Meowllo and welcome to Service Cats Monday. We’ve kinda been teasin’ you ‘bout todays posty all last week. Truth is today’s posty isn’t a fun one, but unfurtunately sometimes necessary. As with all our educational posts the following will be in human English. Ifin you’ve missed any of the posts in this series you can ketch up by clickin’ on the links at the end of this post. As always, we welcome your questions and thoughts, suggestions and ideas, so purrlease leave them in the comments or send us an email. We try to answer all questions, especially training questions as quickly as pawssible. We do like to answer trainin’ questions in our posts so that everypawdy can benefit from it. As with all our trainin’ postys, the tips, tricks and methods have been developed by mommy thru her many years of rescue, animal ownership and bein’ owned by kitties. And most purrtant, training is all about Repetition and Consistency. Well let’s get on with the trainin’.
Our sweet furiend Herman Tattlecat asked, “How do you teach kitty to stay off the counters, etc.?” We of course can expand this question to include all the negatives, and restate the question as, “How do you un-train bad behavior?” Mommy will tell you that it’s easier to train good behavior than to break bad behavior. Mommy’s never had a kitty that counter surfed the kitchen counters or sat on top of the fridge. She doesn’t allow it. Before we go on, we want to reiterate the importance of love and positive reinforcement. Hitting kitty IS NOTan effective training method!!! Drenching kitty with the water bottle or water gun Is Not an effective training method!!! To train, means to know your subject and understand their motivations. We are mommys children…but, we aren’t human and our brains don’t work like a humans’ brain. So mommy says you have to think like a cat and act like a cat to train a cat.
So let’s start off by saying, Before you adopt a kitty, decide what kind of rules you want to implement. Do you want to allow kitty anywhere and everywhere? Or are there places you don’t want kitty to go? Stick to your decisions, and make sure everybody in the house is in on the plan. Remember, you have to be consistent for kitty to learn. Just because you don’t want kitty walking around on your kitchen counters doesn’t mean you’re abusing kitty or making him/her sad. You’re not depriving them of anything either, so long as you provide places they can get up on. And it doesn’t have to be the biggest and fanciest cat tree made. As most of you know we have a great cat tree; actually we have 2 great cat trees and a small perch. But, mommy could have never afforded them herself, and all the kitties before me never had a cat tree to climb on. We are so thankful for those who gave us our trees, but the point is, that they’re not necessary to make kitty happy.
It’s all well and good to tell you to never allow kitty to get on the counters in the first place, but not everybody is starting with a brand new kitten. You now have an adult cat that is jumping up and lounging on your kitchen counter, or sleeping on the refrigerator. Or maybe even walking all over the stove top, or even hanging from your curtains. Aaaaaaaaw Isn’t kitty cute unrolling the toilet paper roll? It was soooooooo cute when they were kittens; you couldn’t get the camera/fone fast enough. Isn’t everything kittens do adorable? NO!!!
None of those behaviors are cute especially not when kitty weighs 10 – 20 pounds and is supposed to be an adult. Not when you want to prepare food, or need to avail yourself of the bathroom facilities. Not when kittys’ paws are tracking litter onto the table. And certainly not when the burner on the stove top has been turned on. So how and what do you do to train kitty not to do those things in the first place? Just say, “No!!!” Be firm and remove kitty if they get up there. Offer them an alternative. Remove the toilet paper from the roller. This step is only temporary, so don’t worry, you will be able to put it back as soon as kitty learns a firm No. Altho’ this applies to all stages of training, this paragraph is still a little more focused on the younger cat.
So, let’s suppose your kitty has been doing it so long you don’t remember when it started. What do you do now? Can kitty be trained to stay off these surfaces. Yes, absolutely. Altho’ mommy’s not had these issues, she has trained others kitties who did. So let’s look at mommys’ training kit and see what we have. First, training is repetitive and constant/ongoing. Second, don’t worry about what others think of you. You may need to look and be a little silly. You are after all only human. You are training a superior being, the cat. So let’s get to know and understand your subject. Cat mommy teaches and disciplines her kittens with hisses and bites. Littermates train each other with hisses and bites. Disputes between cats are often solved with intimidation, hisses and growls. So humans must become as cat like as possible for training purposes.
Let’s look at Intimidation. A cat who wants to intimidate another will puff themselves up in an attempt to look bigger and scarier. Obviously humans can’t puff up, so what can you do? Mommy has a move she calls her Space Danger move. She waves her hands in the air and repeats loudly, “Danger!!! Danger!!!” She says anyone old enough to remember Lost in Space will recognize this, for the rest of you, do a youtube search and check out the robot. Anyways, this will startle kitty and generally cause them to back away, get down, and/or remove themselves from the situation. Yes, you may look a little funny, but nobody/kitty gets hurt and it works. Initially your kitty may freeze. If this happens, remove kitty from the area. Once kitty has removed themselves/been removed or stopped the inappropriate behavior, remember to praise and love on them. If you have to remove kitty yourself, do it quickly and gently but Do Not hug or love on kitty until they have been put down in a more appropraite area. You don’t want to confuse kitty or reinforce bad behavior, so praise should only happen when kitty is where you want them to be, standing on their own.
Mommy had to go way back in da files to find us puffed up.
Now let’s look at Hissing. Let me tell you, no kitty has anything on our mommy when it comes to hissing. If you’ve ever listened to hissing kitties, there are variations of the hiss. From a nonchalant don’t touch me to a you’re dead. We kitties are very smart, and once we’ve been told No, we know when we’re doing wrong. That being said, if kitty jumps back on the counter and you’re in another room? No doubt kitty’s going to jump down and disappear before you can get to them and start your Space Danger move or remove kitty yourself. So what can you do to be consistent in training kitty to stay off the counters, etc.? Hiss. Yep, you read that right, hiss and say No, or Get down in a firm voice. You may have to hiss more than once, but you will eventually find the appropriate hiss for the occasion. And of course you need to head towards kitty to make sure they do get down or stop the behavior. And remember to praise and love kitty for their good behavior.
Me’s givin’ a hissin’ example and Raena be puffin’ up.
We discussed biting in a previous post, so we won’t cover it again here. We will say that biting isn’t an appropriate method of training for these particular issues. Okay, we’ve covered what to do when you’re home with kitty, but what do you do when you’re not at home to keep an eye on kitty? We’re going to list some tips here that can work so long as they are used in conjunction with the hands on training listed above. Put “noise makers” on the edges of counters, shelves, fridge tops, etc.. Examples of such noise makers are:
Coin Filled aluminum cans
Coin filled plastic bottles
Crumpled Aluminum Foil
Whoopee Cushions
Large sqeaky toys
Parchment or Wax paper
For the coin filled items, we don’t mean full cans or bottles, just enough coins to rattle when shaken or dropped. They must be light enough for kitty to knock them over. Altho’ you can’t control what kitty does when no one’s home, DO NOT let kitty play with these training items. And by edge, we mean they should be balanced along the edges so that if kitty tried to jump up, the can or foil will immediately fall. Whoopee cushions and squeaky toys should be at the edge so that if kitty jumps up on them they will be startled by the noise and immediately jump back down. In recent years we have seen the development of air cans that spray kitty with air when they get close to it. This Is Not a method mommy likes or promotes.
Remember to provide kitty with appropriate toys and areas to jump on and/or play with. Always end discipline with love and praise. When removing kitty from a counter or other area, do it swiftly, but gently. Do Not hug on kitty until he/she is in an appropriate area and only after kitty has been set down. Mommy doesn’t like or promote cat trees, perches, or any other climbing apparatus near the kitchen or counters. This is too much temptation for kitty to step off of their tree and onto the counter, table, shelf, etc. Don’t set kitty up to fail. Before humans welcome a child into their home, they prepare the home and try to make it as safe as possible for the baby. The same should be done for the pets brought into your home.
We have shelves and small tables around the house. As long as they are filled with books or knick knacks, they’re off limits to us. But if a shelf is empty, mommy allows us to lay/sit on it. We’re allowed on the bathroom counters any time we want and have a small table in the living room for us along with the cat trees, perch and chair. We’re also allowed on the bed, shower chairs and cat steps. As long as kitty is provided with sufficient perches keeping them off counters should be an easy train. Remember to be consistent. Kitty wants rules and structure and lots of love.
Well, guess we’ll wrap it up fur today. We hope this has helped ya’ll out. If you have any questions about today’s post or any other training post, purrlease let us know in the comments below as well as any other questions you might have. And yes, mommy has hissed in public. It works on children of the 2 legged variety as well. Don’t furget to click on the links below ifin you’ve missed any of our Service Cats Training posts, and have a pawsum day.
Welcome to another miserable Monday. It’s time fur another Educational Service Cat Posty. Our last few posts have dealt with training specifics dat are good fur all cats and kittens, not just Service Cats; and today’s post will be no different. We got some great questions dat we’ll be dealin’ with fur da next couple of weeks, but ‘member to ask your questions, so we can get them answered too. Now, ifin you’ve missed any of da posts in this series you can ketch up by clickin’ da links below. We do suggest befur you begin trainin’ kitty to purrform any task dat you start with mommy’s Foundation which you can read ‘bout in Part 2, Training Foundations. As with all our educational posts da followin’ will be in human English, so get your coffee, note pad and let’s get to it.
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s get to our question. Our friends from Toby’s Wrecking Crew wanted to know how to get a kitty ready for something like BlogPaws. And what they are asking is how do you get a kitty adjusted to a lot of people, noise and other animals, unruly doggies to be exact?. This is a great question. It most certainly applies to Service Kitties who must be accommodating to any situation, but it’s also good for all kitties. You never know what the future holds, or what situation you may find yourself in. For instance, you find yourself having to evacuate your home and go to a shelter full of people and other animals, a kitty who is comfortable in this setting is certainly going to be easier to deal with during this time of crisis. Or heaven forbid, you have to take kitty to an emergency vet during a busy night. Again, a kitty that is comfortable with noise and commotion, is going to be much calmer than one who isn’t. Now that we’ve pointed out why all cats should be trained for commotion, let’s explain how it’s done. Remember, It’s NEVER too late to train kitty.
Of course this is something mommy starts on immediately with the new kitty. But remember that first Service Cat mommy had? Well she wasn’t a kitten when she was trained, so it can be done. The first thing you want to do is make kitty as comfortable and safe as possible. So here comes the harness and leash training. We do recommend a stroller for these kinds of outings as opposed to a carrier, but keeping a carrier on hand is also a good option. (See the photo below of sis Lexi in her carrier on top of the stroller in the car.) Even in a closed stroller, kitty should be leashed and tethered in. We’re going to take this from the start. Buy a proper fitting harness. Mommy prefers the ones with material that have closures around the neck and body, like you see in the photos. We prefer them as well. Cats are more comfortable being wrapped up. So we recommend staying away from the strappy cat harnesses and go straight to the dog department. You can also order online, there are a lot of great companies that make these harnesses for kitties. You’ll need a leash that’s not to heavy. Remember, the typical kitty weighs less than 20 pounds so they’re not going to break even the skinniest of leashes. Now that you have the proper tools, you can start training kitty. We recommend keeping the stroller and carrier out at all times and open for kitty to use for sleep or play.
Harness Training:
Each day put harness on kitty for about 15 minutes and walk away. Initially kitty may go limp and fall over. Don’t Worry, kitty is fine. Do Not remove harness or kitty has trained you. Only take the harness off after 15 minutes. And take it off even if kitty seems okay with it. You don’t want kitty to over do it initially. Do this twice a day for a few days and then increase the amount of time the harness stays on once kitty actually gets up off the floor. The amount of time this will take will vary from cat to cat, so we can’t give you an exact number of days or weeks, but once kitty is comfortable in the harness you can now add the leash. Please, Do Not Rush Kitty. Take your time, this will mean success. And remember, all of this is being done in the house. Kitty hasn’t set one foot outside. Okay, you’ve added the leash to the harness. This should be done the same way as the harness, start with 15 minutes twice a day and increase until kitty is comfortable. During this time, please be careful as kitty will be dragging a leash and this could be a trip hazard for all humans. And keep an eye on kitty if opening any doors or cabinets, etc.. Once kitty is comfortable with the harness and the leash, it’s time to add you to the mix. Pick up the leash and let kitty take you for a walk. At this time you may venture outside if you want. This is also the time to start taking kitty with you in public.
Going Public:
Even tho’ kitty is now harness and leash trained, it’s no comparison for a stroller or carrier. Harness and leash kitty and tether in to stroller for your outing. Of course a pet store is the obvious choice, we like to go places like parks, banks, pharmacies, post offices, etc.. (me’s visitin’ the pharmacy in the photo below) Try going for a stroll in the park. You’ll likely encounter a few dogs and curious people. Your bank, or a small town bank will most likely say nothing and will expose kitty to a lot of lookey loo’s (curious people wanting to see kitty) During these outings as kitty gets more comfortable you can open the stroller and let people pet kitty and let kitty sniff them. You can also allow kitty to walk around a little if permitted since kitty is harnessed and leashed. These outings expose kitty to a small number of people/animals and noise, but prepare them for the commotion of a crowd. Now that kitty is comfortable in these small settings it’s time for the big crowds. Again, the pet store during an adoption event is a great place. A school football/basketball/baseball game is a great place. A local parade or flea market is another great option. Look around your area, you’ll find several great options. The more exposure you can give kitty the better.
Visitin’ da pharnacy
The following instructions are for BlogPaws only, and something mommy regrets having to say, and hasn’t yet done for us. Altho’ me’s been thru it already so me doesn’t need the training. Find a “yard” that’s protected by large guard dogs and take kitty to the fence. Please be sure kitty is tethered into their stroller and that the stroller is closed and secure!!! Do Not leave kittys view at this time. The dogs will charge the fence and thus the stroller, barking and growling and baring teeth. The action you want from kitty is to quietly go to the back of the stroller and lie down. Remove kitty from the situation. If kittys response is to try and fight, remove them immediately and try again another time. Not all the dogs at BlogPaws are this way, but there are a few and their humans have no respect for anyone. Of course, you never know when you walk out your front door what you might encounter. Even tho’ we are Service Cats and are taught not to react, sis Lexi and me both did hiss at a few doggies that charged us. But we did then return to the back of the stroller and lie down as we should have. So if kitty hisses and lays down, you’re alright. You just don’t want kitty going crazy and trying to escape the stroller. They need to feel completely safe with you in their stroller.
Remember, Training is Repetition. Don’t rush any step or you’ll fail. If you’re planning for a specific event, stat your training early and keep at it. Don’t let a day go by without training. Once kitty is comfortable in all these situations, reward them by taking them out and about just because. Mommy says that training is also forever. Meaning you have to keep exposing kitty to these situations or they’ll grow complacent. Make it a point to take kitty out at least once a week. Mommy tries to take us for a stroll every week, weather permitting, and for a drive at least once a week, even if it’s only around the block. Most importantly, have fun. You want kitty to find this as enjoyable as you. Big snarly dogs and all we would love to go back to BlogPaws. We would be better prepared this time around. And we’ve got our paws crossed we make it there again.
We’re gonna wrap it up for now. Hope this helps ya’. Ifin ya’ have any additional questions or comments ‘bout todays topic or another training tip you’re interested in, purrlease say so in da comments below. You can also email us using our contact page which is completely purrivate. All this talk ’bout strolls has me wantin’ to go fur one. Gotta run now.
Do you (your kitty) like to go on outings?
Would you like (your kitty) to go on outings?
We’re curious how many kitties are already harness trained?
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.
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.
While we’re on the subject of massage, we need to address another question we got about this. We were asked how to train a kitty to massage in the first place. Meaning, they believe their kitty doesn’t know how to knead at all. Altho’ the possibility for this is exists, especially for bottle fed hand raised kittens, it’s not likely. Kitty is kneading, you just aren’t seeing it. Let’s explain this action and the reason for it. When a kitten is born, ideally they will have a mother cat to raise them. When kitty gets ready to eat, they will latch onto the mothers teat and begin to suckle. This action is then followed by gently kneading around that teat to make more milk come out. If you’ve ever milked a cow, you know that after pulling the teat and dispensing milk, you push up and into the udder of the cow before pulling it back down. This motion allows the teat to fill up with the maximum amount of milk to dispense. Even a kitty who has never fed from a teat will still knead instinctively just like purring. They just may not do it as much or in the open.
Is this right mommy?
So, you believe your kitty doesn’t know how to knead; can you train kitty to do so? The answer is Yes. Remember, this action is instinctual. You just need to get kitty to perform the action around you and for you. This is the point at which an outsider will think you’re crazy, because you’re going to have to get kitty to that Euphoric state before they knead. Think about the things that cause your kittys’ motor boat (purr) to rev up. Mommy used to be able to just look at sis Lexi even from across the room, and she would turn on her purr box so loudly that things around her shook. She would get so excited she would knead the air if she couldn’t get to mommy. I prefer for mommy to rub my chin and coo at me. Mommy will say things like, “I love you Dezi, You’re my sweet angel girl, You’re my beautiful blue eyed angel, Mommy loves her baby, Sweet Dezi,” or she’ll sing the made up songs she sings to me. Let me tell ya’, nothing gets me going faster than mommy singing sweet songs to me. So, once you’ve found kittys’ trigger, keep them going, they will eventually start kneading. Again, they’ve reached that Euphoric state and all actions they perform now are totally instinctual. It’s not uncommon for any kitty in this state to drool as well.
Another option to train kitty is to give them a blanket, bed, throw, etc. made of plush fabric or faux fur. Most kitties love the feel of these materials and automatically knead them. Me has torn up at least one blanket a year, a throw and 2 cat beds. Me can knead those with me’s claws much to mommy’s chagrin. But she allows it because me doesn’t use me’s claws on her.
So to sum up our answer to today’s question, the easiest task to train a kitty is massage because it’s taking advantage of an instinctual action. Because it’s instinctual, kitty is eager to learn. Training kitty to massage (knead) a specific area can take as little as a few hours to a few months. It takes less time to train a kitten than an adult, but both can be trained.
Well now, me’s gonna wrap it up and see ifin me can’t get mommy to take me fur a stroll later. Purrlease feel free to ask your training questions or any other questions you might have in da comment section, or you can email us via our contact page. And by da way, those emails are private. We’re da only ones dat can see them. We hope you all have a relaxing Labor Day. And by da way, mommy said da foto above was one of her favorites cuz Raena and me were sleeping peacefully together on da cat tree.
Do you (does your kitty) knead anything in particular besides your human?
Do you (your kitty) have a favorite blanket or bed?
Have you had to replace anything because kitty kneaded it to death?
Well it’s Miserable Monday and da beginning of another work week. It’s also time fur another Service Cat posty. Furst mommy and me would like to thank you all for your kind words with regards to yesfurdays Blest Sunday posty. We are still working through our feelings over losing sis Lexi, and purrobably always will be. But one thing is certain, we are extremely blest to have had her in our lives. Now, as with all our educational posts, da following will be written in human English. Ifin you’ve missed any posts in da series, you can ketch up by clicking da links below.
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s talk more about training today. We didn’t get any questions from our last couple of posts, so we’re not sure which direction you all would like us to go, but we need to expand on training a bit. We have been asked where mommy learned her training methods. Years ago she started out training dogs. Once she fell into the clutches of a cat, she quickly learned she had to modify her training techniques to fit the feline behavior and mind. Most of what she learned she learned from raising motherless kittens. As most of you know, the mother and littermates would train a kitten to use the litterbox, how hard and when to bite, scratch, play and everything else a new kitten would need to know to survive. Kittens who lose their mothers before learning these things can grow up to be unruly and/or have a lot of behavioral issues. But even the kitten with an ideal upbringing can still benefit from a little training.
Last week we told you that positive reinforcement is the best and proper method to train a cat. Negative reinforcement in very limited amounts has it’s place (the ear biting technique we discussed last week). Positive reinforcement can be anything from a treat to a hug or pat. Get to know your kitty, and you’ll quickly learn what their preference is. We also stated that most cats are not ruled by their tummies, so treats are not always effective training tools. Please, Do Not starve your non food motivated kitty in order to treat train. Mommy prefers to use other rewards anyways.
Last week we talked about inappropriate scratching, and offering appropriate options for kitty to use and even how to get kitty to use them. Remember if kitty is exhibiting behavioral problems, see your VET and rule out any illnesses before proceeding with any training. A sick cat, or one in pain will not learn no matter what method you try. We’ve been asked about how mommy trains us to massage her and what to do about kitty claws. We briefly covered this in a post above, but the question has been asked since then as well, so we thought we’d go over it again. Because we are Ragdolls and soft pawed, we don’t use our claws. But Shad, Devon, Lucky, Ransom and Lexi all had claws that needed to stay retracted, so mommy learned a technique that with repetition will work.
Kitty massage is merely kitty kneading that has been focused to a specific area. Almost all kitties knead. Mommy starts training massage as soon as kitty first starts to knead her. It’s never too early or too late to train kitty to retract their claws. Once kitty starts kneading, (usually a leg while sitting or laying in your lap) which is a push and pull with the paws; mommy lightly taps kittys paws when the claws come out. At the same time, she will say “ouch” and make a whimpering sound, or say “no claws” or “it hurts” followed by a small whimper. Typically kitty will splay open their paws, stop kneading and look up. Mommy smiles and asks kitty to massage her again while stroking kittys’ head, neck and/or face/chin; focusing on the scent gland areas. Typically kitty will start kneading again, but instead of a push and pull, kitty will push hard and almost pick up their paws to draw back. This may not happen the first or second or even tenth time, but repetition and sticking to the same method of training will cause kitty to eventually get it.
Once kitty is proficient in massage, it’s time to move them to the area you need massaged. For mommy, that’s just about everywhere, but let’s say your issue is migraines and you want a head massage. Mommy finds laying down to be the best for her, but if you have a chair with a back that kitty can lay on without falling off of and can reach your head, you can sit up for your massage. Let’s go with laying down. Either carry kitty with you or call kitty to come to you once you’ve laid down. Place kitty beside or behind your head, depending on how your bed is made up and where you are laying. Remember, wherever kitty is laying must be stable without the possibility of kitty falling off. Kitty will become euphoric during the massage process and thus lose their sense of balance. They may also drool and/or nuzzle.
Once you and kitty are in place, start petting the head and face and speaking softly to kitty until kitty starts kneading. At this point the knead will mostly be a pushing. Keep your head in place, don’t move it with the push. Begin to praise and thank kitty at this point. Mommy always says things like “Thank You”, or “That feels so good”, and always, “I love you”. At some point during the session, comment about how your migraine is feeling better. Be specific. There will come a time when you are able to say, “I have a migraine” or “I need a massage” and kitty will automatically get into position to give you one. You can use the same technique for any part of your body. Always remember, training is all about Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.
Well there ya’ have it, mommy’s training tips on kitty massage. Mommy says there’s nothin’ better for a migraine, than a purring massaging kitty. We do want to remind you that kitty should not eat your hair, and anytime pawssible, the hair should be clean of hair products as a lot of those products are hazardous to kitty. Me’s gonna wrap it up now and see ‘bout getting’ a nap in and maybe even a stroll later today. Please leave any questions or topics you’d like us to cover in da comment section below.
Till da next time………………………………….Be Blest!!!
Is there something you need help training your cat to do?
If there was a kitty kindergarten like there is for dogs, would you be interested?
Would you take (have taken) kitty to socialization training classes?
Me’s givin’ a hissin’ example and Raena be puffin’ up.
Service Cats U.S. 