Delilah is getting to be very bad about wanting to get on to or next to Lenore's cage. Lenore's cage is currently in my room, which is where Delilah spends most of her time. At first, Delilah was mildly interested and watched Lenore from below. Now, though, she is constantly trying to get beside or on top of the cage. It's driving me mad!

I've been keeping a squirt bottle at my side while I'm in my room, but Delilah is very resistant to the squirt bottle. It's more of a mild irritation. I have to squirt her sometimes five times before she gets down. When she does get down, she licks herself for a minute and then hops right back up. She knows what I mean when I say, "Get down." She argues with me about it, meowing her I-don't-want-to meow.

This isn't the first time she's tried something like this. She absolutely loves the guinea pigs. Their cage used to not be covered. That lasted until I got Delilah and she grew enough to jump up there. She likes to get in the guinea pig cage. She doesn't chase them. She just sits and watches them, sometimes patting them. So, I covered the cage so she can't get in, but she still sits on top of the cage and sometimes sleeps there. The guinea pigs don't mind, so long as she isn't in the cage.

Delilah is different than Shadow. The second Shadow catches sight or smell of the birds or the guinea pigs, she goes into her mighty hunter mode and starts stalking her (would be) prey. Delilah, on the other hand, doesn't want to hunt the guinea pigs. I think she thinks they are her friends. She also isn't as interested in the birds as Shadow is, and she can be easily distracted.

Delilah on the guinea pig cage.
The cage had to be changed again after this picture because she figure out how to get in.

Digby and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch. Digby was on the playgym, stealing a few bites of my rice and eating the lettuce I gave her. Before I got Digby out, I looked around for Shadow because she is always too interested in the birds. She was upstairs.

But, in the blink of an eye (and I really mean that's how fast it happened), Shadow jumped onto the kitchen table, Digby flew to the floor, and Shadow got on the chair, ready to get Digby. I grabbed Shadow by the scruff of the neck--the only part of her I could grab quickly. I looked down at Digby just long enough to register that she was alive, and I threw Shadow outside.

I picked Digby up and gave her a quick check. She looked okay, just shook up, so I put her on my shoulder to calm down. She's fine now, and being her usual self.

Shadow is at the back door, meowing and begging to be let in.

My heart is still racing. I'm really thankful Digby is okay. I'll have to be more careful and watch for Shadow to come in when I have the birds out.

What's that you say? You say you can't train cats? Well, obviously, you haven't met my cats.

I started training cats back when I had my first cat. I was probably eight or nine. I had a black cat named Matilda. I found my mom's dog training book, and taught Matilda how to sit using the method described in the book for teaching dogs. She did it every time I asked her, but I never tried to teach her anything else.

When we got Tin Tin, I decided I'd train him to do stuff as well. Tin Tin will sit and stay on command. I haven't had any luck getting him to lay down. But, he's a very smart cat. He knows that water comes out of the facet in the tub, and he knows that to turn it on involves more than just tapping it. So, if he's in the tub and one of his humans is near enough and he wants a drink, he'll tap the human's hand and then tap the facet, as if saying, "You put your hand on that and make it come on. Thank you." Because he is so smart, there are things he has picked up on without being taught.

Shadow, though, as sweet as she is, wasn't blessed with Tin Tin's cognitive skills. She's figured out that if a person is sitting and they pat their leg, she's supposed to get on their lap. I can't get her to sit or do anything else. She is, however, an excellent hunter and keeps our mouse population very, very low.

I'm still teaching Delilah. I've taught her to sit and stay. She's better at sitting than Tin Tin, but he's better at staying. I've also taught her "up" and "down". I'm planning on teaching her other tricks too, but that's all she knows right now.

How do I do it? Mostly the same way I train my dogs--with positive reinforcement. But, since cats aren't as eager to please their humans as dogs are, it takes a bit more work and it works better if you can teach them to do something they already do. I teach "sit" exactly the same for dogs and cats, but other things, like "stay", have to be taught when the cat is already doing it, at least initially. When I taught Delilah "up" and "down", I took a treat and she followed the treat. Now, I can get her to do it without a treat. The "down" command works very well when she gets up on something I don't want her on.

I'll start by sharing my cats, mostly because one of them happens to be sleeping beside me right now.

Our oldest cat is Tin Tin. We got Tin Tin at a yard sale. We were at a yard sale and had found a couple things we were buying. While paying, I saw this cute little kitten walking down the driveway. I commented on how cute it was, and the guy said, "You can have her if you want her. There are a couple more if you'd like to look at them." My little brother and I had been trying to convince my mom to get a cat for a while; we had been without one for a few years. Mum wasn't really wanting to get one because she's allergic to them, but she liked this kitten, and we called my dad to make sure it was okay. He said yes, so long as it was his cat.

So, we brought Tin Tin home. We were told that the kitten was a female, but when we went to get her spayed, we found out Tin Tin was actually a boy. He is our biggest cat, weighing almost 15 pounds. He's not really fat, just big. Tin Tin likes to be outside. Long ago, we gave up trying to keep him in. He comes and goes as he likes. If we try to keep him inside, he will refuse to use the litter box.

Tin Tin covered in paper airplanes. He is a very tolerant cat.

Our second cat is Shadow. Shadow is my little brother's cat. My mom kept saying no to another cat. But there was a really friendly cat that wandered around outside our house and would play with Tin Tin. It was an all black cat. We weren't sure if he belonged to somebody or not, but my littler brother wanted him. We found out that he did belong to somebody, but my little brother still wanted a cat. Mom said we could only get one if we found a tuxedo cat. Well, we were out getting dog food and the Kentucky Humane Society had some cats for adoption at the store we went to. There was an adorable tuxedo kitten.

We brought her home and dubbed her Shadow. She and Tin Tin did not get along. Tin Tin would growl and hiss at her. He has since gotten over that, mostly. They will now play and sleep together, but sometimes one of them will get mad at the other. Shadow also likes to go outside, but not nearly as much as Tin Tin. She likes her people too much. She is allowed to go outside, and will often bring back "presents" for us. If we don't let her go outside, she still gives us "presents", doing her best to rid the house of mice.

Shadow with one of our dogs.

Our third cat, my cat, is Delilah. I hadn't planned on getting a cat. Sure, I wanted one, but I didn't bother asking, knowing the answer would be no. But, we were at a pet store that we go to a lot, and they had a litter of kittens that somebody had brought in (NOT from a kitten mill). There was a cute little grey cat in the kitten room, and I went in to look at him because I like grey cats. I never got to him, because on the cat tree was the most adorable, tiny kitten. She was asleep, but I picked her up anyway. She had long hair, and had colouring very similar to a blue pointed Himalayan or Ragdoll (as she has gotten older, she looks more and more like a blue pointed Ragdoll). Her eyes were blue. Not the blue that all kittens have, but the blue that blue eyed cats have. I picked her up and showed her to my mom, saying, "I need this cat." Mom admired her, but said no. I put her down and took her picture.

On our way home, my mom called my dad to talk to him. I had her tell him I was sending him a picture of something I needed. I sent him the picture in a text message and he replied, "It's okay with me if it's okay with your mom." So, Mum turned the car around and drove right back to the store. I went in and got my kitten. She is definitely my cat.

Delilah is not allowed to go outside without being on a leash. She is easily our most spoiled cat (thanks to me). She is somewhat of a weird cat too. She follows people around as if she were a dog. She will happily go into her crate, and likes to go on road trips and rides in the car around town. I will sometimes take her to the store where I got her, and the employees love her. She was their favourite from that litter. She is still a kitten, being only seven and a half months old. She isn't afraid of much and will happily play with our dogs, especially the chihuahua (the one in the picture with Shadow).

Delilah, shortly after I got her.

Another, more recent picture of Delilah.