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#22
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In article ,
enlightened us with... Cat training can be pretty dicey. Rosalie, as I've said before, is extremely sensitive and a gentle "no" and head shake is enough to deter her from whatever objectionable thing she might be doing (like treating the dog's plumey tail as a cat toy, for instance, which makes me laugh but disturbs the dog somehow). Just like my Isis. All I have to do is say her name in a shocked voice and she stops immediately. But Nickleby kind of did what he wanted and it was hard to get him to stop -- I sometimes resorted to yelling which also did not work. I always called him "the cat with enormous self-esteem" -- he was absolutely impervious to correction or crankiness. I might succeed in chasing him away (from the furniture he was scratching, for example) but he would trot right back moments later, purring and quite pleased with himself. He felt he could do no wrong. And this is like my Rowan. Sometimes I wonder if she finds it funny to get a rise out of me. -- -- ~kaeli~ The Bermuda Triangle got tired of warm weather. It moved to Finland. Now Santa Claus is missing. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace |
#23
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In article ,
enlightened us with... Anyway, thanks everyone for the great replies -- they have helped. But to this post in particular, I disagree in that some level of cleanliness can be achieved with some effort. Of course it, can, silly, but you don't have to be paranoid. I get sick once a year like everyone else. Whoop-di-doo. Keep your house decently clean, vaccuum, wash the counters, etc like a normal person. But you don't have to get all crazy about germs. (you flush with your foot??) That's all I was saying. You can't get ALL the germs. And if you could, your poor immune system would be so out of practice, the first one to get in would be the death of you. *grins* Anyway, try not to be overly worried about the whole thing. Just be sensible. Wash the counters before you prepare food. Wash your hands. Etc - like you already do, basically. You are more likely to get sick from touching railings in public than from your own indoor cat going on your counters. -- -- ~kaeli~ The Bermuda Triangle got tired of warm weather. It moved to Finland. Now Santa Claus is missing. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace |
#24
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kaeli wrote in
: But Nickleby kind of did what he wanted and it was hard to get him to stop -- I sometimes resorted to yelling which also did not work. I always called him "the cat with enormous self-esteem" -- he was absolutely impervious to correction or crankiness. I might succeed in chasing him away (from the furniture he was scratching, for example) but he would trot right back moments later, purring and quite pleased with himself. He felt he could do no wrong. And this is like my Rowan. Sometimes I wonder if she finds it funny to get a rise out of me. I think it's a sign of extreme confidence and security. I would actually love to see Rosalie behaving this way -- any signs of increased security are extremely welcome in a formerly feral cat. --Catherine & Rosalie the calicohead |
#25
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"kaeli" wrote in message ... In article , enlightened us with... I have one who insists on climbing all over my shelves despite my not being very pleased about it. The other two just don't find it all that entertaining. I just don't think your cat that "insists" would if you were consistent about reacting with loud "NOs" accompanied by getting up as though you are going to "get" him or her. If you did, he or she would not "insist." You don't know Rowan. She's been yelled at, squirted, even scruffed to stay off the shelves. She doesn't care. She gets up there, I yell at her to get down, she does. Rinse. Repeat. Wipe hands on pants. *LOL* (yes, I did eventually give up - Rowan is now almost 5) Okay, I concede that there may be some cats who are too stubborn to listen, even when you are at home. But that has not been my experience with my cats. It's just too interesting for her up there (she's a very active cat as opposed to my other two couch potatoes). There's a hanging plant nearby that she likes to harass. There's fun things to knock down and play with. Nothing competes with doing as she pleases. That's just Rowan. If I don't want her to do something, I need to make her think it's her decision. Or just give up. Good example - towels in the bathroom. She loves to pull them down. I don't know why. She knows she shouldn't. She never does it in front of me. I put empty soda cans up there so when she pulled them down, the cans would fall and scare her. She now only pulls down towels when cans are not up there. *LOL* They can be scary smart at times. So, I just keep the bathroom door closed. *heh* If I really wanted her to stay off the shelves, I'd have to move the plant and remove everything interesting from the shelves. Forever. *grins* So, we do our little ritual. She gets up there, I tell her to get down, she jumps down and does something else for awhile, then jumps up there again... It's kinda funny now, actually, but I gave up really trying to keep her off there 2 years ago. She outlasted me. *laughs* You know, Kaeli, I think the big thing is that you feed your cats on the counters--albeit only on certain counters--so that is a big impetus for them to get up on counters. I understand that you have to do it due to the dog, but certainly if they did not associate counters with food the counters might not be that attractive. She's my "special child". The Princess. AKA Scarlett. She's very unlike any other cat I've ever had. Maybe that's why she's my favorite. She reminds me of my Gnarly in the "strong-willed" department. But my old girl was not the brightest bulb in the pack. *Sniff* Wish I could have her back. |
#26
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"kaeli" wrote in message ... In article , enlightened us with... Anyway, thanks everyone for the great replies -- they have helped. But to this post in particular, I disagree in that some level of cleanliness can be achieved with some effort. Of course it, can, silly, but you don't have to be paranoid. I get sick once a year like everyone else. Whoop-di-doo. Keep your house decently clean, vaccuum, wash the counters, etc like a normal person. But you don't have to get all crazy about germs. (you flush with your foot??) That's all I was saying. You can't get ALL the germs. And if you could, your poor immune system would be so out of practice, the first one to get in would be the death of you. *grins* There is a strong belief among medical people that an obsession with over-cleanliness is one of the factors behind the rise in asthma and other immune disorders in the Western world - that having too few proper threats to exercise themselves on, our immune systems have turned to exercising themselves on harmless ones. Anyway, try not to be overly worried about the whole thing. Just be sensible. Wash the counters before you prepare food. Wash your hands. Etc - like you already do, basically. You are more likely to get sick from touching railings in public than from your own indoor cat going on your counters. I'll second that. Just wash and clean as you did before and you won't be at any risk of anything you need to worry about. |
#27
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In article ,
enlightened us with... Okay, I concede that there may be some cats who are too stubborn to listen, even when you are at home. But that has not been my experience with my cats. It was never mine either until Princess. *smiles* So, I think it's pretty rare. I've had cats my whole life and never one this stubborn. *LOL* You know, Kaeli, I think the big thing is that you feed your cats on the counters--albeit only on certain counters--so that is a big impetus for them to get up on counters. I understand that you have to do it due to the dog, but certainly if they did not associate counters with food the counters might not be that attractive. Oh, I never said I had a problem with them on the counters. I don't. I don't like them on my shelves (as in book shelves). They knock the knick-knacks over. I have candles and little stones and stuff all displayed pretty and the like. It's not a massive battle or anything, I just prefer they don't go up there so nothing gets accidentally broken. 2 out of the 3 are fine with that. Princess would prefer to play with the kick-knacks. -- -- ~kaeli~ When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace |
#28
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"kaeli" wrote in message ... In article , enlightened us with... Anyway, thanks everyone for the great replies -- they have helped. But to this post in particular, I disagree in that some level of cleanliness can be achieved with some effort. Of course it, can, silly, but you don't have to be paranoid. I get sick once a year like everyone else. Whoop-di-doo. Keep your house decently clean, vaccuum, wash the counters, etc like a normal person. But you don't have to get all crazy about germs. (you flush with your foot??) g T Once upon a time there was an OT thread a mile long (no, make that 10 miles long!) in another ng I frequent about foot-flushers Vs. hand flushers. Even became a tad acrimonious at times! ;-) Cathy |
#29
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"Cathy Friedmann" wrote g T Once upon a time there was an OT thread a mile long (no, make that 10 miles long!) in another ng I frequent about foot-flushers Vs. hand flushers. Even became a tad acrimonious at times! ;-) What I hate are the "sprinklers." If everyone just sat down on the damned seats they would probably be a lot cleaner. |
#30
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"kaeli" wrote in message ... In article , enlightened us with... Sorry for the crazy questions, but though my roommate grew-up with cats, she couldn't answer these questions. The cats get on the counters and tables we use to fix food on and eat on, and though I've made it a habit to clean everything before preparing foods or eating, it just kind of grosses me out a bit. I'm generally a clean freak Don't be a baby. If you knew how much was on your hands, clothing, bedding, and carpet, you'd stop worrying about the cats or drop dead from shock. One of the two. In line w/ this... http://nytimes.com/2004/11/09/health/09essa.html Cathy |
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