Meowllo and welcome to another Miserable Monday. Dat means it’s time fur another educational Service Cats posty. It’s also Labor day here in da U.S., and we gotta tell ya’ we seriously thought ‘bout lettin’ mommy have da day off. You know, no laborin’ on labor day?. But we got some great questions from our last Service Cats posty, so we thought we’d give ya’ some answers. Let me say dat some of da training questions we’re bein’ asked apply or can/should apply to all cats, not just Service Cats. We are covering them under the Service Cats posts, because Service Cats must be well behaved in general. Training a Service Cat isn’t just training the specific duties they will perform, but also good behavior. As with all our educational posts the following will be written in human English. Ifin you’ve missed any of da posts in this series, you can ketch up by clickin’ da links below.
Part 1: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/service-cat-what-to-look-for/
Part 2: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/service-cat-training-foundation/
Part 3: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/07/06/service-cats-how-to-train-kitty-to-massage-without-claws/
Part 4: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/service-cats-smelling-disease/
Part 5: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/service-cats-do-you-need-one/
Part 6: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/service-cats-who-bears-the-cost/
Part 7: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/service-cats-housing-laws-and-exceptions/
Part 8: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/service-cats-accommodations-and-common-sense/
Part 9: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/08/15/service-cats-what-happens-when-the-handler-dies/
Part 10: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/service-cats-proper-training-methods/
Part 11: https://dezizworld.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/service-cats-proper-training-methods-part-2/
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s see what today’s question is. Awnty Jean, Shoko and Kali from the Canadian Cats asked, “How long does it take to train the average kitty to perform an “action” properly? And “Is there something they learn quicker than others, and why?” Well now those are great questions. Initially the first thing you want to train any cat/kitten is to know and respond to their name. We’re not trying to be “smart” with this answer. But before any training can commence, it’s important that kitty, doggy, whatever animal you’re dealing with knows their name and will respond to it. This can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Mommy doesn’t allow anyone to call us kitty kitty. The reason for that is because kitty is not our names and it’s very important that we respond to our names every time. As a result of this we do not respond to anyone who says “here kitty kitty”. And yes, any cat/kitten can be trained to respond when called by their name.
Now, we know this isn’t the answer awnty Jean was truly wondering tho’. She wants to know about those specific tasks we’re trained for like calling 911, massaging mommy or driving her wheelchair. So, we’ll address that now. First, every kitty is different, even within the same breed. Knowing that, you can’t expect each kitty to learn at the same pace. For instance, me was 3 weeks old when me came to live with mommy and sis Lexi, and me started alerting mommy that she was going to pass out within a couple of days. Sis Lexi had always known mommy was going to pass out, but she never alerted to it until watching me do it for about a year. And then suddenly one day, sis Lexi started alerting mommy too. So you could say it took sis Lexi 11 years to learn that task and me, 2 days. But in all fairness, mommy had never thought about training that particular task so she never asked that of Lexi, nor trained her for it.
Dat’z da spot mommy. How ’bout you, am I’z gettin
da right spot on your leg here?
Mommy says probably the easiest task to train a kitty to perform is massage. How long does it take to train a kitty to do this? Because it’s an instinctive behavior, it usually only takes a few training sessions before kitty performs perfectly. Remember, Raena was doing this her first night with mommy. It took me a couple of days to learn, and about 2 weeks to learn the specific areas me was to focus on. Now this brings us to another question and a few replies we’ve received. Let’s address the replies first. Several of you said that you had kitties that started out without their claws but eventually those claws came out and of course the massage is no longer enjoyable. Remember we told you that any massages should be performed in a place that was secure for kitty in the event they lost their sense of balance, etc.. The reason kitty loses balance or those claws come back out is because kitty has entered a state of “Euphoria”. That means kitty has entered a state of extreme pleasure and is no longer thinking; they are lost in the moment. A light tap on the paw will rouse kitty and cause the claws to retract again. You can also try speaking to kitty. If you choose to speak, do so in a quiet and calming voice. Mommy will say things like, “Claws in”, “That hurt a bit”, “Thank you”, “That’s enough”. Remember, Training is all about Repetition.
Thank you for teaching us more about service cats. Both Dragonheart and Devi love to knead one of our super-soft fleece blankets. Merlin has never kneaded anything, despite being incredibly affectionate and the most loving of us three!
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Years ago, I acquired Emily when she was 2 weeks old…. She was so tiny that I was afraid I’d hurt her, so when I fed her with those little toy bottles for dolls, I placed her on a nice, soft afghan … she ‘loved on’ that blanket her entire life.
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Aaaaaaw Dat’s so sweet. Mommy always feeds babies da way you would a human baby, on their back in her arms. She says it helps to make a more docile adult cat. They learn submission to their human dat way as well. It also generally helps keep them from gettin’ too much milk or air and spitting up.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
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dezi & raena…..we wood like ta say we knead pizza pie doughz….but…… ☺☺☺ de troo kneader in de familee waz gram paw dude, him could knead til de food servizz gurl thinked hiz legz waz gonna give out frum tired nezz; his fav o rite kneadin spot was hiz bed with hiz blankit ♥♥♥
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That makes complete sense that massage would be the easiest task. We found our Dexter when he was (supposedly) 4 weeks old, which didn’t give him a lot of time with his momma cat, but he sure does know how to knead up a storm! Hugs to you!
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Fanks and hugs right back. Keep on kneadin’ Dexter.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
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Thanks for the service questions answered – really furry interesting. Some of the Katie Katz do like to knead without coaxing.. would love to read how your sweeties dial 911. Read some previous posts.. Raena sure likes being a helper with making the bed…
Purrz, Katie Kat.
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A cat must know her name…I found this part of your description to be very interesting.
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That is a nice lesson, Dezi and Raena about teaching the massage technique. Thanks!
We have not tore any thing up though there are some beds around her that get regular massage treatments,MOL! Pipo will purr and knead the air if he sees pawppy:) But he chirps when he sees meowmy.MOL!
Around here, its the dog-guy who makes the nests we use into tatters and shreds…he digs them up and bites them into submission as well…
We hope the storms abate and that no kitties have to cower under cars to stay dry. its sad there are so many strays around there right now… Maybe someday some can be assisted back into life with loving peeps. We will purr and pawyer about that:)
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The final picture says it all and it looks like Raena is getting into the groove. Dezi, you are on the highest platform and Raena, you are one down like a good runner up should be. Concats…..even Shoko some times forgets herself.
A couple more questions. Is there any in fighting like Dezi plans to do something for you and Raena wants to do that. This would be more of a kittenish thing to do. The other question involves Kali. She loves to knead my legs but not bare legs…she leaves if my legs are bare. Is this normal? Do Dezi and Raena knead bare skin or is there material?
Lovs ya,
Shoko and Kali and Aunty Jean
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Fanks ya’ll, it’s slow goin’ but Raena is startin’ to learn her place. Those are great questions and da furst we’ll put in a post. Da one ’bout Kali and bare legs, we’ll talk ’bout here.
We do massage bare skin. Typically a massaging kitty doesn’t really care whether there’s material or not, but some do purrfur certain types of materials, thus our recommendations in da posty fur trainin’ kitty. Is Kali normal? Of course she’s normal fur her. But most kitties will massage whether there’s material or not. Ifin she uses her claws, then purrhaps you’ve actually unknowingly trained her not to massage bare skin due to da hurt factor.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
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