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una nueva publicación semanal con noticias Volume 13, Number 10 | April 15-21, 2021 locales en español.
connections since 2009
CAREing for cats
Photo and text by Will Sardinsky Sopris Sun Correspondent
Little One reached her paw out, claws poking through her brown tabby fur, until it momentarily rested on Keira Clark’s outstretched right hand. Keira squeezed the device resting in her left hand and a sharp click shot from it. Right after, she set a chunk of tuna next to Little One. “Good high five!” Clark exclaimed as her feline friend licked her reward. Clark, Programs Director at
Colorado Animal Rescue (CARE) and Colleen Hickman, the Feline Specialist, began training cats in this manner in February 2021. They were one of eleven animal welfare organizations selected to be a part of this semester’s Jackson Galaxy Cat Pawsitive Pro Training Program. Jackson Galaxy, the “Cesar Milan of the cat world,” Hickman said, worked with a team of feline behavior experts to develop the training protocols. Working with these behavior experts and using a clicker, a small plastic
device that makes an audible click when pressed, the CARE team worked to mark, and subsequently reward, desirable behaviors. “It has been as much of a learning experience for the humans as it has been for the cats,” Hickman remarked. With shier and more fearful cats, the training ranged from clicking when a cat made eye contact to teaching them to “nose-boop,” or touch their nose to a specified target — in this case a cork on the end of a stick. Hickman explained how this can help cats
build confidence while also teaching them that interacting with humans is rewarding. She went on to say that with cats who are already more social, they “can do some of the more ‘flashy’ behaviors if you will, like high-fives and going through hoops.” Clark added that there are actually some practical applications too, like getting a cat to enter its crate or teaching it the ‘place’ command, where it stays in the same place until released. While one black cat, Litten, worked on jumping through hoops
and a brown tabby, Little One, worked on high-fives and nose-booping, Clark reminisced on another cat who had worked in the program, Jazz. At first he wouldn’t come out of his box, but by the end of his time at CARE he waited at his door, meowing, asking for training. “These cats are suddenly asking for the attention … you could actually see the gears turning. It was really amazing and put a huge smile on my face because people think they’re not trainable like dogs, but they are! Continued on page 13