Herd your cats here

[clean]

I am sure that she is quite pleased with how trainable you are. I m sure that she has had many frustrating times to get you to where you are now, but I am sure that she would give you a Golden Catnip on your Report Card. 

[Harlow2]

I, alas, am the heater for Ulysses, who leans against me, paws on my arm just loose enough that I can still type on the iPad.

[smallcleanrat]

Does anyone else have a kitty who likes to drown toys?

Maestro never did this, but Caramelo loves to trot his toys over to the water dish and drop them in the drink. Sometimes he'll happily fish it out and then toss it back in over and over again. Sometimes he just leaves it in there like some kind of decoration (think little pink umbrellas, except the umbrellas are fuzzy, felt mice discoloring the water).

It's pretty funny, but it also makes soft toys pretty disgusting. SO throws out all the cloth toys so they won't get moldy (a practice which both cats protest, since they enjoy the soft toys).

A few times, Caramelo has also stolen a sock or even a pair of drawstring pants from me and left it soaking in the dish for me to find.

We're not sure why he does this, or how to persuade him to stop.

[the_geneticist]

Thankfully ours don't put toys in their water fountain, but Lady Jane will deposit her favorite toys in special hiding places.  That includes: in the bathtub (no water), under the throw rugs, folded into the bathmat, and tucked into the dish of kibble.  I think it's a bit of an instinct to hide "prey/food" and a bit of her not wanting to share with the other cats.

You could always put the soggy toys in a delicates bag & put them in the dryer. 

[OneMoreYear]

Ours used to put their toys in their water bowls. When we switched to the fountain, they longer do so. I've seen varying reasons why cats do this--they are saving their prey for later, because It's Fun!, and because they are trying to teach their humans how to hunt. I think it's pretty instinctual, so I'm not sure what method would get it to stop.

Ours do continue to put their "prey" (large paperclips, milk rings, twist ties) in their food bowls.

[Puget]

Mine also don't put them the water, but do like to deposit them in other receptacles-- their beds, boxes, and my shoes being favorites. They also carry them out to the the catio and leave them there, like kids abandoning their toys in the yard.

[mamselle]

Silly humans!

Anycat knows you puts them in the water to softens them up....so they're easier to chew...eat...swallow!

Live or stuffed...

;--}

M.

[Harlow2]

Ulysses ignores her toys; she wants me to entertain her. Maybe we need new toys?  She isn't interested in things that roll around or light up, and gets bored pretty quickly with the feathered ball in a stick and laser she used to like. Loves the cardboard box with internal baffles you can hide treats in, and she comes to tell me every night around 9 that it's time to fill it, after she's opened all the cupboards to see if magically there is food for her there. Sounds like  Small Clean Rat's cat is conducting her own research!

[Puget]

I installed a cat door insert in the window to allow them continued access to the catio without heating the great outdoors. So far, Panther Boy has mastered it (he is highly motivated, and also a pro at opening cupboard doors), but Little Calico will only go through if I hold the flap at least partly open for her. I think she gets the concept, but won't push hard enough to release the magnetic latch and seems a little afraid of the flap hitting her-- training tips welcome!

Our cats don't seem to fully understand pushing.  We have unlatched cupboards - just pull open - and the cats are expert at getting inside, but often get stuck and can't push open the same door they had to have pulled open.  We're alerted by the cupboard door banging. Our hypothesis is that maybe the pushing puts pressure on their whiskers that tells them to stop?

Interesting hypothesis-- Panther Boy, who has mastered the cat door, seems to always put a paw through first, then his head, so maybe he is trying to create an opening for his whiskers.

I mean, I think I would hesitate a bit to walk into a seemingly solid surface head first, so I can't really blame them.

I am happy to report that Little Calico is now using the cat door with ease. For anyone looking to train a hesitant cat, I think the trick ended up being to pick her up and push her head first through the flap when she wanted to go out, so she could experience first hand how it was done and that the flap would move and not hurt her. That, and once she was out, ignoring her pleas to be let back in and making her open it herself instead. A few repetitions of that, and the complete unacceptability of watching Panther Boy enjoy the catio without her did the trick in a couple of days.

Pleased this has worked and they can continue to have catio access without me heating the great outdoors in the process.

[Larimar]

Congratulations to both of you.

[the_geneticist]

Cats do NOT approve of this whole "set the clocks back" nonsense.  They were convinced we were trying to starve them.

[Puget]

Cats do NOT approve of this whole "set the clocks back" nonsense.  They were convinced we were trying to starve them.

Same-- the cats think dinner should appear when it gets dark. Never mind that is now 4:30 PM.

[mamselle]

Split the difference (i.e., a 15 min-1/2 hour adjustment)?

Or does feeding depend on Standard-time humans arriving home first, so they can use their opposable thumbs to operate the can-opener?

M.

[Puget]

Split the difference (i.e., a 15 min-1/2 hour adjustment)?

Or does feeding depend on Standard-time humans arriving home first, so they can use their opposable thumbs to operate the can-opener?

M.

No can opener (wet food has pull tabs), but yes, the human servant is needed to serve dinner, but inconveniently has a second job that outside the home.

[the_geneticist]

We have a clock that makes a different bird call every hour.  The cats only took 2 days to associate the 5:00pm chirp-chirp noise with us serving them their evening meal.  I'm sure Sir Puck thought the clock was broken.