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February 12, 2005 11:09 AM Subscribe
Ever see a cat run an obstable course? It's time for that great new sport, Cat Agility!
The site for these events, ICAT - International Cat Agility Tournaments, has a video (.wmv 2.3 MB) of a girl training a kitten.
posted by pracowity at 11:48 AM on February 12, 2005
posted by pracowity at 11:48 AM on February 12, 2005
Obstacle sounds like a training challenge all right. My cat will do the laser dot following thing... then suddenly he'll quit. No apparent reason, crazy fascinated one moment, couldn't care less the next.
Must be some hunter energy-expenditure vs payoff deal where at some point he decides there's no percentage in continuing the chase.
posted by scheptech at 11:56 AM on February 12, 2005
Must be some hunter energy-expenditure vs payoff deal where at some point he decides there's no percentage in continuing the chase.
posted by scheptech at 11:56 AM on February 12, 2005
My cluttered apartment is a world-class obstacle course for my cats. They will sometimes run around taking turns chasing each other through the place. My only involvement is sometimes they'll follow the laser pointer through a course, but most often they'll follow their own path. In fact, I can take the hint that they'd rather me not be involved in their games. So much for the opportunity for the human/cat bonding.
posted by birdherder at 12:20 PM on February 12, 2005
posted by birdherder at 12:20 PM on February 12, 2005
Training tools and methods, from one of the great trainers, here:
http://www.clickertraining.com/home/
Cats, dogs, parrots, dolphins, horses, mice, people -- learning how to learn is the first step. Learning how to encourage others is the next.
posted by hank at 12:27 PM on February 12, 2005
http://www.clickertraining.com/home/
Cats, dogs, parrots, dolphins, horses, mice, people -- learning how to learn is the first step. Learning how to encourage others is the next.
posted by hank at 12:27 PM on February 12, 2005
I just went down there to take a look. Insanely uninteresting. It's just a cat show, and for good measure, they threw a cage with some hoops that some cats can jump through.
I've never seen so many sweatshirts of snowy barn landscapes...
posted by Chris Brummel at 2:08 PM on February 12, 2005
I've never seen so many sweatshirts of snowy barn landscapes...
posted by Chris Brummel at 2:08 PM on February 12, 2005
Intriguing, but I hate the use of "agility" as a euphemism for "performing". However they present it, it's making animals jump through hoops.
posted by raygirvan at 4:21 PM on February 12, 2005
posted by raygirvan at 4:21 PM on February 12, 2005
I am lucky if I can get Kitty Michaels to jump on the couch.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:00 PM on February 12, 2005
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:00 PM on February 12, 2005
Intriguing, but I hate the use of "agility" as a euphemism for "performing". However they present it, it's making animals jump through hoops
Spoken like someone who's either never seen dogs doing agility (it's called agility because it demonstrates agility), or someone who doesn't understand dog body language for "I'm having the best time EVER!". No offense intended, but agility dogs are not only agile, they love doing agility more than anything in the world, there's no euphemism involved. You might not like the idea of jumping through hoops for some cat food or a game of tug, but I assume you're not a dog or a cat (also, I suspect that you have a job, for which you get paid, which is no different).
You can't "make" a cat do something like this, this is true operant conditioning, you make doing the behaviour rewarding enough that the cat wants to do it, it's exactly the same training method that's used for marine mammals and (increasingly commonly) for zoo animals (which is not only beneficial for managing them, but also because it encourages them to use their brains for problem solving, which they'd be doing in the wild). If they didn't want to do the behaviour, they wouldn't, there's no punishment involved at all, only reward or lack thereof. (And the fact that so many people can't get past training our most biddable domestic animal, the dog, with pain and punishment, even when it's made abundantly clear that positive training methods not only work, but result in a better working relationship and entirely different attitude, is beyond me.)
posted by biscotti at 12:19 AM on February 13, 2005 [1 favorite]
Spoken like someone who's either never seen dogs doing agility (it's called agility because it demonstrates agility), or someone who doesn't understand dog body language for "I'm having the best time EVER!". No offense intended, but agility dogs are not only agile, they love doing agility more than anything in the world, there's no euphemism involved. You might not like the idea of jumping through hoops for some cat food or a game of tug, but I assume you're not a dog or a cat (also, I suspect that you have a job, for which you get paid, which is no different).
You can't "make" a cat do something like this, this is true operant conditioning, you make doing the behaviour rewarding enough that the cat wants to do it, it's exactly the same training method that's used for marine mammals and (increasingly commonly) for zoo animals (which is not only beneficial for managing them, but also because it encourages them to use their brains for problem solving, which they'd be doing in the wild). If they didn't want to do the behaviour, they wouldn't, there's no punishment involved at all, only reward or lack thereof. (And the fact that so many people can't get past training our most biddable domestic animal, the dog, with pain and punishment, even when it's made abundantly clear that positive training methods not only work, but result in a better working relationship and entirely different attitude, is beyond me.)
posted by biscotti at 12:19 AM on February 13, 2005 [1 favorite]
"My Furry Valentine" is more befitting anthropomorphic foxes with huge schlongs and breasts instead of trained cats.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:45 AM on February 13, 2005
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:45 AM on February 13, 2005
What biscotti said. Dogs thrive on having a job, and the agility course is one helluvanexciting job for a dog.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:11 AM on February 13, 2005
posted by five fresh fish at 10:11 AM on February 13, 2005
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posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:47 AM on February 12, 2005