Hi Thera! My sister and I (posting from our human's account) came across your blog and we're finding it very enjoyable and informative so far. We were wondering if at some point you could offer advice to those of us who are trying to train our humans out of some small but persistent behavioral issues. Nothing really serious, just little things like taking plastic bags away when we were obviously busy chewing them, getting in our way when we're doing quality control on the human food, etc. Do you find that humans respond better to positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement? I'm sure we aren't the only ones who would appreciate your thoughts on the subject!
-Luna and Kricket
P.S. If you get a chance, our human wanted you to let your human know that she really enjoys this blog. We don't really understand why she's under the impression that your human has anything to do with it, but humans as a species have a habit of taking credit for more than they should so sometimes it's best just to humor them.
Dear Luna and Kricket,
Great to hear from you! You are absolutely right that humans take credit for a lot. Some cats I know even say that all humans are incurable narcissists. I think that's going a bit far. My own human lets me use her computer, so there's obviously hope in some cases. Before we judge humans too harshly, it's important to keep in mind that they have much less finely developed senses than we do. They just can't see, hear, or smell others as well as we can. So they are much less aware of others and their concerns than we tend to expect. This is especially true for us cats, who are so much smaller than they are. Sometimes they even step on us by mistake!
As for training humans, I am a great believer in positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement should be saved for desperate situations like trips to the vet. Give your human lots of cause to think that you are cute and lovable. Then start some exposure therapy. Try chewing the plastic bag or sniffing the food just very briefly. Then go back to being cute and cuddly. The next day, chew the plastic bag just a little bit more (see photo below). Or sniff the food just a little more closely. Work up to nibbling at the food over the course of a week or more. If you take it slowly and give lots of positive reinforcement along the way, you may be able to train them out of their paranoid reactions.
Good luck!
Thera
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