>night.
(snippage)
> If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced his idea that it's
> OK to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't. Instead he had a negative
> experience and I doubt he will do it again.
> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for breakfast?
> I don't think he will.
> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.
>
> Tweed
>
Persia wakes me at 6AM, but that's what time I used to get up to go to work.
She's tried to get me up earlier but the answer is "It's not TIME yet!" I
don't sleep well, either, so I do not appreciate a 4AM wake-up call. If I'd
gotten out of bed to put her somewhere else, however, I wouldn't be able to
get back to sleep.

Jill

[MLB[_2_]]

Christina Websell wrote:
> I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous night awake
> and then working all day I was looking forward to unconsciousness last
> night.
> I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my bedroom
> door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it one bit. "Go
> away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For ten minutes. I was just
> dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause MEow pause...etc.
> I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated voice that if he didn't
> want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20 minutes later
> he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow, meowmie, get up
> NOW.."
> I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire downstairs
> or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me (given that he's
> never done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie with her Tommy's down the
> well thing ;-)
> So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or call the fire brigade
> or something. There was no fire or flood.
>
> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl, smirked, and
> said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're up now?"
>
> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and shut the
> back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to come back in.
> There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the weather is warm, I
> knew he would be ok.
>
> When I got up and opened the back door he rushed inside. I told him very
> firmly that he must not wake me in the night, as it's meowmie who gets him
> the money for toonas and she cannot do it if he wakes her by being a
> greedyboy.
> It's not a punishment for him to be put in the conservatory, it's just to
> make him realise that he will not be fed if he wakes me 4 a.m.
> If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced his idea that it's OK
> to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't. Instead he had a negative
> experience and I doubt he will do it again.
> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for breakfast? I
> don't think he will.
> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.
>
> Tweed
>
>
> What would I do? I always see that there is a little kibble in TuTu's bowl at bedtime. There is nothing more pathetic than a cat who is simply starrvving!
(Of course I have a fat cat) Have you never been really hungry?

[Christina Websell]

"Jofirey" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Christina Websell" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous night
>>awake and then working all day I was looking forward to unconsciousness
>>last night.
>> I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my bedroom
>> door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it one bit.
>> "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For ten minutes. I
>> was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause MEow pause...etc.
>> I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated voice that if he
>> didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20
>> minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow,
>> meowmie, get up NOW.."
>> I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
>> downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me
>> (given that he's never done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie with her
>> Tommy's down the well thing ;-)
>> So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or call the fire
>> brigade or something. There was no fire or flood.
>>
>> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl, smirked,
>> and said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're up now?"
>>
>> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and shut
>> the back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to come
>> back in. There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the weather
>> is warm, I knew he would be ok.
>>
>>
>>
> My bet is that if you are tired enough you will put him in the
> conservatory before you go to bed.
>
> Jo

Not unless he does it again. He likes to sleep on the spare bed and is
usually quiet all night. I like him to have the run of the house and
usually he is perfect but if he gets silly about waking me at 4 he will
sleep in the conservatory.

Tweed

[Christina Websell]

"Marina" > wrote in message
...
> Christina Websell wrote:
> <snippers>
>> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for breakfast?
>> I don't think he will.
>> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
>> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.
>
> I think you have a better chance of teaching him manners if you ignore him
> completely when he meows outside your door. Don't yell back at him, not
> even to tell him to shut up. He will be pleased at any kind of attention,
> even if it's negative. It will encourage him to continue.

You are quite right, it's so better to ignore, but after two chances to shut
up he found himself shut outside at 4.15 am without the breakfast he woke me
up for.

[Christine BA]

Marina kirjoitti:
> Christina Websell wrote:
> <snippers>
>> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for
>> breakfast? I don't think he will.
>> Let's start a book, who thinks he will and who thinks he won't.
>> Would be interesting to see who would had let their cat get away with it.
>
> I think you have a better chance of teaching him manners if you ignore
> him completely when he meows outside your door. Don't yell back at him,
> not even to tell him to shut up. He will be pleased at any kind of
> attention, even if it's negative. It will encourage him to continue.
>

I've had this work with Laku. He sometimes does yell at me to do
something at night, be it to feed him or to clean his litter box or
whatever, but I just turn my back towards him and (pretend to) continue
to sleep. He shuts up quickly and goes to sleep himself too.

--
Christine in Finland
christal63 (at) gmail (dot) com

[Christina Websell]

"MLB" > wrote in message
...
> >>
>> What would I do? I always see that there is a little kibble in TuTu's
>> bowl at bedtime. There is nothing more pathetic than a cat who is simply
>> starrvving!
> (Of course I have a fat cat) Have you never been really hungry

1. Boyfie has 2-3 meals/day. It's perfectly adequate for his needs.
2. He is not starving but he likes to say so.
3 I do not have a fat cat.
4. Yes once I didn't know where my next meal was coming from as I had a
alcoholic partner who spent everything we both earned on booze.

[[email protected]]

Christina Websell wrote:

> I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my
> bedroom door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it
> one bit. "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For
> ten minutes. I was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause
> MEow pause...etc. I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated
> voice that if he
> didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20
> minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow,
> meowmie, get up NOW.."
> I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
> downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me
> (given that he's never done this before.)

You can probably expect some new behavior from him since he is now
the Only Cat. Maybe he's getting lonely at night? (A cat will often
attempt to satisfy loneliness by begging for food, since that's an
interaction and it also relieves boredom.)

I think putting him in the conservatory isn't such a bad idea. You
need your sleep. My sympathies!

(But, you might consider keeping an eye out for a little friend for
BF. Sounds like he needs some company!)

--
Joyce ^..^

To email me, remove the XXX from my user name.

[BfloPolska]

On Jul 1, 11:56*am, "Christina Websell"
> wrote:

> A conservatory is a room made of glass, often attached to the back of your
> house.. I don't know what it's called in American.
> A pantry is something else.

Where I live, we call it a Florida Room. Our climate is on the cool
side of temperate, and from mid-Autumn to mid-Spring, the cold can be
bitter. With the glass, such rooms end up being the warmest place in
the house--hence, Florida Room.

Fritzie tried the Otis act when we first moved to the house. He spent
hours evey night paading around in every room. "Meow--meow--meow!"
Move a few feet in another direction: "Meow--meow--meow!" it was as if
he had been testing the place with sonar, to see how big his new space
was and how much he could get away with.

After over a week of this, and a week of keeping my poor insomniac
Louie wide awake, Louie got up in the small hours of the morning and
put Fritzie in the basement. After 5 or 10 minutes he let the cat out,
gave him fair warning that he was not to keep Daddy awake as Daddy has
to work to keep up payments on Fritzie's nice new home, and went back
to sleep.

The routine back then was Mama get up first, shower, dress, Daddy take
Mama to work, then Daddy come back to dress up and get his turban on.
And that was where it hit the fan. When Daddy came home, he missed by
less than two inches a monument to Fritzie's displeasure, placed
squarely upon the spot in front of the closet where Louie kept his
turbans. Fritzie never went on a late-night noise spree for the next 3
years; Louie moved the turbans to a less-accessible place.

Blessed be,
Baha

[Jofirey]

> wrote in message
...
> Christina Websell wrote:
>
> > I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my
> > bedroom door. It was just getting light and I did not
> > appreciate it
> > one bit. "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did.
> > For
> > ten minutes. I was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW
> > pause
> > MEow pause...etc. I told him in no uncertain terms in a very
> > irritated
> > voice that if he
> > didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later.
> > 20
> > minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up,
> > Meow,
> > meowmie, get up NOW.."
> > I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
> > downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to
> > warn me
> > (given that he's never done this before.)
>
> You can probably expect some new behavior from him since he is now
> the Only Cat. Maybe he's getting lonely at night? (A cat will
> often
> attempt to satisfy loneliness by begging for food, since that's an
> interaction and it also relieves boredom.)
>
> I think putting him in the conservatory isn't such a bad idea. You
> need your sleep. My sympathies!
>
> (But, you might consider keeping an eye out for a little friend
> for
> BF. Sounds like he needs some company!)
>
> --

Like that will help her get more sleep! LOL

Jo

[Jofirey]

"Judith Latham" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, Christina Websell
> > wrote:
>> I am a dreadful sleeper and after spending most of the previous
>> night
>> awake and then working all day I was looking forward to
>> unconsciousness
>> last night. I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly
>> outside my bedroom door. It was just getting light and I did not
>> appreciate it one bit. "Go away" I said with a tone in my
>> voice. He
>> did. For ten minutes. I was just dropping off to sleep again
>> and MEOW
>> pause MEow pause...etc. I told him in no uncertain terms in a
>> very
>> irritated voice that if he didn't want a clip round his ear he
>> should
>> go away until later. 20 minutes later he was back and started up
>> again. Meow, get up, Meow, meowmie, get up NOW.." I started to
>> worry
>> then. I thought what if the house is on fire downstairs or
>> there's a
>> flood or something and he's trying to warn me (given that he's
>> never
>> done this before.) ~sort of like Lassie with her Tommy's down
>> the well
>> thing ;-) So I stumbled down the stairs to put the fire out or
>> call the
>> fire brigade or something. There was no fire or flood.
>
>> Do you know what he did???? He marched over to his food bowl,
>> smirked,
>> and said "any chance of breakfast yet, meowmie, seeing as you're
>> up
>> now?"
>
>> I was livid. I picked him up and put him in the conservatory and
>> shut
>> the back door. As I went back to bed I could hear him wowling to
>> come
>> back in. There's a cat bed in there, he can get outside, and the
>> weather is warm, I knew he would be ok.
>
>> When I got up and opened the back door he rushed inside. I told
>> him
>> very firmly that he must not wake me in the night, as it's
>> meowmie who
>> gets him the money for toonas and she cannot do it if he wakes
>> her by
>> being a greedyboy. It's not a punishment for him to be put in the
>> conservatory, it's just to make him realise that he will not be
>> fed if
>> he wakes me 4 a.m. If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have
>> reinforced
>> his idea that it's OK to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't.
>> Instead he had a negative experience and I doubt he will do it
>> again.
>> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for
>> breakfast? I don't think he will. Let's start a book, who thinks
>> he
>> will and who thinks he won't. Would be interesting to see who
>> would had
>> let their cat get away with it.
>
>> Tweed
>
>
> I would have done the same thing. I found that if you do something
> they
> want once they will try again, if you do it twice it's a habit and
> to be
> expected as far as cats are concerned. My bet is that he will not
> do it
> again.
>
> Sweep used to wake me up occasionally during the night but that
> was
> because she wanted to use her litter tray and she didn't like to
> use it in
> the dark and needed me to put on the light. As a result we set up
> a lamp
> with a low energy bulb which we were able to leave on all night.
> No more
> disturbed sleep.
>
> Judith

So we aren't the only ones with a night light over the litter box!

Jo

[William Hamblen]

On 2009-07-01, Christina Websell > wrote:

> A conservatory is a room made of glass, often attached to the back of your
> house.. I don't know what it's called in American.

It's a conservatory unless you call it a greenhouse. The builder who put
the structure on the back of my mother's house called it a greenhouse. I
think he would have charged more if he had called it a conservatory.

> A pantry is something else.

Bud

[Christina Websell]

"Judith Latham" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, Christina Websell
> > wrote:
>>>
.. It's not a punishment for him to be put in the
>> conservatory, it's just to make him realise that he will not be fed if
>> he wakes me 4 a.m. If I *had* fed him at 4 a.m. it would have reinforced
>> his idea that it's OK to wake me up to feed him, which it isn't.
>> Instead he had a negative experience and I doubt he will do it again.
>> Let's see what happens tomorrow. Will he wake me at 4 a.m for
>> breakfast? I don't think he will. Let's start a book, who thinks he
>> will and who thinks he won't. Would be interesting to see who would had
>> let their cat get away with it.
>
>> Tweed
>
>
> I would have done the same thing. I found that if you do something they
> want once they will try again, if you do it twice it's a habit and to be
> expected as far as cats are concerned.


I totally agree that bad habits can be reinforced if the desired results are
achieved. My main expererience is with dog behaviour and they will try it on
too. They have to be educated into acceptable behaviour by having positive
and rewarding responses to what you want them to do and negative ones to
what you don't. They aren't stupid and will usually stop bad behaviour
after it fails to get them good attention after a few times.
I see no reason why cats cannot learn in the same way.
There seems to be some idea floating around that cats should be allowed to
do exactly what they want to, it's sort of like some owners think they have
the intellect of babies and cannot learn what we don't want them to do. Of
course they can but they never will if we allow them to pretend they are too
stupid to do so and so give in. It's just what they want!


..>My bet is that he will not do it again.


He hasn't. Yet. It's a step up from him clawing my rug when refused a
late night feed. The first time he did it I leapt up. It's a nice rug so I
fed him (what was I thinking about?) so of course he tried it again. Every
time he asked for extras and I said no he would claw the rug. "hahaha, that
will make you give me some"
That taught me a lesson.
Any 4 a.m. claim that my house is on fire will now be ignored until it comes
from the fire brigade or police.



>
> Sweep used to wake me up occasionally during the night but that was
> because she wanted to use her litter tray and she didn't like to use it in
> the dark and needed me to put on the light. As a result we set up a lamp
> with a low energy bulb which we were able to leave on all night. No more
> disturbed sleep.
>
I really do not mind being woken up for a good reason like that, I was often
roused by a whippet in their late teens who could not wait all night for a
wee.
What I will not tolerate is being woken at 4 by a healthy cat who feels a
bit peckish.
Once upon a time, when he was a lost teenager, my conservatory was his dream
home. He used to sneak in there at night to sleep and disappear as soon as
I opened the back door. But now it's "oh..you put me out in the
conservatory..I'm sorry, I'm sorry, for what I did."
He spent 3 hours 4-7 am without being able to sleep on the duvet on the
spare bed. It would have been available to him had he not made the mistake
of waking me up at 4.


As I said, he hasn't done it again. If he does, he will find himself in the
conservatory.

Tweed

[Christina Websell]

"Jofirey" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> Christina Websell wrote:
>>
>> > I was woken up at 4 a.m. by Boyfriend meowing loudly outside my
>> > bedroom door. It was just getting light and I did not appreciate it
>> > one bit. "Go away" I said with a tone in my voice. He did. For
>> > ten minutes. I was just dropping off to sleep again and MEOW pause
>> > MEow pause...etc. I told him in no uncertain terms in a very irritated
>> > voice that if he
>> > didn't want a clip round his ear he should go away until later. 20
>> > minutes later he was back and started up again. Meow, get up, Meow,
>> > meowmie, get up NOW.."
>> > I started to worry then. I thought what if the house is on fire
>> > downstairs or there's a flood or something and he's trying to warn me
>> > (given that he's never done this before.)
>>
>> You can probably expect some new behavior from him since he is now
>> the Only Cat. Maybe he's getting lonely at night? (A cat will often
>> attempt to satisfy loneliness by begging for food, since that's an
>> interaction and it also relieves boredom.)
>>
>> I think putting him in the conservatory isn't such a bad idea. You
>> need your sleep. My sympathies!
>>
>> (But, you might consider keeping an eye out for a little friend for
>> BF. Sounds like he needs some company!)
>>
>> --
>
> Like that will help her get more sleep! LOL
>

LOL indeed.
Boyfie seems to like being an onlycat I doubt he wants another companion
yet. I've explored possibilities of health problems with my vet to see why
he is always hungry and was I feeding him enough? The answer is yes, I am
feeding him enough, he is in perfect health, weight is perfect, he is just
very greedy.
But when he thinks he's hungry and cries for food it's very hard to refuse.

Tweed