Welcome to another Service Cat Monday. We wanna take a minute to clear up a few things. We received a few comments on our last post that seem to be a little confused. Mommy in no way endorses feral cats as Service Animals. Service Cat Monday started out with us telling about our specific training. However, we quickly learned that lots of peeps had kitty issues they were living with that could be corrected with a little training. So, we opened Service Cat Monday up fur any and all questions. Because of mommy’s experience with animal training, we wanted to help, and will continue too. We believe all kitties can benefit from some basic training, but, that doesn’t make them Service Cats. We hope that clears things up a bit.
Now, let’s get to today’s posty. And ‘member, ifin you’ve missed any of the posts in this series, you can ketch up by clickin’ the links at the bottom of this post. The followin’ will be written in human English fur translator and reader ease. We’re runnin’ low on questions, so ifin you have any questions you’d like an answer to, purrlease leave ‘em in the comments or send us an email. Our Trainin’ posts aren’t meant to be a step by step Trainin’ manual, but rather Tips, Tricks and Techniques mommy has used/developed throughout her many years of animal trainin’, cats in purrticular. And ‘member, ifin you have a behavioral question, purrlease be as specific as pawssible.
We have a couple of questions today that won’t take a whole post each, so we thought we’d address them together. First up, our sweet Weimareiner friend Phenny asked, “What do you think about all these Designer Breeds/Cats, like the Savannahs, Chausie, etc.?” Well, Da Phenny, we can sum it up by saying, We Hate Human Manipulation in the natural process of Any animal breeding!!! “Designer Breeds” as they’re called, often come with a host of health problems, and aren’t actually suited to life as a pet. You mentioned the Savannah specifically, so we’d like to address that particular breed. The Serval, which is the wild cat that makes up one half of this breed doesn’t actually desire to breed with the Domestic Cat. And the gestation period for the Serval and Domestic Cat differ which means that pairings can result in natural abortions, premature births and even absorption of the pregnancy. The resulting kittens are indeed attractive, but not actually suited to every household. They are extremely smart, large and highly energetic. They are completely driven by their wilder/baser instincts. For a complete look at these instincts, please see our post, There’s No Bully Cat Breed. Just because humans can do something, doesn’t mean they should. Science has proven that Natural bred cats are healthier, live longer, and are more suited to living with humans. We hope that answers your question. You can also see Wikipedia, TICA and the CFA websites for more information on these and all cat breeds.
Our next question comes from our dear Persian friend Valentine. Val asks, “I live with a D-O-G that I’m always sniffing. Am I marking my doggy or checking to make sure it’s still the same D-O-G?” Well Valentine, as we discussed in a previous post, us kitties use smell over eyesight to determine what’s in our world. Almost all of our communication with other animals can be summed up with scents. When you live inside, where most all kitties should live, the scents don’t change that often. Sure, the occasional visitor, or your human’s return from work, shopping or errands, can bring new scents to explore, but most of the time, there’s little to no animal communications. However, when the D-O-G goes outside to take care of their business or exercise, they return with lots of great information from the big outdoors.
The dog may have stepped in or brushed up against a spot where another kitty walked, rubbed, or otherwise marked. Yes, this can even happen if the doggy only goes out in your yard. Stray and feral cats know no boundaries. MOL When the dog returns inside, us kitties must sniff and take in all the information from the great outdoors. This will usually be followed by some form of marking the dog. You know, we’ve got to reclaim our family members as often as possible. A cat in the wild will mark their territory several times a week in order to keep the scent fresh and let others know the territory is taken, by whom, and breeding status. Those of us inside, do the same thing with our humans, other animals, furniture, etc.. The same post as above, There’s No Bully Cat Breed, explains what drives a cat to do the things we do. So, to answer your question Valentine, you are smelling the D-O-G to make sure it’s still your doggy, but also to get information about your extended world; the great outdoors. This behavior would remain the same, even if you were allowed outside. Remember, us kitties use scent above all other senses to make determinations about our world.
Well, that’s gonna do it fur today. No actual Training tips today, but we said we’d take any and all questions. And, we think these were some great questions, so fank ya’ll fur askin’. Ifin you have any questions, purrlease let us know. We actually enjoy these postys and hope you do too. ‘Member, ifin you’ve missed any of the posts in this series you can ketch up by clickin’ the links below.
Till the next time……………………………………..Be Blest!!!
Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses
Deztinee and RaenaBelle
Service Cats U.S. 