Pavlov's cat...or human?

Flambe has proven himself nothing if not adaptive.

He has found, for example, that trying to "dig" his way under the bed covers next to us at 6:30 in the morning will eventually result in one of us getting up. And that goes with good odds of getting fed gooshy food.

He also has found that playing in the wires behind my desk will result in my coming around the desk to stop him. So, now, he doesn't play with the wires; he just gently paws at the back of the desk, so it sounds like he's playing with the wires. I come around the desk, he bounds into the living room, and I play with him for a few minutes.

Who's training whom, here?

They have increasingly sneaky ways of getting us to do what they want...

I think outright mind control is next.

You still have the Flambe critter? I would've thought he'd get adopted by now?

He might get adopted at the shelter, but the last time we took him in, he turned into a spitting, hissing, lunging freak. Something up there sets him off. We take him down if someone wants to see him, and we will have people come here if they want to see him.

Right now, if we took him in, he would probably have to be put to sleep or sent to Barn Cat Rescue.

Flambe seems like he's doing a very good job of training his minions. It sounds as though he's got you wrapped around his little flame-pointed paw. I think you're out of luck at this point -- you're owned by the little guy and next up...complete domination .

My kitties behave much the same. They know exactly what I'll respond to and are experts at getting me to do what they want me to do. Sometimes I wonder if I'm even living my own life anymore -- but, regardless, I wouldn't have it any other way.

And, can you imagine, people still think cats aren't good pets?! That they don't do anything?! They should meet my four and that will have them changing their opinion right quick! Flambe seems as though he'd also give them a thing or two to reconsider.

At any rate, I do hope the little guy gets adopted. He's beautiful -- I have no idea how he's not been snatched up yet.

Oh how talented kitties are in training their humans.

Flambe is one stunning kitty... He is incredibly lucky that there are people like you in this world.

To MrBlanch, re Flambe...I have 2 words....Water Bottle

I keep a water bottle near me which has a spray top on it...like you'd used to spray water on the plants...

I have re-claimed the control over who's training who with my two darlings

so when they're attempting to scratch the furniture or Salem's starting to play too aggressively with Shadow, one sight of the water bottle is enough to have them behaving like angels again - well at least for 5 mins. Salem's so used to the spray that he just has to see the bottle in my hand and he know's what's coming next if he doesn't behave.

That said, when he wants let out, he'll come in the living room, scratch the furniture to get my attention, then when I reach for the bottle he flies out to the kitchen in his attempt to have me follow him so I'll open the back door. Cheeky sod.

Holland LOVES to wake me up at 6am, sitting right next to my head, with her pathetic little "I'm starving" meow. I finally decided that I will refuse to get up to feed her until she leaves me alone for 5 minutes straight.

What I don't seem to have control over is when I have work to do on the computer and she plants herself between me and the keyboard and twitches her tail just so to smack me in the face. Even if I physically pick her up and move her, she's back in two seconds...

Yes, I, too, am owned.

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

What I don't seem to have control over is when I have work to do on the computer and she plants herself between me and the keyboard and twitches her tail just so to smack me in the face.

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Ha, another victim! Around here, that is referred to as the "Cat Tail Mustache Maneuver." Kinda hard to stay focused on serious computer work when you just know you've been given the feline equivalent of a dime-store mustache disguise.

I have to admit, I'm seriously in love with Flambe. I've been really thinking about getting a second cat to keep Sophie company, while I'm still out of work and therefore around 24/7 to keep introductions running smoothly, and Flambe (along with a few other fosters that are mentioned often on TCS) is always on my mind. Doesn't take me much to get attached to an animal (I had a complete meltdown in a Petco adoption center last week, tears and all - yes, people stared - over a magnificent, enormous, and pathetically lonely sweetheart of a cat who was listed as "bad with other cats"), and the wonderful stories you guys tell just makes it even worse. If only we weren't all scattered so far away from one another...

Flambe is mellowing, too. He's getting more interested in love and less interested in silly play antics.

It's a good thing you haven't met Epimetheus:

Epimetheus



Abandoned at a local motel with his identical shelter. She got adopted. He's neutered, and he's just a real lover. Even loves dogs!

Originally Posted by at129

Around here, that is referred to as the "Cat Tail Mustache Maneuver."

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Originally Posted by at129

while I'm still out of work and therefore around 24/7

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Me too. I have been unemployed for longer than I care to admit, and I would love nothing more than to get Holland a friend, but I just can't afford it. It's always in the back of my mind how much she is going to miss me when I finally do get a job!!! She is used to having mommy around just about 24/7.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Flambe is mellowing, too. He's getting more interested in love and less interested in silly play antics.

It's a good thing you haven't met Epimetheus:

Epimetheus

Abandoned at a local motel with his identical shelter. She got adopted. He's neutered, and he's just a real lover. Even loves dogs!

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Oh dear... What a perfect brother he would make for Sophie! TCS needs a Kitty Express! It's so hard when you've got existing pets, and have to balance rescuing/adopting a newcomer, with the needs of the existing pets - I've been very surprised at the very low number of cats in this area that are comfortable around both other cats, and dogs.

By the way, kudos to your shelter for putting up all that information about his story and personality - I wish more of the shelters in this area would do that. The Internet has become such a powerful tool for getting information out there - it would be nice to see more organizations take advantage of that.

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

It's always in the back of my mind how much she is going to miss me when I finally do get a job!!! She is used to having mommy around just about 24/7.

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Same! I have been Sophie's constant companion since she was 5 weeks old, and I really hate the thought of leaving her alone all day (I'm living with my parents now, so she has my parents AND their dogs to keep her company, but that won't be forever!). A second kitty would be tight financially, but I can swing the day-to-day expenses...and my animal-obsessed family has agreed to help out in case of emergencies (rescuing Sophie and taking her in has eased some of my mother's long-standing pain over having a litter of kittens taken away from her and drowned by a cruel relative when she was a child, so she has been extra-supportive).

I just spent most of today "cat-sitting" my sister's cats while she was at work...she has 3, a Mama cat and her 2 sons, and the boys were neutered on Wednesday. Sitting there for hours, watching them all snuggle together in a big kitty pile, was torture!

Originally Posted by at129

rescuing Sophie and taking her in has eased some of my mother's long-standing pain over having a litter of kittens taken away from her and drowned by a cruel relative when she was a child, so she has been extra-supportive).

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It's sad when somthing cruel like that spoils a person's ability to have a +++ relationship with animals. I have an acquaintance (a mutual friend told me this story) who was not able to contemplate having cats for a long time because as a child when she negleted to do something for the kittens that she was supposed to, her own mother (who was mad as a hatter) put the kittens in the stove!

That act of cruelty spoiled her ability to enjoy having a cat until she was well-into being a senior citizen. Of course it was her mother's fault not hers but she had been made to feel guilty about the fate of those kittens for so long.

Just as a footnote, Epimetheus was taken in by a rescue last week. I got a real scare when his cage was empty Monday morning.