Comments on Cranky Fitness: You Versus Your Cat: Who's In Charge?

I recently came across your blog and have been rea...

2009-07-25T03:14:59.600-04:00

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Patricia

http://largepet.info

I'm not really in either category, as my evil over...

2009-07-16T12:15:58.877-04:00

I'm not really in either category, as my evil overlord is a Lagomorph. (That's Bunny rabbit, to us peasant-types.)

She likes to growl her displeasure...or pleasure if things don't go her way. Should I grovel sufficiently she might lick my hand, and then prance away. So far the only things I have trained her to do is (eventually) go back in her cage if I beg and plead "bunny, go home!" and eventually she will. And if I don't quickly give her a treat - god help us all! :)

She's nuts and cranky as hell but I love her anyways and am willing to do her evil bidding. <3

The cat is definately in charge and eliminates any...

2009-07-15T23:12:25.712-04:00

The cat is definately in charge and eliminates any threats to his supremacy.

I got a fish for my children and it didn't even get to see Day 2 at our house. Fuzzy (cat) had fished it out of the fish bowl, which I had placed 'out of reach'. He then had fun playing with it on the floor. We found the little fish on the cold hard floor in the morning. So our cat is #1 once more!

I sooooo want a cat, so that it can rule my house ...

2009-07-15T22:18:44.013-04:00

I sooooo want a cat, so that it can rule my house ;)

Yup, the cat rules...

2009-07-15T21:25:06.974-04:00

Yup, the cat rules...

My cat scratches on the closet door where his trea...

2009-07-15T18:49:53.901-04:00

My cat scratches on the closet door where his treats are.... he has me well trained!

The dog is the master of the house, though. She has a routine, and heaven help the person who screws it up!
That's why I call her the Princess - that isn't even her name!

Sorry... was this a question? Animals ALWAYS rul...

2009-07-15T18:06:48.902-04:00

Sorry... was this a question?

Animals ALWAYS rule the roost ;)

Once upon a time our cat thought he could be fed w...

2009-07-15T17:52:35.478-04:00

Once upon a time our cat thought he could be fed whenever he wanted - and this included very early morning - before anyone wanted to get out of bed.

After a few torturous mornings or pre-dawn harassment, we have trained him to accept the fact that food ONLY appears in his dish in the evening before bed, and that this feeding may or may not include delicious wet food. I think breaking a cat out of habit is the biggest trick to not bending to their every whim!

I'm in charge. My dog has a wonderful life and lot...

2009-07-15T17:36:40.976-04:00

I'm in charge.
My dog has a wonderful life and lots of fun, but she knows that I AM IN CHARGE.

When I'm in the kitchen cooking, and she "forgets" and comes to stand right in front of me waiting for me to drop something, one look and a, "Go!" or "Go to your spot" and she runs over to "her spot" next to the wall (so I don't step on her).

The reason she listens though is that when she does what I tell her to / what she's supposed to, she gets what SHE WANTS too... if she stays in her spot in the kitchen, I'll toss her ends of carrots or bits of other veggies as I cook. If she lays nicely by the dining table instead of begging during a meal, I'm 100x more likely to drop her a little treat.

I refuse to get another cat. I like other people's...

2009-07-15T17:29:08.011-04:00

I refuse to get another cat. I like other people's cats just fine, but can't handle hair everywhere and cat feet on the kitchen counters or a cat box in my own house. I don't mind the bossiness of a cat so much, but I do like how fairly malleable and codependent dogs are! I know if it was me vs. a cat, I'd have crap in my shoes and be covered in sticky cat hair.

That said I own a Poodle, and uh, he owns me. Poodles are half cat (a good compromise for cat lovers who want a dog), 1/4 French, and 1/4 primate; in my boy's case the primate part is monkey as much as person. He is so upset that he does not have opposable thumbs but he manages quite well with his "monkey paws". I've taught him a lot of great tricks which he is happy to perform on command, and he's taught me a few too. He contests my dominance every now and then but I give him a lot of latitude as long as he pretty much minds me.

I like cats who are talkers like Siamese, and Poodles seem to be great vocalizers. I'm trying to teach him a small vocabulary, he can say a pretty good "mama" and "I love you", and once he said "I dunno" all on his own in response to a question. If he really wants my attention or my food *right now" he'll use his "I love you!" voice and/or make up "words". When he's resigned to something he'll say "Oof", when ruminating to himself he says "Herm". Consistently, so they mean something specific to him. I'm trying to get him to say "out" when he wants to go outside, but he trained me instead that when he paces back and forth with his toenails going click click click he needs out; so that *I* then say "Outside?" and he runs for the door, looking repeatedly back over his shoulder like Lassie leading a rescue party to the well.

He's benefiting from the 3rd Poodle/child syndrome; he gets away with stuff the other kids wouldn't have, but he also has a bit less freedom, like today's kids. He's the first dog I have crate trained. I'm older now, and much more tired, and I need the time outs!

Our whole household revolves around our two cats. ...

2009-07-15T16:29:36.498-04:00

Our whole household revolves around our two cats. They definitely rule the roost, although my husband does try to negotiate with them... As if THAT is ever going to work!

Our cats have us well-trained after several years ...

2009-07-15T16:28:00.719-04:00

Our cats have us well-trained after several years of hard work. They have, for instance, caused the hubs to leave the house in pajamas to get a fresh bag of treats.

We just got a dog and are quickly learning that dogs are controlling, but in a passive aggressive way. One roll of the classic puppy dog eyes and we're like pod people out of Body Snatchers, blindly doing their bidding.

Sick.

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

2009-07-15T15:50:32.613-04:00

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

i trained my aunt's cat to jump from a chair to a ...

2009-07-15T13:55:46.149-04:00

i trained my aunt's cat to jump from a chair to a stool through a hoop. i was 8 at the time. never bothered trying with my own cats. now, i only have the big black dogs. if i get another cat, though, i plan on doing I-CAT agility, since i can't do agility any more with my dog.

Our cat Luella (her angel cat name) or Lucifur (he...

2009-07-15T13:32:44.444-04:00

Our cat Luella (her angel cat name) or Lucifur (her devel cat name) has us trained. Every time we come home she lays down for some belly scratching. Have I ever ignored this? No. Not even when I have my hands/arms full of groceries. Oh lord.

I am in charge because my dog thinks I am his Momm...

2009-07-15T12:53:30.085-04:00

I am in charge because my dog thinks I am his Mommy. I am in charge of him as much as I am of my children. Uh....

Just as my little girl gives me that flashy smile and twinkles her blue eyes at me and flips her wavy blonde hair around and I buy her a Polly Pocket, the dog wags and stares with his big button eyes until I give him a treat or throw his fetchy toy for him.

I am not so sure who is in charge...

When I had a cat, she was definitely in charge. N...

2009-07-15T11:56:16.440-04:00

When I had a cat, she was definitely in charge. Now we have a dog who is part corgi, so she can be bossy. But she's more of a caretaker, especially where the kids are concerned.

A few years ago we live in an apartment complex and had a different dog. An Alaskan malamute, who was pretty big. But he was DEFINITELY afraid of our neighbor's cat!

The cat. Morning alarm clock, meal time alarm, "ti...

2009-07-15T11:40:50.693-04:00

The cat. Morning alarm clock, meal time alarm, "time to go to work" notice, "aren't you going to bed yet" notice. Also, he was always underfoot & annoying while I filled his bowl, so I trained him to sit on command. So now he thinks I'm trained to feed him when he sits down by his bowl (if he's hungry at an off time) or I'm running late with the food.

Of course they're in charge. What self-respecting ...

2009-07-15T11:31:54.921-04:00

Of course they're in charge. What self-respecting feline isn't?

I absolutely know that wake-up purr. I sometimes get it in stereo. One of the cats also sticks his nose right in mine just in case I don't notice his weight on my chest. He has a way of not displacing his weight as they ordinarily do on all four paws, but instead he makes his two front paws very heavy and pointy when he wants me to wake up.

There's no point in turning over. Boing!.. he's in front of me again. This can go on as long as I can stand it, or until I've worn a trench into my mattress from continuously turning over to avoid him.

When he's decided to stop chasing me, he'll lift his weight off of his paws and use them to bat at my face and try to pull it toward him. Or he'll tunnel his way under the blanket with what becomes a very powerful super-head. That cat has an incredibly strong neck.

Eventually I give up and feed them. Shortly after that, he's back. By then, I'm at the computer and so he has to wedge his furry little body between my eyes and the monitor.. just in case I didn't notice him otherwise. And he'll start the same purring, snuggling, nose-in-my-face thing until he gets sufficient attention.

Then I can go bug him when he naps. ;)

Definitely my cat. She even goes so far as dictat...

2009-07-15T11:12:07.116-04:00

Definitely my cat. She even goes so far as dictating which side I sleep on. If I happen to be sleeping on my left side when she wants to cuddle, she will meow and command me to turn over. If I dare ignore her, she'll start pawing my head.

I'd say we're in charge...but it's all an illusion...

2009-07-15T11:03:59.834-04:00

I'd say we're in charge...but it's all an illusion.

My only defense? The squirt bottle. Because I love my cats (all 3 of 'em) like my kids, but I also love my sleep. They are welcome to sleep on the bed at night. But start getting into stuff in our room or climbing around on my head? One rapid fire shot. Because I need my sleep. Of course the squirt bottle is no help for the 17 year old who's losing his mind and howls half the night. *sigh*

And I trained my hubby. He wanted kids now. So he gets litter box duty for 5 years. *smirk*

All I had to do was read the title of your post to...

2009-07-15T10:25:48.801-04:00

All I had to do was read the title of your post to know the answer - cats are ALWAYS in charge. (I did read the rest of the post for my minimum daily requirement of laughs)

Being half Sicilian (from the waist up), I don't take to being bossed around by anyone, much less a creature that eats and sleeps for a living. But I might actually be envious of this existence since the college thing hasn't really worked out so great for me.

In my world dogs rule - they are affectionate and loyal beyond belief and yes, it may have to do with the fact that I'm his feeding machine but still - unconditional love goes a long way.

The cats used to rule. Then we adopted a rescue d...

2009-07-15T10:15:39.210-04:00

The cats used to rule. Then we adopted a rescue dog. Then we had 3 kids. Somebody had to rescue me!

The dog passed away a couple of years ago. We recently added a German Shepherd puppy to our family and immediately kennel trained him (stays in there when we leave and at night...although he may eventually have more freedom)and obedience-trained him. The cats have their own room that they will share with my oldest child soon. They come out during the day. I rigged the door so they can come and go but the puppy can't get in. Then we keep them in there for the night. For now, we rule.

Everyone has their own space to chill out. Very nice. I've had 6 dogs before, and this is the first kennel-trained one...I wish I had done that with the others (less destruction, less resentment, more joy).

Happy to have my bed back and finally get some sleep.

My dog has the patience and focus that a good trai...

2009-07-15T10:09:01.419-04:00

My dog has the patience and focus that a good trainer needs. It's much easier for her to train me than vice versa.

My cat does what she wants when she wants. If she...

2009-07-15T10:04:53.871-04:00

My cat does what she wants when she wants. If she wants loves at 3 am, she'll walk softly into my bedroom, run as fast as she can to leap onto the bed, giving her more chance of waking me up (a sleeping Julie gives no pets). She really likes to help me type by standing on the keyboard, or just blocking my view. She has figured out how to use the dog door upstairs (dog recently died), and steal the upstairs cat food, which causes that cat to poop on the rug. Now I have to buy her the same food as upstairs since I don't know how to prevent her from doing that, until he gets another dog. But she's so cute!