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it's a good way to raise kids too

With treats and flea meds? 😉

Which individual is the trained one? 🤣

@@elliot_ratyes and no. positive reinforcement yes, but there's another element to this that would leave human kids vulnerable to manipulation in the long run.

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HA! I really think our pets learn about bartering and the concept of give & take from us training them with treats. Like, ok I'll do something YOU want me to do, then you'll give ME something I want. And then they figure out it works the other way around too, that THEY can initiate the transaction. Or at least the smart ones do. I'm here thinking about it and it seems to me this is more of a cat behavior than a dog behavior, don't you think? Maybe that's why people say cats are manipulative, but really they're just smarter and more sophisticated? Dogs manipulate too, but they mainly just beg while employing the sad puppydog eyes technique, and that may not even be intentional, lol. :)

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I was thinking the same thing. She sat for awhile with her tail going after cuddles and pushing “come” several times, and in hindsight it seems like she was trying to think of something else to keep mom engaging with her when Billi was done with cuddles. And then, aha! Training! Makes me think of all the cats who want attention but don’t have the means to communicate it so effectively.

Cats are solitary hunters, but they're perfectly happy to live together in colonies. Anyone who says cats are boring loners is ignorant.

Interesting take! I see it as a routine. My Niklaus has patterns of cuddles, pets, and play. Some of them even seem to be built around mine!

@@ReignBeauofTerror Yeah, cats are very routine oriented. I think it’s really weird to think of a cat as being coldly manipulative instead of just following their drives. Especially when animal research gives us good enough answers to avoid attributing human motives to them- like cats like routine, active play is a love language, etc. ( Notice Billi walked off when mom said, “ What, no traps?” She may not understand the word, but I think she’s pretty much picking up on the attitude.)

( just because people are doubling down, apparently) And I think treating it like a big joke is a mistake. Gonna refer to Sensei Jackson here- even if a cat doesn’t know what the word “ Satan” means, if you name your cat that your setting up a subconscious association that could open the door to subconscious assumptions about behavior and confirmation bias when they act up. If you laugh about being “bribed “ by an animal that simply wants a specific kind of engagement with you, that’s gonna drag on your perception of yourself after a while. Why talk yourself into believing you’re being manipulated when you can pat yourself on the back for creating such a bond with your animal that they can express their wants and needs to you? And in summation ( shuffles index cards), I think we’ve bred dogs to treat us like gods, so when cats ( and huskies) treat us as more or less equals, we interpret that as arrogance.

( just because people are doubling down, apparently) And I think treating it like a big joke is a mistake. Gonna refer to Sensei Jackson here- even if a cat doesn’t know what the word “ Satan” means, if you jokingly name your cat that your setting up a subconscious association that could open the door to subconscious assumptions about behavior and confirmation bias when they act up. If you laugh about being “bribed “ by an animal that simply wants a specific kind of engagement with you, that’s gonna drag on your perception of yourself after a while. Why talk yourself into believing you’re being manipulated when you can pat yourself on the back for creating such a bond with your animal that they can express their wants and needs to you? And want to have all kinds of fun with you? And in summation ( shuffles index cards), I think we’ve bred dogs to treat us like gods, so when cats ( and huskies) treat us as more or less equals, we interpret that as arrogance.

@@kellyalves756yes! Cats don’t “scheme” they’re just following instincts and routine, and they’re very smart as well But people give them too much credit when it comes to… being “evil” and way too little credit when it comes to understanding and using these buttons

That’s typically how it goes! Good luck in the training, you’ve got this!

@@BilliSpeaks I really appreciate you showing that there is another way….and a structured way! It always feels like a tremendous betrayal to do required but unpleasant treatments with my senior lady. We’ve made good progress with many things but this gives me some guidance for the more challenging ones. Cheers 😊

Mom has said that training is 'playing with mom and treats!' Play and treats sound like a good option.

We've seen her ask for training before too. I think she mainly wants food/treats, but has figured out she has a better chance of getting some if she asks for training instead of just food. I'm sure she enjoys the attention and interaction with Mom and the learning enrichment along the way too, but I'd say food was probably at the top of her mind. Not that that takes anything away from how impressive it all is. She's such a smartie! :)

It’s another way she gets treats hahaha

Reptiles are so interesting! I often wonder how the bond between reptile pets and their owners are, compared to say, a cat and their owners. Do they recognise their owners, like pets, display character differences within the species? I hope you don't mind me asking so many questions 😅

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I LOVE THAT! Reptiles absolutely respond to positive reinforcement, well done!

@@mirjanbouma I've not owned them but have known many of them as pets. They absolutely know their owners, who feeds them, & any people who interact with them semi-regularly. Whether they show it, is up to them XD They sleep alot XD

@@mirjanbouma No problem. They definitely know the difference between owners. I got mine as a rescue and it took a while for him to get used to me. He was way more comfortable around his previous owner. He also knows the difference between me and my partner, and will react differently to us. In the beginning I had to grab him against his will a few times for medical stuff, and he would be out and ignore my partner, but crawl away slowly in an effort to be stealthy when I came near the cage. Took a bit to win his trust back again. He also know 3 words when I say them. One to indicate I am opening the cage, so he doesn't get frightened by the sound of the sliding door, the one or two times I forgot he got startled, but if I say the word he calmly stays where he is. The word for food, telling him I am starting to prep his food which takes me a minute or two. He will move to the spot where I am always put his food dish. And the word for water which means I will fill up his water dish and water the terrarium. He wil move away from where I am working and watch me from a distance. He made it very clear the first time that he doesn't like water to splash at him or on top of him so we respect that. I am trying to set him up for button training eventually, but I have to find buttons that 1 activate consistently under his weight, 2 can deal with the humidity because the ones I have do poorly with water and humidity, and 3 that are a little less big and flashy, because the current ones are quite intimidating to him and he allready doesn't like new stuff in his terrarium. The last one is probably the easiest one to solve. So until then it stays a one-sided conversation, but I am definitely interested to see how far I we can take this.

@@laartje24 Awesome. I've been wondering if there's much potential for reptiles learning the buttons. If there are people trying it, I haven't heard anything. So please let us know how/if this progresses!

I'd hold out for the salmon & tuna Churu licking treat, if I were you! ;)

@@TieDyeVikki oh yes! Thank you! Phew 😅

Yes, the little paw was adorable! It was like, "Mom, I like training, but do you really hafta hold that icky thing so close?" :)

Very well put. Billi is a very good girl.❤️

Good luck!

I would be too afraid to try it on mine. He is very food obsessed and I fear that he would only want to press treats buttons, constantly

@@tamsel814 I say he gets 3 treats but after that you teach him that 3 treats = training or something they don’t typically like to do like medication or then after 3 button presses you say time out and don’t respond. That way he still knows the buttons work just not after you say that phrase after three treats.

@@tamsel814 Most of the button animals I’ve seen don’t have treats buttons for that reason.

Kendra is amazing. She's such a good mom.

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I'm also impressed by her clear use of bartering. Cuddles for fan toy and training.

Yeah! I always thought a reward based thing is way better than “you get reward THEN bad” or “reward and bad” But that’s just for me. I assume it’s the same with cats

“Don’t Shoot The Dog” is the OG bridge training book, highly recommend it!

@@BilliSpeaks thank you!

@@BilliSpeaks Yup - very good resource (especially the revised version, which includes clicker training). Back in graduate school I had a roommate in the local Vet college. Ended up lending my copy of B.F. Skinner's "About Behaviorism." (It was a good decade before "Don't Shoot the Dog" came out, and before the world wide web.)

It’s probably where she learned the concept of a trap 😹

I’m kind of impressed that she was eager to challenge herself with the training. ( Holy crap, you got her to sit still for flea treatment? Dayum! That’s a miracle!)

Of course! Any resources that discuss positive reinforcement training are helpful. It’s a lifelong learning process! Lots of great accounts on Instagram and KZfaq if you like visual explanations!

@@BilliSpeaks if you have any particular accounts to suggest, do let us all know :D I'm truly in the dark here.

Definitely lucky!

I just did my cat for the first time last week and he didn't seem to mind much, but maybe that's because he didn't really know what was going on. I know the shelter we got him from over 1 1/2 years ago did it once, but I don't know if he'd had any experience with it before that or not. I had never redosed him since he's an indoor cat and didn't have any parasite issues. But a couple weeks ago I caught some feral kittens which I've been fostering, and they had fleas, so I thought an application to my cat might be prudent (even though I'm keeping them separated until the ferals can be tested for diseases and vaccinated). I bathed the babies (and their bedding and towels) in Dawn a week ago and haven't seen any fleas since (yet... how long do their eggs take to hatch?). I'm hoping not to have to spend money on more of the preventive, and more importantly I don't want to use chemicals/poison on my cat if I don't have to, but we'll see..... Btw, my cat lost a little hair where I applied the stuff... is that normal? I didn't have any packaging or inserts to read, as only the redose came with the cat.

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Best of luck training! 🥰

A really great channel on training a cat to use the buttons is "Justin Bieber the Cat" They videos are quite detailed about how to get started. And of course Kendra here has good ones on modelling the buttons and on this kind of training too. See the link tree at bottom of description box for links to Billi's website, etc. 🙂

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!

@@LindaVernon Ty! Will check it out.

@@rivercrow8988 Thanks!

you put coconut oil on thier fur/skin?

@@WellISaidIt you can do... Mine eat it as well. I buy mine from Amazon and put some in a bowl. My cats will go over and eat it. Helps to digest furballs as well.

@@jgscatsandthings5208 thank you. will give that a go. one of cats get terrible fur balls.

@@WellISaidIt yeh furballs isn't nice at all. I've 18 cats, and love my fluffy babies, they are good. Furballs were a problem, and feeding them these so called treats which were to help digest furballs never worked. I use natural coconut oil... The stuff that goes hard when cold, but once warmed up, turns to a liquid.

@@jgscatsandthings5208 I've been having coconut oil put into my hair since I can remember. Never thought to use it on my cats.