I got these popping rocks recently. They have a light coating of a mild form of gunpowder on them, and when you smack them together they make a noise like a toy cap gun. I thought I could use them when I was working from home to get them to stop pestering me without directly punishing them. But instead of being fearful of the noise, they come running from any corner of the house when they hear it. They think it's very cool and are mesmerized by the noise and sparks it emits.
It makes me feel both proud and frustrated. Even the vacuum only makes them slightly uncomfortable! I wonder if playing all those Star Trek episodes in my deep bass-emitting surround sound desensitized them to scary sounds and lights. I think we’ve raised geek cats.
They also love to jump places they shouldn't. To combat this, Michal and I did some research on the internet and found that one of the better recommended solutions is to use aluminum foil. The idea is that the sound the foil makes when you touch it will scare the kitties, or at least annoy them enough to make them want to get off of it. Michal and I put in place an intense program of covering the kitchen counter with foil, from end to end.
The result:
Osher began to entertain himself by jumping on the foil and pawing at it to make it make noise. It was as if he had aspirations to be a percussionist. Every time our backs were turned we would hear this "tappity tap tap tappity" sound. The foil seemed to actually
ENCOURAGE him to jump on the counter, rather than discourage it. The foil only worked in one way - it served as notice that he was on the counter. Thus, we ended the program.
Michal and I have been in discussion about getting “scat mats,” mats that give the cats a tiny shock when they jump onto them, but the expense is a bit high at this point. We decided we’ll have to be more irritated with them before we spend the $100 on it. I also can imagine the little boogers putting metal spoons on them to short out the batteries.
The score as of now: Cats 2, Humans 0.
4 comments:
try something sticky like packing tape on the counters - that worked well for my friend's cat - also an orange tabby who loves to make mischief!
quite honestly, i think it's because they are israeli cats. we can't take culture out of this.
Coming from the guy who ran TOWARD the bomb in Jerusalem, I can't say I'm surprised at the cat's behavior!
:-)
sheryl
Sheryl,
For the record, I didn't run towards the bomb; I walked casually towards it. :P
Mara,
Hmm... Culturally Israeli..I wonder if there is something to that. I have always considered them culturally "Loving".
Holly,
I will try the tape thing, though I have this gut feeling the results are going to be humorous. I wonder if orange tabby cats tend to be mischievous?
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