Training Days

So, in bringing a new cat into my home, I knew that there could be a learning curve.  Where would he be allowed/not allowed?  What behaviors would be acceptable/unacceptable?  There's always a bit of training that needs to happen.

Right.

We're talking about a cat here.  These are not creatures known for their desire to please their owners.  As the magnet on my refrigerator says, "A dog comes when called.  A cat takes a message and gets back to you later."

Surprisingly, Sunny is actually pretty good about those types of things.  He stays off the dining room table...as long as I don't leave a chair conveniently out to give him an easy up.  My couch has taken a bit of a beating, but it got much better when I go him more scratching posts/hangings.  He does like to drink from the kitchen sink, especially right now as I wait for my order with the replacement pump for his fountain to arrive.  We have established a rule with that.  He's allowed in the sink, but counter surfing is out.  I'm usually home when he does this and if he goes sniffing at the counter, all I do is ask him, "what's the rule?"  He usually looks at me and blows a breath out through his nose (sounding for all the world like a human "hmph") then either goes back to drinking from the sink, or jumps down.

He also likes to go out onto the front porch, which is enclosed.  The mail slot is the perfect height for him to put his front paws and prop himself up to look out through the jalousie windows of the front door.  He'll use the scratcher hanging on the front door, then get down, turn, sit and look at me.  Sometimes he'll even meow to get my attention.  That's his way of asking to go out.  Thankfully, he's good about coming in when I need him to.  He seems to always want to go out on the porch shortly before I need to leave the house, so that part of the equation is essential.  I just can't bring myself to leave the door into my living room open where everyone can see through the glass on the porch to the inside when I'm not there.  Call me crazy, I know.

When he wants to go up into the attic, he's even more direct.  There's a specific meow for "please open this" which is usually accompanied by scratching a bit at that door.  I don't worry about him for that one.  The only time I don't like having that door open is in the winter, because it's not heated, so it gets quite chilly.  Sunny doesn't like the cold, so he never stays up there for long.

So, have you noticed who's been trained here?  Granted, I have been able to insure that there are no egregious behaviors on his part...but there never really were any.  On the other hand, he has trained his human to respond to both vocal commands and silent gestures.

Yeah, there's a learning curve all right, and Sunny made darn sure that I got right on it!