Dr Kim says you CAN train a cat to do what
it wants, when you want it to There are a couple of things you might want to discourage your cat from doing. If you use a bit
of ‘cat psychology’, you might even find you get things YOUR way a bit more often! Here are a
couple strategies that might save your roast.
How do you keep a cat off a kitchen
bench? Or from getting on the couch? Or into the baby’s cot?
These are all things cats do naturally
because the spot is high
up, usually warm and tranquil
(till you notice the cat!). Now,
cats have only developed
enough brain power to understand
that THEY are the centre
of the universe – exactly the
same as human toddlers – and
they think you are sharing their
thoughts. Very Zen really. In effect,
the cat sees you are focused on
SOMETHING and since they
are EVERYTHING you must
want them in the centre
of your attention. Same
motivation for sitting on
your newspaper, book
or computer keyboard.
Think about it! So, they
come to join you. And now, oh
look, there’s a tasty piece of fish or
roast chook on the bench. Or a
warm, soft and comfy spot on the
sofa, or in the kids rooms.
To the cat, all these things are called a reward,
so the cat wants to do it again. Shooshing it away
doesn’t work – the cat will just come back when you are
not there!
But you have a choice!
You can set a rule you can live with and stick to it. Like,
no cats on the bench while you cook. So just put the cat
in its carrier and put it on a chair or stool so it can still
see what you are doing. After a couple of times of NOT
getting the roast, the cat usually loses interest.
The couch thing – make a rule everyone can live with and
stick with it. In general the conflict arises
when one of the family decides it is OK
to have cat on the couch,
and another decides
it isn’t. Create a compromise
– when on the
couch, the cat must sit
on a towel or cloth.
Just everybody agree
and abide by it. Cats
do NOT understand
‘sometimes’. And babies – well, none
have ever been smothered by a cat
(that was the explanation for SIDS), and
cat hair and dander seem now to have
preventative properties against asthma.
However, if you really don’t want the cats in the
kids room, put in a screen door. Or build a shelf and let
the cat supervise your activities with your baby.
In the end, living with a cat means coming to terms with
its rules. Simplz.
