Comment on My dachshund is trying to kill me

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MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

People don’t “get” cats the way they “get” dogs, and cats don’t “get” people the way dogs “get” people.

But cats definitely do think, they can do some pretty complex problem solving, and can even be trained with the right methods and motivation. But you basically have to teach yourself how an alien race might process the world to be able to understand their behaviour. I’ve no clue if that makes them smarter than dogs. Dogs certainly understand humans better, and vice versa.

I don’t pretend to know what goes on in my cat’s head, but I’ve gotten pretty damn good at predicting behaviour, and even modifying it where needed.

And you’re right about one thing, getting a cat to unlearn something instinctual is basically impossible. Digging their claws into you when they are relaxed is a good example, no matter what you do, your cat is will always mercilessly knead whatever it’s sitting on when it’s happy.

For some reason walking into your legs as you move is one of those things they just keep doing, but I’ve gotten my cat to stop doing a variety of other things I didn’t want it doing.

My biggest success is kitchen counters. He no lingers jumps onto them. Ever. I’ve even taken him to relatives and friends, and he somehow knows the same rules apply.

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