dadadadio: (Maximilian)
2011-10-19 09:30 pm
Entry tags:

Do Cat's Learn?

So far my answer to that question is ... "No, cat's do not learn from repeated experience." Maximilian is no feline sponge soaking up lessons learned from his curiosity. The spray bottles and squirt guns deter him from forbidden dining tables and counter tops, but he always returns.

Max is a nocturnal pest. I just reminded myself to wake him up. Hold on a moment while I roust him from his evening nap.

Every night he scratches bedroom furniture or creeps on our bedding and pillow tops. He drinks water from my night glass and likes to sit on my clock radio. The buttons are on top, the radio will come on at any wee hour.

Eventually Cheryl evicts him from the bedroom. I'm not getting up, it's her cat. He meows and scratches at the door. She solitary confines him to the laundry room where his food, water and litter box is.

Speaking of laundry rooms. They're often the best smelling room in the house. Not ours, not any longer.

Photobucket
You know I wanted to close that door, but I didn't.

If we also evict the dog, the cat may not fuss outside our door. He's not alone. Mikey and Max have become friendly, the cat chews on his clipped Boxer ears, like they're furry bologna. Trust has been established, but not totally, as it should be between a cat and dog.

Photobucket
The cat was hidding under the box while Mikey snooped in his cat area. He loves that box, like a kid at Christmas.

They curl up on the floor together, often where we must step over them constantly to get around the house. They always choose the intersection of rooms so they can keep an eye on what the humans are doing.

Photobucket
Mikey's only escape from the cat is the great outdoors, for now.

Cheryl bought a harness and leash for the cat. My initial reaction was negative, "I won't be seen walking an 80 pound dog with a 7 pound cat." That's not right. What's next, a sweater for Mikey? Fuck that foo foo shit.

I took the cat outdoors so he could explore the yard. Eventually he will escape through Mikey's doggie door so he may as well learn the lay of the land with me in control. Cheryl bought the leash for that purpose. He hates it but he's so consumed with outdoor cat curiousity it doesn't matter.

There's a field trip planned for the alley behind our back gate. The cat needs to know about that place, sniff around and learn where home is. I hope he learns, I don't want to put MISSING posters up in the neighborhood.

I've sort of created a monster with rough play. Max has a ton of energy, spunk and loves to attack from hidden places. He doesn't recognize his size disadvantage. He might be dumb as a stump. I don't know.
dadadadio: (Mikey)
2011-08-29 08:58 pm
Entry tags:

The Forbidden Zones

It took Mikey several days to figure out the cat. He's not the sharpest dog. The cat swatted his nose a few dozen times before he learned to approach-cat-with-caution. Mikey's calmer advances have gotten him closer to Max, but the cat is still weary of the behemoth Boxer.

When we got Mike a few years ago dog-rule #1 was no-dog-on-my-bed. I will not sleep with my dog, deal with his hair on my sheets, or have an 80 pound snoring beast with claws competing for slumber time real estate. This was also a rule with Milkshake, our last Boxer, and my Bassett Hound before that. It's a good dog-rule and it's really the only law I enforce with iron determination.

Maximilian requires a whole set of rules. I don't have to worry about the dog on counter tops, the dining room table, or other food preparation areas. The idea of Max stomping in his litter box and then strutting across my cutting board is just gross. This little guy likes the high ground. We have spray bottles with water to correct his trespasses into the forbidden zones. I like shooting the kitten with water. It's good clean fun.

Speaking of the litter box. Why do dogs eat cat shit? Mikey came out of the box chewing. YUCK. I did not see him eat the poop, James did, but the tell tale kitty litter on his face and nose was more than enough evidence for me to convict him ....... stool muncher!

We allow the cat on the bar-shelf above the kitchen counter because he can access it from an adjacent room. He likes to watch us cook from there. We put a water dish on the bar and sometimes feed him snacks. Last night I opened a can of sardines. Max watched from his perch, very interested in that smell. I gave him one whole sardine. The fish had no chance.

Max cuddles with banannas. I think he likes the smell. He nibbles on the skin then falls asleep with a paw wrapped around the fruit. He sleeps in any bowl or dish we leave on the bar-shelf. He also loves teething on eye glasses, flip flops, and removing the lining to my work shoes and sticking his head completely inside the leather footwear all the way to the toe. He's a weird little fucker.

I attempted to keep my bed as a forbidden zone for cats but that's not working out so well. He sneaks up after we dose off. I've booted him off but he returns with vengence. On two occasions I was startled from my sleep by his claws wrapped around my foot while he sunk his teeth into my big toe. WTF? I'm not liking it.

Cheryl has a Mac with a very large monitor. When she's on the computer the cat swats at her cursor or any moving video on the screen. Who said cats are smart?

Mikey learned when Max arches his back and hisses, the claw is his next move. The dog now preempts the cat strike with a large Boxer paw to the body swatting Max across the floor. Mikey has won a few rounds with one swift paw. Yay for the dog!

The suppose the cat's okay but he's got some lessons to learn. We're dreading the day he learns how to get outdoors through the doggie door. The door is large, too heavy for a kitten, but someday he will get outside.
dadadadio: (Cat)
2011-08-17 08:52 pm
Entry tags:

Some Things New

I blogged about the new member of our family over in LJ ............. http://dadadadio.livejournal.com/

We've been offline for a few days with spotty internet, if any, since mid-day Saturday. Our cable modem appeared to be failing but even when we did have a connection to the outside world there was no wireless signal coming from the NetGear router. I can't tell you how many times I reset the equipment or poured over wireless settings.

I broke down and bought an Apple Airport router. It's hardwired to Chery's Mac. The PCs take wireless. I guess we're good now.

What does 1:20, 1:55, 2:30, 2:44, 3:15, 4:12 and 5:02 have in common? These are all AM times our new kitten woke me during the first three nights. He's puked twice, scratched at our bed linen, woke the dog and had Mikey chasing him in the wee hours. If this continues he'll find his kitten ass locked in another bedroom all night long.

Max has a good set of lungs for a tiny cat. I know solitary confinement will result in constant all night meowing so I haven't sentenced the cat to the cooler. The spare bedroom is on the other side of the house so I would not be bothered by late night kitty whining but James would probably be affected. The last time I checked, I was the only person in this house getting up at 6am for a workday.

Max better learn to be quiet. I would like a full night's sleep this week. I don't want to have a kittycat lock down but I will enforce the peace if needed.