Both of my birds seem to have a death wish. They don't understand that the cats could (and in Shadow's case, would) kill them given the chance.

Delilah is fascinated by the birds. She likes to get close to them. She also likes to try to pat them. Lenore has, on more than one occasion, bit Delilah when she got too close.

I thought this was just Lenore's I'm-not-afraid-of-anything attitude, but it seems Digby isn't afraid of the cats either. The other day Digby was on my shoulder. I picked Shadow up to put her in another room and Digby attempted to walk down my arm to Shadow. I stopped her.

Today, TinTin was on the bed and Digby was on my shoulder. Digby hopped onto the bed and walked straight to TinTin. I put my hand on TinTin to stop him if necessary and I watched Digby. She walked straight to his face and bit his whiskers. She didn't stop there. She walked to his foot and bit that too. That was when I picked her up. I put my arm out to pet TinTin and Digby started to walk down it to TinTin, totally unafraid of the cat.

These birds are crazy!

I'm not afraid to admit something: My pets eat better than I do.

I am pretty picky about what my animals eat. Not crazily picky, but picky enough. I make sure they get the proper nutrition, and research any new food I give them.

The big dogs, Bella and Jax, eat Taste of the Wild. I know this isn't the best food, but I've been pretty happy with it. When we first started feeding it, I very quickly saw a huge improvement in Bella. Her coat was shinier and she had more energy. Taste of the Wild is a grain free diet with plenty of meat. It has no corn or soy. If I had things my way completely, I'd have Bella on a raw diet.

The little dogs, Maggie, Ellie, and Ricky, eat a brand called Country Naturals. This food is not grain free, but it has a higher meat content than most brands. Ellie has a very sensitive stomach and gets sick (mostly diarrhea) if she eats most dog foods. Anything with corn, wheat, or most other gains, makes her sick. We tried her on Taste of the Wild, and for a while, she was better, but she started getting sick again. When we got Ricky, he was already eating this food. We decided to try it for Ellie too, and she has done very good on it, so we keep the little dogs on this food.

Shadow and Delilah are on completely grain free diets. They get Taste of the Wild dry food, and Delilah gets Wellness canned and Taste of the Wild canned. Shadow gets canned food if she asks for it, and she eats whatever she catches. Tin Tin would be on a grain free diet if he quit going to the neighbors and eating their food. Like Bella, if it was totally up to me, the cats would be on a raw diet.

The birds, if they would just cooperate, would be getting a good diet too. I'm working on this (see other posts). My last bird got pellets, vegetables, and a small amount of seed. She had a decent diet, but I've learned more about bird nutrition since her, so the lovebirds will have an even better diet (if they would eat it).

Even the smaller animals get a high quality food. The guinea pigs get fed Oxbow pellets and timothy hay. They also get dark, leafy greens everyday, and usually another vegetable and a bit of fruit. Maxwell gets whatever greens and veggies the pigs are having and gut-loaded crickets.

Meanwhile, us humans don't eat as healthy. We eat things like McDonalds and other restaurants. I've read the book Fast Food Nation, and I've also read the book Food Pets Die For. The pet food book bothered me way more than the one about fast food. If only I made myself eat as well as I make my pets eat...

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.