In my defense, we've only had Tonka since Sunday. I told you all that she couldn't get on the bed herself, and needed to be lifted onto it. My husband and I even talked about getting her a step or ramp onto the bed, because she could get onto the couch, but the bed seemed just a little too difficult for her.
Last night I heard her get off the bed, and assumed I'd find her under the bed or in my recliner this morning. Sometime in the night she was back on the bed, without help from either of us. So yes, she can jump onto the bed, she's just willing to accept help when we're dumb enough to give it.
Now I've got the Wizard of Oz chant in my head and can't get out - only instead of lions and tigers and bears, it's "Torties and torbies and calicos, oh my"
Chay, I completely agree. I've always found that training (pets and kids) always is a bit of a two-way street, but only with a cat, does the cat almost always give more training than it receives.
Too funny Colleen...one of my dogs won't jump on the bed if I am in the room, she just gets her front paws up there then I come over and lift her...this all started several years ago when she really did have a bad leg injury. Well Angie refuses to lift her...Angie watches CEASER! so when she is in the room our Reba jumps up on the bed just fine!
Our little tortie that just died, was the only cat I've ever known that didn't have a goddess complex. She was more like a little dog in a cat suit.
Gary, like Reba she used the memory of an actual injury to get sympathy. Every once in a while, she would play "limpy paw" if we weren't paying attention to her, or if she wanted an extra treat.
She loved praise like a dog. When we first got her, I trained her to hop on the scale, just with praise. Problem was every time I got out the scale, she'd come whipping around the corner to get on the scale, and then she wouldn't get off (if I set her off the scale as soon as I'd get on, she'd hop on too). To weigh myself, I'd have to have my husband shake the treat jar to bribe her away from the scale with a treat (which as you can imagine, only trained her to hug the scale for dear life until she heard that treat jar).
It was so funny, because as long as we had her, when I got out the scale she would head-rubby love it and mark it. But, it has a glass top, and she was a texture-addict. She loved lying on and playing on and feeling differently textured materials, and had a distinct preference for smooth textures. One of her favorite things in the world was when I would bring her shiny paper to lie on. every Sunday, I'd spread the ads on the floor so she could play on them. Or if I got a present (or was wrapping one) I'd always save some wrapping paper for her to play with and lie on.
Tonka also seems to have a similar preference for smooth textures (loves lying on magazines), but doesn't seem as "addicted" as GirlyGirl was.
My ex had a dog, Bandit, that would pull the fake hurt paw trick too. Only problem is that he would forget which paw it was that was "injured" and start hopping around on the wrong paw.
Sucker!
. . . those torties and calicos will take over the world.
