An Old Cat

An Old Cat

I guess you can teach an old cat a new trick after all. 

A couple of years ago I invested in a set of stairs for my dog, Cooper. I had noticed how effortlessly he jumped up and down off my very high bed, and realized that he wasn’t getting any younger, and I might want to be proactive about any future back problems. 

I spent several weeks enticing him up the stairs rewarding him each time with a treat. I made sure to remind him with the command, “Stairs!” each time he attempted to jump on or off the bed. 

Over time it became routine for him, and only occasionally world he jump down without using the stairs. I’ve noticed a few times, though, that he might have hurt his back, so the vet recommended putting him on some glucosamine. 

However, when it comes to my cat Abby she has her own way of getting on and off of the bed. She jumps on the end table first, and then on to the bed. Remember she figured this out all on her own, but as she is now over fifteen I thought maybe encouraging her to use the stairs as well might be easier on her. 

Last week I showed her twice how to get up on the bed. I noticed this past Saturday she was using the stairs on her own. Mind you this was with no other training, treats, command words or encouragement.

This cat cracks me up. Using the stairs takes less effort than jumping off the end table, and she pretty much figured that out without too much help from me. You know cats don’t do anything they don’t want to do as that is their “purrogative.”

This old feline has a way of finding the most comfortable spots in the house, namely my bed.