I had pretty much given up on clicker training my cat Qiwi. We had had so many disagreements and misunderstandings that we decided to leave off for a while. One of our disagreements involved her decision to avoid me fiercly as I try to keep her from crossing the street to a field ripe with rabbits and squirrels. It's not that I don't want her to explore, but our neighbors are not the most concientious of drivers and I've seen several dead cat carcasses on the highway a few blocks from home. I had taken to keeping her inside and she'd taken to hating me and refusing to work with me at clicker training.
While perusing my group memberships I came across a message from a young girl who'd taught her cat, named Kiwi, how to high five. Kiwi was a very smart cat. I'd been thinking that it was a cute parlor trick but not really useful, like go to mat or stay or etc. I was impressed with the web entry she'd written and the details on how to teach the trick.
Then the bomb dropped. I discovered that this very smart cat, was fatally wounded by a car last month. I looked at the date, and almost choked: That was the very same week, my own Qiwi had been playing "chicken" with the neighborhood drivers, running out in front of the cars as they passed by. She'd done it three times that week when I got fed up(with having heart attacks) and banished her to the indoors.
I looked at my Qiwi and thought about how angry I'd been, but then I thought about how sad I would have been if she'd been hit and killed, and I cried for Maia's Kiwi, and my own Qiwi.
I decided that this stalemate had gone on for long enough and that this was some kind of message. I decided that My Qiwi was going to learn this "high five" trick as a tribute to Maia's Kiwi. Of course I expected the usual nonchalance and lack of attention, but when I got the treats , the stick, and the clicker ready, I was amazed to see that she was attentive the entire 10 minutes. We practiced touching the target stick with the paw instead of the nose, and she seemed to get it right away. Usually after 4 or 5 treats she acts sullen and walks away and won't touch the stick even if I put it right in front of her . Later today, I tried another session and added the cue "touch-it" with the click, then one second before the action, then when she was just looking at the stick. She was spot on! It was like she knew what was going on and still wanted to participate. She didn't do her usual begging and rubbing and wandering. I think maybe this inspiration has spread to her and we are a team.
I hope this progress continues and I can report to Maia that Qiwi is High Fiving for her, and that Kiwi can look back from the Rainbow Bridge and know that we are thinking of him.
If you want to read about Maia's Very Smart Cat you can do it at http://www.pawradise.net/
