figuring out the next steps

a week later and i feel we are making progress in some parts, but at a standstill in others.

the dot on the bed game still seems to be the preferred game. chelsea will lead me into the bedroom with her tail flicking determinedly. i am trying to anticipate her demands so that i have the upper hand, but either way, it seems to be a good way to release all her energy. if we pay this twice in the evening, to the point where she no longer zooms, but only pounces when the dot comes near, she tends to be calmer, less demanding. it is no guarantee though!

she still leads me into the bathroom, presumably so i will ping food around the bathtub, but is often reluctant to perform, even to the point that she tries to ignore the cork-target. but she will continue to sit in the tub and flick her tail when no food magically appears. i am running out of ideas on how to get her to do something cute or clever that i can click and reward. when clicker, target and food come out of the cupboard, i am always the one to initiate activity (apart from meowing, tail-flicking, and of course leading me into the bedroom). i read about these cats who will try all sorts of silly things to hear that click, but chelsea just sits there and will do what i ask, sometimes with a bit of enthusiasm, often not.

target training is another challenge. she is much more likely to touch the cork with her paw than with her nose. when she does use her nose, she sniffs rather than bumps or rubs. if i don't c/r for the slightest sniff she takes great offense, so i have to continue the reinforcement or risk her losing faith and interest in the target, undoing all the work we have done so far. i am just working on the idea that a paw to target is probably more useful for training other behaviours in the future.

the good news:

she is catching on to the high-five trick. holding my hand up in front of her (sometimes with cork, often without) seems to be sufficient cue, when she is in the mood! actual contact between paw and hand is very tentative, but always rewarded.

sitting on the ledge waiting for meals is still a bit of a challenge, but she is staying up longer, with less rewards. i can usually get her to hop up (still needs prompting a few times) before i pick up the dish, and i can usually stop her from jumping down again with a quick hand up to block her movement. i did this a few days ago and found her attempting a high-five, definitely deserved a treat! now i am careful how i hold my hand to block her, so as not to confuse with the high-five cue. yesterday she stayed on the ledge as i inched towards her eating place with dish in hand, and placed it on the ground then clicked. she stayed up, obviously confused as to whether she was allowed to jump down. it took a fair bit of encouragement to get her to jump down for food. poor kitty! i will have to check on what the best strategy is, because up until then she was hopping down in anticipation of the dish hitting the floor, oblivious of any click. this morning, back to hopping down before the dish hit the floor.

she will sit on the ledge willingly and without prompting if it is not mealtime! i reward her with attention and occasionally a treat, sometimes a game.

we now have two puzzle boxes, for post-meal activity. she has figured them out easily enough, although the last bits of food can be a struggle to get out. last night she was struggling with one and i was sitting on the loveseat watching this. all of a sudden she gives my slipper a rub, hello! i'm not exactly sure why she did it, but i decided to interpret it as a polite request for help, so i bent down and held the box in place and even positioned the piece of food where she could easily access it with her paw. she seemed satisfied with that.

with clicking, playing and puzzling out of the way, she was still edgy last night. after a couple of swats at my slippers i herded her into the bedroom with a pillow and closed the door. i then created a new puzzle to occupy her mind. i took two identical plastic pudding cups, both approximately a half-sphere, and held them together with an old hair elastic. i cut 3 strategically-placed holes big enough for a piece of food to fall through when the "ball" is rolled around on the floor. i let her out of the bedroom, figured she was behaving herself enough to introduce new stimulation and place the new puzzle on the floor in front of her. she sniffed, but didn't really catch on, so i rolled it around a bit until one piece of food fell out. she then started to shuffle it about tentatively, but enough that she got some food as reward. kept leaving it then coming back to try a bit more. eventually left it with a few pieces left inside. i added more this morning after breakfast, but i don't think she has touched it yet today. imagine she had plenty with the 2 puzzle boxes.

despite all these efforts she decided last night was a good time to try and maul my legs after i got into bed. luckily i now have a heavy blanket on for the cold nights, so i just ignored her, kept still for a bit and she didn't try again. an improvement i guess!

i think i will try and introduce her to following the target to jump from one chair to another today. we are obviously in need of diversification in our activities!

dad might be visiting this afternoon. i wonder if she will perform for him? perhaps a high-five? we'll see!