LOL, Chumley's comfortable enough to be BAD!

It's only taken a year-and-a-half LOL, but Chumley (feral kitty rescued at 3-4 years old) is finally comfortable enough to be a bad kitty! :lol3:

When he had his own trailer, he LOVED sleeping in the sink. We didn't know then we'd be integrating him over here full-time, and we have a "no kitchen counter" policy here. When we made that decision to bring him over here full time, I worried about how to "untrain" him from the notion counters were OK. Once over here, he jumped on the counter a couple of times, and I just told him "No," and picked him up and put him back on the cat tree.

He preferred to travel around "up" and not use the floor. And instead of jumping from the cat trees to the counter (they're right across from the counter), he started jumping over to the couch. SUCH a smart, good boy!

Well... one and a half years later, he's on the counter. I was preparing their dinner, and had the 8 bowls out. I got interrupted and didn't keep an eye on things for a few minutes. When I went back to finishing, I caught Chumley jumping from the counter back to the cat tree as I turned. The bowl of food at the end had a bunch of cat food missing from it. :lol3:

What gets me is that he KNEW he wasn't supposed to be over there, and surreptitiously jumped back to the tree just as he was about to be caught in the act!

But it wasn't Chumley! 1 of the other cats were up there, he chased that other cat down, by the time you looked over you only saw him.

Are you sure there was cat food missing from the bowl?  Did you count that kibble? 

Cookie jar, etc. etc

I'm glad he feels confident enough to snatch a bite when you're not looking

nurseangel said:

Are you sure there was cat food missing from the bowl?  Did you count that kibble? 

Click to expand...

:lol3: It was wet food, and there was a nice "hole" in the middle down to the bottom of the bowl.

That makes me feel good! He's comfortable and happy enough to know he can try to get away with stuff! Way to go, Chumley! I just love that boy!

The Chumster, stealing food when meowmy isn't looking. Good for him!!

The fact that he jumped over to the tree before you caught him in the act tells me that he is a really smart boy. OK, maybe just street wise, but still smart!

So much for animals being incapable of having a guilty conscience. Whoever said that never had sneaky pets.

See, is the progress that simply delights us - even If something naughty happens.   Ours have been inside only now for 14 months, and to see how they've adjusted, and that our hard work is paying off, just pleases us so much that words can't express our delight.

Gray - our FIV - is just a fur ball of love, and our hearts are so warmed knowing that we've rescued these very intelligent creatures and are sharing space with them.

Laurie - you're a wonderful mentor for me - thanks for the "good" report.   g

OH Chunkey Monkey :lol3: I have to say, I am happy to hear he feel's confident enough now to be oh so bold and sneaky AND quite agile ...... I wonder what the rest of the crew were thinking ..... AND I am impressed that you were able to teach your kitties - no counter... I guess I haven't really tried hard enough :anon: Kitties are OH SO SMART - Even being naughty - they make us proud somehow :happy3:

Ah food, the great motivator!