meaning they are most active at
dawn and dusk hours. Cats are also
natural-born predators with an in-
stinct to hunt. While these charac-
ter traits are intriguing, they are
not always convenient for owners.
If you have a ferocious feline that
you're looking to domesticate to be
more social and less aggressive, try
these training techniques:
sive, don't run around screaming
at him, and don't walk away either.
Doing these things will tell the cat
that he wins, and by displaying ag-
gression he will get what he wants.
Instead, whenever your cat begins
to scratch, bite, hiss, or show any
other signs of aggression, remain
calm and show no change in your
own behavior.
and use it to avert his attention.
When he begins to play or calm
down, present him with a treat.
Repeating this process will take
patience, and the cat may run off
the first few times, but after sev-
eral tries, he will begin to under-
stand that positive behavior will
get him what he wants.
scheme? This is where your kit-
ty seems to be happily purring in
your lap, then all of a sudden he
turns, bites your hand (or scratch-
es) and runs off. This happens be-
cause the cat's natural predatory
instinct kicks in. To avoid the "bite
and run" episodes, simply reduce
the amount of cuddling time. Al-
low your cat to sit on your lap for
a moment, show him affection,
and then place him on the floor
(try petting him with
your foot instead).
You'll be surprised
by how much more
affection he'll start
demanding once
he's not being chased
for it.
mals and we've seen proof of this
when staring in awe at a bird who
has just squawked out a few words
of the English language. Birds are
natural performers, so they are
going to be divas. They need con-
stant attention and when they
don't get it, they often scream and
cry, just like us. If you have a bird
that's being a bit of a drama queen,
try these exercises to help mini-
mize the shrieking that you (and
your neighbors!) put up with.
scream throughout the day at time
changes and screaming back at
them will not scare them into