Clicker-trained cats

Hello all! Well, I have officially recieved my first note demanding a new post. (I feel like I've just undergone a rite of passage....wow! But, on the other hand, it has not been over two weeks since my last comment on life in general - and two weeks was the previously allowed time of permissibly not updating your blog.) But, as I am honored that people actually read my blog and actually care for me to update it, I will do so in hopes that I will be as entertaining as some of the other blogs I've read (i.e. Rachel or James - sheesh, you guys are a tough act to follow!).
I believe the subject of my discourse this evening will be that of clicker-training cats. For those of you not familiar with this training method, it is used on dogs (and apparently, now on cats as well) to reinforce positive/desired behavior. And as unpleasant as it sounded to me at first, it is actually pretty effective. Let me illustrate....let's say I have a dog who shall henceforth be referred to as George ("and he shall be my George"). If I want to teach George how to come, first I click the clicker and then give him a treat. I repeat this multiple times until George has thoroughly associated the sound of the "click" with the generous treat-giving. When George has graduated from this first step, I move on to the second....I call George, and when he comes, I click. I repeat this multiple times until it has embedded itself in his little doggy brain.
Obviously, "come" could be taught very simply by just giving a treat for responding, cutting out the clicker's involvement (but then it wouldn't be clicker training!). However, this seems to be a very handy technique to use in teaching more complex commands, such as tricks and all that jazz.
Well, in my fervor of discovering what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life, I have begun to research all flavors and styles of careers. One of these is animal behavior, with a focus on the training of the said sweet furry little friends. This has led me to rent books from the library on the various techniques and all that kind o' stuff. I started out with the obvious dog-training material.....because the only pets we tend to train are dogs. I mean, have you ever tried to teach a hamster to roll over? After I reading a few of those, I noticed that they had books on cats. I thought, "Why not?" And so, I merrily skipped from the library clutching my prize - the fountain of knowledge in the form of a book called "Bring me Home! Cats make GREAT Pets!" (And no, I am not kidding!)
It was clearly written by a cat lover (which you couldn't gather that from the title....a subtle tribute of the feline roommates of humankind), though she did know her stuff. I actually found myself contemplating adopting a furry feline friend, so convincing was she about the benefits of their company. I was hooked and beginning to take this cat-ownership thing very seriously when I came across the chapter dedicated to clicker training cats. Yes, that's right. Apparently, people have started to clicker train cats like they do dogs. I suppose that's not so surprising. Cats must certainly (on the whole) be intelligent enough to train and teach.....after all, they have effectively learned how to own humans while keeping the humans under the delusion that they are the true owners. I'm sure these furry little dears sit and watch us scurry about in service to them thinking, "Heh heh....sure, they own me!" But I digress.
I was so intrigued by this novel concept I had half a mind to try it out for myself on the next subject to cross my path....which in this case, would be Coco. Coco is the cat my base directors inherited from their daughter when she moved to Korea. Apparently, Coco trained her very well - she was at his beck and call, and life was good. Unfortunately for him, life changed, and now he is stuck on a base full of people - non-cat people. This uncontrollable and unpleasant turn of events has paired with the passage of time to create quite the curmudgeonly cat. He must have read my thoughts attempting this curious clicker training idea.....I made eye contact, and the twinkle of brilliance in my eye dimmed into disappointment - like when someone returns from a daydream. He very clearly said to me, "Don't even think about it." I see his point.
So, I will retain this curious information until I can find a more suitable subject. Perhaps I might go out one day and one would just happen to follow me home.

I know, I know...."Don't even think about it."