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Ever since Ginger was a few months old, she and I have had a daily ritual. As soon as I have brushed my teeth in the morning, I scatter some treats around the house, starting in the kitchen and ending in the living room. the original intent was to make her hunt for them, getting some exercise while having a couple of nice treats.
I hide them in random boxes, behind things, on top of things, sometimes the same places and sometimes new places.
After Ferris joined the family, I continued my morning treat ritual, but now I have the added joy
of having to listen to Ferris beg pitifully for the morning treats, as he seems to think he won't get them otherwise.
Not long after Ferris got in on the game, Ginger decided to change things up a bit. I still scatter some treats here and there, still starting with the kitchen, but now it is a feline race to the living room to be the first one to "catch" the treats from meowmy as she tosses them to each kitty.
Ginger first started this really cute thing about 8 months ago where she would try to catch the treat in her paws, then stuff it into her mouth. She got SO good at it, that she now skips the paws, and tries to catch the treat with her mouth instead! And she's pretty darn good at it, too!
This morning, she went 3 for two, catching three of them in her mouth. (The other two bounced off her nose.
)
Ferris, being a little kitty see, kitty do kind of guy, decided a while back that he wants to try to catch the treats, too. So he makes a big show of it (you can almost hear him saying, "C'mon, Mom, I'm over here! Just toss one at me, I'll catch it, you just watch!"
While Ginger catches her treats from the top of the kitty condo in the living room, Ferris is relegated trying to catch them from the back of the couch in front of the kitty window seat. I'm sure he'd prefer the higher position of power, but he'll take what he can get.
I'll toss a treat at Ferris, and he gets into it with his entire body, leaping up and falling over to get that treat in his paws. Sometimes instead of catching them, he'll hit it with his paw like a bat, winging the treat right back at me!
Or, he'll catch it with both front paws, but then forget to catch HIMSELF as he goes tumbling down the front of the couch, or off the side of the window seat. But he gets that treat!
He hasn't quite figured out that he is supposed to eat them right away, as Ginger does. Instead, he prefers to try to catch as many as he can, and then eat them as I'm on my way out of the house. But he's young, and the game morphs over time, so as not to grow stale.
It is so cute to see my little treat-catchers play this game with me in the mornings!
Once upon a time, I forgot to do the treat thing one morning, before we had Ferris, and I came home later that afternoon to find that Ginger had gone on a destructive rampage in retalliation. So I'm sure to never forget to give out treats now, because I know what kind of trouble I'm facing if I don't! She taught ME a lesson that day!
Training humans is SO hard, but it can certainly be worth it!
Do any of your cats do tricks for treats, or do any of you have daily treat rituals that you MUST adhere to upon pain of punishment by your cat masters?
I hide them in random boxes, behind things, on top of things, sometimes the same places and sometimes new places.
After Ferris joined the family, I continued my morning treat ritual, but now I have the added joy
Not long after Ferris got in on the game, Ginger decided to change things up a bit. I still scatter some treats here and there, still starting with the kitchen, but now it is a feline race to the living room to be the first one to "catch" the treats from meowmy as she tosses them to each kitty.
Ginger first started this really cute thing about 8 months ago where she would try to catch the treat in her paws, then stuff it into her mouth. She got SO good at it, that she now skips the paws, and tries to catch the treat with her mouth instead! And she's pretty darn good at it, too!
Ferris, being a little kitty see, kitty do kind of guy, decided a while back that he wants to try to catch the treats, too. So he makes a big show of it (you can almost hear him saying, "C'mon, Mom, I'm over here! Just toss one at me, I'll catch it, you just watch!"
While Ginger catches her treats from the top of the kitty condo in the living room, Ferris is relegated trying to catch them from the back of the couch in front of the kitty window seat. I'm sure he'd prefer the higher position of power, but he'll take what he can get.
I'll toss a treat at Ferris, and he gets into it with his entire body, leaping up and falling over to get that treat in his paws. Sometimes instead of catching them, he'll hit it with his paw like a bat, winging the treat right back at me!
He hasn't quite figured out that he is supposed to eat them right away, as Ginger does. Instead, he prefers to try to catch as many as he can, and then eat them as I'm on my way out of the house. But he's young, and the game morphs over time, so as not to grow stale.
It is so cute to see my little treat-catchers play this game with me in the mornings!
Once upon a time, I forgot to do the treat thing one morning, before we had Ferris, and I came home later that afternoon to find that Ginger had gone on a destructive rampage in retalliation. So I'm sure to never forget to give out treats now, because I know what kind of trouble I'm facing if I don't! She taught ME a lesson that day!
Training humans is SO hard, but it can certainly be worth it!
Do any of your cats do tricks for treats, or do any of you have daily treat rituals that you MUST adhere to upon pain of punishment by your cat masters?
