One trial learning...I guess he is a bit smart after all...

I have one crazy, lovable, misbehaving rescue kitty. Unlike my other rescues who love anything edible, he has never been very interested in eating and has to be fed in a separate place they can't get to, or else they'd snarf everything before he got the inclination to nibble.

But I was sent a sample package of Temptations cat treats. The ingredients list looks awful. But it's magic-- this kitty absolutely LOVES them. (The other two are indifferent.) After just one round of four or five of these treats, he recognized the sound of the wrapper being picked up and opened and comes running whenever the packet comes out. It is now not difficult at all to get him to come in from the garage or do anything else I want to bribe him to do. It's just too bad that I can't untrain his misbehaviors as easily (and I don't want to reward him for misbehaving by giving him a treat when he stops).

I guess he has me trained.

My dog knows that if he hits the windchimes on the porch door, I will open the door for him. If I do not get there fast enough for him, he hits them harder and harder until I show up.

...if they don't say the same things among themselves about us...
"Amazing how much they understand- you'd almost think they were intelligent!"

Sometimes my cats make me feel so stupid...:blush:

Considering that we probably don't hear the majority of their communication (much of their communication to each other is on a frequency too low for most human hearing), I'd say yeah, it IS amazing.

Wimsey gets annoyed if I don't let him know when I'm going to print something out on the computer...he's FASCINATED with the printer. Seriously, he really does get annoyed...he has the most expressive face. When he hears the printer and comes running, you can almost hear him saying "Damn it, why didn't you call me? You KNOW I like to watch!"

So, I get my document all ready and "WIMM-SEEY! I'M GONNA USE THE PRINTER!".
A big white cat comes trotting into the room, perfunctorily acknowledges me, leaps onto the desk and FOCUSES on the printer.
It's not a good idea to touch him at this time. He's so FOCUSED on the printer that his startle reflex causes him to JUMP about a foot into the air if you do...then go right back to watching the printer doing its thing.

Document finished and removed..."Thanks, Mom". He'll accept a scritch...and he'll then go back to whatever it was he was doing before I called him.

Whiskas Crunchy Tuna or something like that; it's basically kitty junk food, like potato chips for cats. It comes in a little blue foil ziplock-type bag. So I opened the little bag and sprinkled a few of the bits in their bowls, and they went completely berserk. I have never seen them so enthusiastic about any kind of food before. Of course, I had to get some more for thm. So now all I have to do is hold up a little blue foil bag, and they come running (I entertained myself a bit today by waving a blue foil bag of Craisins at them, but they were not amused). They saw that bag only once before they understood that it contained some sort of kitty nectar of the gods. Whiskas people, I hate you.

about 5 feet up, and he will squawk and sit below them, looking up. Every day.
If I want to attract his attention, all I have to do is make noise with the package, the envelope. He comes running like a pavlov dog.
dc

Thanks for your stories. I swear that I have no connection with Whiskas, which makes Temptations. But my crazy boy continues to respond to the packets, and now the other two are doing it.

As was said, they appear to be "junk" food (though "balanced") so I'm going to limit them. I also don't want to wear out the reward value as this could come in very handy!

They both have corn gluten meal, which may be the sugar ingredient. Like hfcs or something. He also likes yogurt, which has sugar in it.
dc