[Jewelry making - Article 01283] - Re: [Orchid] Cats in Studios - does it work?

[Olwyn]

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    If you're looking for a for-or-against vote on this one, count me as
    "against" cats in studios. We have now only 5 cats - down from our
    all-time high of 15,  but still a handful. Giving one cat or another
    preferential treatment by allowing access to a room where others are
    banned will not solve your cats' socio-political struggles over
    territory and power. True, there may be fights between them from time
    to time, but, just like in Iraq, the real toll, the collateral
    damage, is suffered by innocent bustanders. This usually takes the
    form of fragrant puddles deposited here and there by cats' favourite
    means of emotional expression, the urinary tract. This makes your
    studio an unhappy place and maybe even does damage to your work.  If
    an area is off-limits, let it be off limits to ALL of the cats.
    Otherwise they will struggle forever. 

    We moved from a BIG house on 8 acres of farm and forest, adjacent to
    hundreds of acres of wild forest, to a SMALL house & studio in the
    city with a small backyard.  We had 7 cats at that time - and our
    fingers crossed. Would the cats adapt to their new situation after
    all their lives in the great outdoors? We built a 10' x 24'caged
    enclosure in the backyard, connected to the house by a covered
    bridge. The enclosure is full of bushes, a few elevated platforms,
    and even has a tree growing up through the screened roof. The cats
    have free access to this area 24/7. That was our one concession to
    the beasts. Mirabile dictu! They sorted things out between
    themselves within days - established rules of the road, even learned
    to pass each other on the bridge without fighting like Robin Hood and
    Little John. In fact, we have come to understand that they feel safer
    - that the Great Outdoors was always a bit scary for these critters. 

    Within the area in which the cats are free to roam - You can change
    the "pecking order" between animals, even cats, by putting them
    through some easy training exercises. I've done this with cats,
    chickens, and dogs. Basically you place an object of desire where
    they can see it and provide yourself with a collection of objects
    which you can throw at them -  objects large and heavy enough to
    startle and disrupt their intentions WITHOUT doing any real damage.
    Small beanbags or some such thing. (One time I used small green
    peppers which were just the right size and weight and besides I had
    a lot of them around for some reason) Keep yourself quiet and
    inconspicuous at the periphery of the arena. Then allow the underdog
    access to the desired object - but every time the dominant cat
    approaches it gets bopped as if by the hand of God, a bolt from the
    blue.  Keep yourself out of the process, as invisible as possible; no
    shouting, no laughing,  no large motions. If possible toss the
    missile when the cat has its back to you so you and your personal
    relationship to the cats are not confounding factors. There is just
    this mysterious divine retribution, the Hand of Fate. The formerly
    dominant cat is allowed to approach the lure only after the underdog
    has had his/her fill and wanders off.  It takes a bit of your time,
    but a surprisingly SHORT time for the dominance to shift. A few
    short sessions should do it. Nobody gets hurt. This "punishment"
    routine does not square with everything I ever learned in classic
    conditioning psychology - but then, my cats never attended
    university. 

And they never will!
Marty in Victoria

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