Cats can be trained!

Are your feline pets driving you crazy clawing the furniture, answering calls of nature outside the litter box and jumping onto table tops and sofas, leaving muddy paw prints and droppings of fur? Don’t despair. Your pet/pets can be trained to stop doing these things just like dogs can be trained. All you need is some patience because unlike dogs which are pack animals and are rather easy to train, felines or cats are solitary creatures and do not care much about “rules”.You may find that it is not easy to train cats to come when they are called or sit when you say so like a dog. However,cats are intelligent animals and they can be trained to do many things.

Cats, can be trained not to claw your furniture , wake you up at dawn, use a litter box or become toilet trained, tolerate a cat carrier or basket when you have to take them to the vet, allow you to clip their claws and even enjoy a walk on a leash.Hard to believe? Well, try it out and you will be amazed how your pet scores in this area.

In order to train a cat you must first try to understand the world from a cat’s point of view.

There are certain things a cat would do as part of its normal behaviour and what you need to do is channel such behaviour in the right direction to make it blend with your lifestyle.Cats are generally clean animals and are rather particular when it comes to toilet habits. So, make your pet understand that it needs to use the litter box by showing it to your pet many times and rewarding it whenever it uses it. Cats love praise and treats.So, we can use positive reinforcement, such as giving rewards.

There are some pet owners who toilet train their cats by rubbing their noses on the soiled area. This may work but more often than not it confuses the animal. Whatever you do to train your pet cats must be connected to their actions. For example, there is no point shouting yourself hoarse by telling them not to urinate on the floor or scratch your sofa long after its done.

Check the animals during the action and gently show that it is not acceptable behaviour. Keep checking them while showing the litter box if they use one or take them out into the garden immediately after they urinate inside the house and try to make them undestand that they need to use the garden for their toilet activities .Reward them with a treat or simply pet them and make them feel they have done something good whenever they use the box or garden!

Cats love to scratch because they need to sharpen their claws. So, provide them with a scratch post and keep checking them when they try to scratch your furniture. Eventually, they will get the message and stat using the post instead of your furniture.

We must understand that cats learn from experience. Cats are conditioned to repeat the behaviour depending on how it affects them. If they find the experience pleasant, they tend to repeat it but if they find the experience unpleasant, they will avoid in doing it in the future.

Cats learn very well from mistakes.Pet owners, especially cat owners, should always remember to be patient and consistent so that their pets will understand good behaviour we want from them and the bad behavior we don’t.

A-Z of cat breeds

There are many breeds of cat in the world and some of you may not have even heard of them Here is a list of some pedigreed breeds recognised by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA).

Abyssinian
American Bobtail
American Curl
American Shorthair
American Wirehair
Balinese
Bengal
Birman
Bombay
British Shorthair
Burmese
Chantilly/Tiffany
Chartreux
Cornish Rex
Cymric
Devon Rex
Egyptian Mau
Exotic Shorthair
Havana Brown
Himalayan
Japanese Bobtail
Korat
Maine Coon
Manx
Norwegian Forest Cat
Ocicat
Persian
Pixie Bob
Ragdoll
Russian Blue
Scottish Fold
Selkirk Rex
Siamese
Siberian
Snowshoe
Somali
Sphynx
Tonkinese
Turkish Angora
Turkish Van

Goldy, my pet

My pet is a gold fish. Its name is Goldy. Goldy has a beautiful shining tail. It eats only fish food and sea plants.

Goldy lives in a beautiful big pond. There are flowers in the pond. We clean the pond nicely so that Goldy could swim around. My sister and I enjoy watching Goldy because it swims very fast. Goldy likes to play in the water. My sister and I love Goldy very much.

Thurithavi Hasheendra Perera,
Grade 4E,
Musaeus College, Colombo 7.

My pet cat

My pet is a cat. Its name is Whitty. Its colour is white. Its body is covered with a lot of fur. It can climb trees. It likes to drink milk and eat fish. Whitty is friendly and plays with me. It likes to sleep on our chairs. I love my pet Whitty.

Enuka Jayawardana,
Grade 3G,
Vidura College,
Colombo.