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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
Wednesday,December23,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon19 Paw Prints Jodi Schneider McNamee Columnist You CAN train your cat So many folks are fix- ated on training dogs that theyforgetabouttheirfeline friend—orfigurethattheir catjustistooindependentto train. Mostpeoplebelievethat catscan’tbetrainedbecause theydon’tseemresponsive tothemanymethodsusedto traindogs. But cats do respond to training! In fact one of the firstscientificstudieshigh- lighting the importance of reinforcement in animal behaviorwasdonewithcats. Thefirststeptotraining Kitty is to understand her. Catsaren’tassocialasdogs. Dogsweredomesticatedfirst andhavebeenbredspecifi- callytoworktogetherwith people. Plus, dogs evolved as pack hunters. Cats were domesticatedtokillvermin, and evolved into solitary ambushhunters. Felinesarenaturallyinde- pendent,andaren’tnaturally inclinedtoworkforpraise, asdogsare.Catsarenotas easytomotivate. TrainingKittyhasimpor- tantbenefits.You’restimu- lating her body and her mind, which keeps your cat healthy. And spending timetogethermeansyou’re strengtheningthebondyou share.BesidesteachingKitty funtrickslikehighfiveand fetch,youcanalsoteachher arangeofusefulbehaviors like sit, stay and to come whencalled.Youcouldeven teachyourcattousethetoi- letinsteadofthelitterbox. Cats should only be taught new behaviors with positive, reward-based training. Find an extra-special treatthatyourfelinefriend iscrazyabout.Maybefresh chicken diced into cubes, bits of tuna or her favorite commercialcattreatsareall goodchoices.Catscanalso be clicker-trained just like dogsandotheranimals. Aclickercanmaketrain- ing easier and faster. The instant your cat does the correct behavior, click and thenofferatreat.Theclick lets Kitty know the instant shedoestherightthing,so ithelpshercatchonfaster. Sincecatslearnthroughrep- etition,you’llneedtoprac- ticeafewtimesinarow. Herearesomeexamples of training your cat with positivereinforcement.With encouragement and plenty oftreats,youandyourfeline friendcanaccomplishgreat things. Let’ssayyou’dlikeyour cattositandstaywhileyou prepare her dinner: First, make sure you have your cat’sattention.Holdthetasty treatinyourfingersrightat yourcat’snose.Whenyour catbeginstosniffthetreat, slowly move it in an arc from her nose up just over her head between her ears. (Don’traiseitstraightup,or you’llbeteachingyourcatto standonherrearlegsrather thansit.)Manycatswillfol- low this arc motion with theireyesandnose,andas theirchinraisesupandback, theirbuttwillgodown. Next, the instant your cat’s bottom hits the floor, praiseherandofferthetreat. Ifherbottomdoesn’tgoall the way down on the first try, give her the treat any- way. Over several repeti- tionsofpractice,giveKittya treateachtimeherreargets slightlycloser,untilshegets intoacompletesitwithher photo by Jodi schneider mcnamee Smoke is ready to learn a trick with a favorite treat rearallthewaydown. Motivationisthekeyto training.Formostcats,it’s food. They care less about “goodkitty”thangoodkitty treats. Sothinkaboutit;ifyou can train Kitty to do tricks for treats, you can even trainyourcattoscratchher scratching post instead of your couch arm using the sametechniques. To motivate your cat, you’re going to reward her with a treat every time she usesthescratchingpost,lets youbrushher,orusesthelit- terboxappropriately.Praise her at the same time, but makesureyougiveherthat favoritetreat. Timing is everything in trainingyourcat.Catshave shortattentionspans,sothe rewardmustcomeimmedi- ately after the behavior or Kittymaynotknowwhatit’s for.Forexample,ifyousee Kittyuseherscratchingpost, giveheratreatwhileshe’s scratchingandpraiseher. Rewarding consistently isanimportantpartoftrain- ing. Give the same kind of reward each time your cat behaves the way you want herto,andmakesureevery- one in the family does the same. Wags, Woofs & Mews THANK YOU to all who donated! With W i th h your food f d and d cash h donations, d ti 362 animals i l will i ll enjoy j a very full f l l holiday h lilid d … including 130 cats/kittens, 176 dogs/puppies, 1 parakeet, 2 doves, 2 cockatiels, 1 hamster, 2 guinea pigs, 44 chickens/geese/peacocks/ducks and 4 rabbits, plus spay/ neuter sponsorships for many cats and dogs through the Bend Spay & Neuter Project. A huge thank-you to Katy Rodrigues and Ron Cook of American Nutrition/Atta Boy for securing the donation of 7 pallets of dog and cat food. Thank you to Eileen Knoud of Nylabone for the large donation of dog chews. Many thanks to Sisters- Camp Sherman RFPD who stored the food for us this year and helped distribute it. Thank you to Sisters Chamber and the many volunteers who helped with Pet Photos with Santa, including “Sam”ta Claus, Sam Hernandez from Central Bark, and to photographer Jodi Schneider McNamee. Special thanks to Fred McCaulou at Sisters Feed & Supply for holding their annual food drive. Thank you to Kurt for also holding a food drive at CardioStart ReSale. Huge thanks go to Naomi Rowe and Shirley Lalli our Kiwanis food drive coordinators. Thank you to the volunteers who helped distribute the food, Valerie Fercho-Tillery, Vern & Monica Rendon, Sally Blust, Leslee Bangs, Jim & Ceili Cornelius, Carolyn Davis, Teresa Mahnken, KC & Sabitri Dolson and Wally Hathaway. Special thanks to all The Nugget Newspaper employees who help during the month of December as Furry Friends takes over The Nugget offi ce. Through your generosity an estimated 4 tons of food was distributed this holiday season. Thank you and happy holidays! — Kiki Dolson, “Top Dog,” Furry Friends Foundation FURRY FRIEND S 501 ( c )( 3 ) FOUNDATION