67
votes
How do I "apologise" to my cat?
I wouldn’t start giving treats for small accidents - what kind of behavior are you trying to reinforce? The cat won’t understand the concept of an “apology” via treats. And if careless weaving results ...
- 3,099
49
votes
Cat meows for wet food in morning despite dry food being available
We had the same problem with our cat. Here's how I solved it (and @Nova did too, once).
When he first came to live with us, he was fed in the morning when I got up and left the bedroom. But one day ...
- 617
46
votes
Accepted
How do I "apologise" to my cat?
I don't think there are many animals that understand the concept of apology, as a high level concept as such, except for maybe some other advanced primates. MAYBE elephants, dolphins, whales or ...
- 576
35
votes
Accepted
My cat mixes up the floors in my building. How can I help him?
This is hard to answer. I think you will have to do some experiments.
If your cat has a toy or object he likes, you might try to put this outside your door so he can smell his own scent to make him ...
- 19.6k
29
votes
Cat won't use cat flap
We had a cat that wasn't too bright and didn't get the idea of the catflap. We eventually grabbed him and pushed him back and forth through the catflap a few times, then it seemed to get through to ...
- 391
23
votes
Accepted
Cat associates closed door with getting caught
You need to break the existing conditioning your cat has at the moment. The classic approach would be to close the door and immediately open it again. Then slowly increase the time that the cat will ...
- 3,099
22
votes
Cat won't use cat flap
Your cat is scared to use the catflap because it is a dangerous situation where it can get attacked by other animals, cats needs to see but not to be seen.
Putting up some flowerpots and large plants ...
- 19.6k
20
votes
Accepted
Cat in a electronics hobbyist house
As background, my husband has a similar electronics hobby and I sew. We lived in a house where we did our hobbies in the living room for a few years, but eventually moved into a house large enough ...
- 20.2k
20
votes
Cat associates closed door with getting caught
Our cat was not thrilled to go into the box either (it was less severe than you, though). As soon as she felt that something was wrong she would run for her life under the bed and good luck getting ...
- 363
19
votes
How to teach my dogs not to wander on their own?
Violent punishment is never a solution for dogs that run away. They combine the punishment with coming back and not with running away. (Violent punishment is never a solution at all!)
The only ...
- 1,661
19
votes
A dog who doesn't want to have a walk
A very good answer there but there are ways to help your dog enjoy a walk, especially with the others.
First, understand that a stray dog is very different from dog raised home from a puppy.
At a ...
- 978
18
votes
How best to discipline a kitten?
Punishing him by locking him in a cage is NOT the answer. In fact, punishment when it comes to litter-training issues in general is counterproductive, but locking the poor mite in a cage is just plain ...
- 5,480
18
votes
What should I do if my dog fails a cycle of her separation training?
I'm sorry to tell you that, but your approach is wrong. That's not how you train separation and independence with your dog.
What you currently do is training a command. You say a specific word, your ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
17
votes
Cat won't let us close door on carrier during training
With that caveat that I haven't personally attempted this, so these aren't exactly tested, but I have some suggestions:
Get a different carrier. Zippers take a bit to zip, and meanwhile the door is ...
- 16.4k
16
votes
Accepted
Can an owl be tamed and deliver letters?
Short answer: NO
Long answer:
Delivering anything to a remote place is an extremely difficult task for any animal.
Mammals
I could find evidence of messenger dogs and the occasional horse used in ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
15
votes
Cat won't use cat flap
My experience of cats sharing a house is that they are extremely territorial, even though some areas will most likely be shared territory by some of the cats, and the (invisible) territory boundaries ...
- 251
15
votes
Why does my cat chew through bags to get to food?
Some cats are convinced they're "starving" regardless of how much food they get. Some have a particularly strong "treat drive," and will do anything to get a treat. Some just like ...
- 6,487
14
votes
How clean are pets?
As a cancer patient, your risk may be higher than another person's due to the possibility of being immunocompromised. I would consult with your doctor to get a better assessment as to the risk. ...
- 16.4k
12
votes
Accepted
Cat meows for wet food in morning despite dry food being available
Option 1:
Give in, feed him, then go back to bed. He's happy because he gets food, you're happy because he's not meowing anymore. Learn to live with waking up a bit early and then going back for a ...
- 235
11
votes
What does it mean that "training a Caucasian Shepherd Dog can be difficult"?
Humans have bred different dogs for different jobs and by doing so, they influenced their behavior. So called "toy breeds" retain infantile behavior in adulthood, hunting breeds have a ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
10
votes
Accepted
Made my cat scared of me, need help
Ok, this might take a while to fix, but it is fixable.
First things first, when the cat shows fear like that it's going to be essential to signal that you are not a danger, then leave her completely ...
- 1,940
10
votes
Accepted
How to dissuade my cat from jumping on my bed?
Cats like their comfort, so this is a tricky one. Also, they don't respond well to negative training, since they are not pack animals. In this regard, they are as crafty as old men.
You could cover ...
- 1,421
10
votes
Cat meows for wet food in morning despite dry food being available
Set a time for feeding him the wet food, and stick to it. This doesn't have to be an actual time on the clock (your cat does not know the difference between 7:59 and 8:00), but rather a "cue" in your ...
- 6,487
10
votes
How do I stop my cat from peeing in her crate?
You shouldn't keep your cat any place for many hour periods without at minimum access to water and the litterbox. One of the ways UTIs can develop is by holding in urine rather than eliminating it, or ...
- 16.4k
10
votes
Cat won't use cat flap
I had to train my 2 years old cats, I'll share my experience.
I held the flap open and let my cat go through with a treat on the other side, doing this back and forth while still holding the flap open....
- 101
10
votes
Cat won't use cat flap
A way that can help you is to train the cat to use the cat flap somewhere else than where it is installed.
When I trained my own cat, I first didn't install the cat flap. Instead, I enclosed the cat ...
- 573
9
votes
How should I discipline my cat for bad behavior?
Karen Pryor made clicker training popular with her book Don't shoot the dog. In it, after delving extensively in what it means to shape a behaviour with conditioned reinforcement, she lists 8 methods ...
- 188
9
votes
Accepted
How do I stop my cat from knocking over items on shelves?
I know in previous questions you always have someone mention water bottler, this is NOT a good method at all for the following reasons:
Cat relates YOU to the water bottle, you're the bad guy.
Cat ...
- 12.6k
9
votes
Are crows good pets?
Probably not
Good pet might not be the word for it. While very smart, crows need a lot of space, probably more then you can provide. And smart means they need mental stimulation. Think flying border ...
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