Well meow everypawdy. Here we are another week closer to mes Gotchaday, which is next Tuesday ifin you’re wonderin’. Anyways, it’s also Service Cat Monday. You know what dat means; it’s time fur another Service Cat trainin’ posty. We had a lot of great questions, and sure hope we’ve given everypawdy some helpful trainin’ tips these last few months. Ifin you’ve missed any post in da series, you can ketch up by clickin’ on da links at da bottom of this posty. We told ya’ last week dat we had reached da end of questions asked by you; and dat unless we got any more we would start tellin’ a few stories ‘bout mes trainin’. And, well, we didn’t get any questions this past week, so today you’re gonna hear ‘bout some of da fun dat occurs durin’ trainin’. As with all our educational posts da followin’ will be in human English speak. So let’s get started.

 

Mommy wanted me to remind you all that altho’ training should be taken seriously, you can still have a lot of fun. We thought we’d focus on wheelchair training today. Let me give ya’ a little information about electric wheelchairs; or at least the one we have. At the end of one of the arms is a control panel. Ours is on the right arm since mommy’s right handed. On this control panel is a joy stick, power button, horn and speed buttons. The other arm has a small pouch attached for things like keys, a phone, wallet, and/or treats. For the first few lessons, mommy usually has the chair already turned on, so all we have to focus on is the joy stick.

Me was purretty young when mommy first started mes training, but me still had very large furry paws. Mommy had learned while training sis Lexi and her then brofur Lucky, that the wheelchair needed some padding if she hoped to avoid damaging walls, doors and furniture. So mommy cut up some foam pieces and attached them to the arms and foot rest. And in the pouch she placed a bag of our favorite freeze dried chicken breast treats. Mommy tries to avoid first thing in the morning training because she can’t move everything (legs, arms, etc.). So one afternoon, mommy got all set for mes training session, and it went something like this. 

 Bigify to see teeth marks

 

 

 

Mommy sat down in the wheelchair that had been moved to the bedroom facing the bathroom. This is the shortest distnce and straightest line we have to drive. What could go wrong, right? Then she began calling for me to join her. Me was familiar with the wheelchair since it had been a part of mommys life from the day me came to live with her. So naturally me ran straight to mommy and jumped up in her lap. The newly attached foam had all mes attention. Me was sniffin’ each piece and even put the bitey on one of them. Of course that’s not what mommy had intended so, she gently moved me further into her lap and positioned me with mes head over the control panel where the joy stick resides. Mommy had already turned the power button on and turned the speed down to it’s lowest setting.

 

 

Mommy then gently pushed mes head over to the joy stick and tickled mes chin and nose so me would open mes mouth. And then she gently pushed mes open mouth down on the joy stick and said, “Bite”. Hmmmmm Really? Bite? Hasn’t mommy been telling me Not to Bite everything? And now she wants me to Bite? Whatever. Me bit down on the joy stick but nothing happened. Me wasn’t sure what was suppose to happen, but nothing did. So, me let go of the joy stick and started to turn to look at mommy. Well, while maneuvering meself to turn around, mes big ole furry kitty paw landed on the speed button. Of course neither mommy or me was aware of this until, mes other big ole furry paw pushed the joystick forward. Now mind you, all of this happened in just a few short seconds, not the slow motion it sounds like now. Anyways, what happened next is the very reason for those foam bumper pads mommy had attached to the chair earlier.

 

Me had one front paw and one back paw in mommys lap and one back paw on the arm of the chair and the other front paw pushing against the joy stick. And before mommy could even say mes name, we bolted across the room and ran right smack dab into the chest of drawers sitting next to the bathroom door. Yep, we ran right into that big ole chest. Me jutted forward and then back against mommy as we made an abrupt stop due to the size of the chest we had just hit. Mes eyes were as big as dinner plates and mommys dropped jaw was still over by the bed where we had started. Sis Lexi came running down the hall towards us from her spying place right around the corner. Me gathered meself together and jumped over the back of the chair and zoomed down the hall towards sis Lexi. Head on collision in the hallway. Once me made it to the end of the hall me sat down, looked around and started bathing meself as if me had planned it all. Me could hear mommy hollerin’ ‘bout how much she luvved me and how purroud of me she was, but me wasn’t ready fur any hugs and snuggles, so me stayed put. Gotta remember to reward our actions. Altho’ things didn’t go as planned, me had “driven” the chair.

 

 

Once mommy gathered her dropped jaw and moved the chair back into position, she began to call for me again. Sis Lexi had taken up a safe position on the bed to oversee mes training. Reluctantly me headed back down the hall towards mommy and the kitty killing wheelchair. Okay so maybe the chair didn’t kill any kitties and maybe no kitty was actually even harmed, but it sounded good didn’t it?. Anyways, me jumped on the bed with sis Lexi and meowed with her a bit. A frustrated mommy finally reached into the pouch and brought out the hidden bag of freeze dried chicken breast treats. Of course sis Lexi and me were both in her lap faster than that chair could move.

 

 

While mommy fumbled around opening the treat bag, sis Lexi and me clamored back and forth to see who would get the first treat. Of course during this time, both of us kept stepping all over the wheelchairs’ control panel turning the chair off and on, off and on, and honking the horn. And then of course the moment came when the stray paw pushed the joy stick. It could’ve been a stray butt too, but we’re sticking with the stray paw. It just so happened that the chair was on and again at full speed. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, away we went. The treat bag went flying and so did sis Lexi. Let me tell ya’, in her day, she sure did love her some treats. Mommy and me came to an abrupt halt when we hit the side of the bathtub. Mommy has seen it coming but all too fast to stop it. At least she was able to grab hold of me and held on tight so me didn’t get thrown into the bathtub. When we came to a stop, mommy looked at me and said, “This is why, you’re to calmly drive the wheelchair with your mouth Dezi, and not your paws.” At that moment me could care less what we were supposed to do. All me wanted was down and at those treats sis Lexi was now gobbling up.

 

 It’s gonna be mines turn next.

 

 

Well, there ya’ have it, wheelchair driving 101. Fur all of you dat think we just magically know what to do da furst time, well, dat just ain’t true. After 2 crashes in less than an hour, mommy halted trainin’ fur da day. Oh we’d be at it again da day after and da day after dat. Cuz ‘member, trainin’ is all ‘bout repetition. We’re still takin’ questions, so ifin ya’ have somethin’ ya’ wanna know or hear ‘bout, just let us know. Ifin we don’t get any questions befur next week, we’ll pick up where we left off here. ‘Member to check out our purrevious Service Cat postys by clickin’ on da links below. Me’s gonna go see ‘bout getting’ some treats right now, so me hopes you all enjoyed readin’ mes story.

 

 

Till da next time…………………………………..Be Blest!!!

 

 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

Mommy A: Black 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle 

Service Cats 

What to Look For     Training Foundations     Train Kitty to Massage

Smelling Disease     Do You Need One     Who Bears the Cost

Housing Laws and Exceptions     Accommodations and Common Sense

When the Handler Dies?     Proper Training Methods Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 

Easiest Task to Train?     Getting Kitty Ready for an Outing

Discipline: Stop Countersurfing Kitty     Internal Disputes

Calling Emergency Help     Just What is Kitty Capable of

Shad: Original Service Cat     Harness or Vest, Leash or Stroller