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@ mleku
2025-02-12 18:05:13
yeah, the tricky parts of cat training are:
- very context sensitive, if you are in the picture, that can blot out any other associations
- negative emotions are very repulsive to cats, they go on guard and into escape mode a lot faster than dogs because they are much more capable of navigating even marginal escape routes
they know, have an instinct, that they are very agile and this confidence bleeds into a major constraint that if they think you aren't fast enough they will try you, until you win a few times and then they will become submissive
this is another aspect of cat training... the things you DON'T want them to do, need to be negatively impressed on them. a few mild slightly painful and embarrassing incidents of capture work well and if you associate those with some trigger words they will respond with caution if they hear them again, and that's the whole story with negatives and cats
most of the conditioning needs to be positive and affirmative, and they are very easily persuaded of goodness by the taste of tasty cheese, and it's absurd how effective it is
it's like, kitty cheat codes:
cheese, persistence
and the third key is to anchor a "NO" concept with them quickly so they think twice if you are trying to make them averse to an undesirable action
i love this stuff tho, this is what i love