I present for your consideration, Maggie B (Exhibit A). Maggie is, of course, the current primary (and only) feline resident of Prune Ridge. We're here today to tell you about Maggie's fantastic learning mind and some of the ways we at Prune Ridge like to torture and/or mock her. I would suggest that there are more than a few people in the world who will claim that it is not possible to teach a cat specific behaviors to be performed on command or anything resembling a "trick." Well Maggie B has done her best to teach us that those people are wrong.
Here we have Exhibit B - a small plastic jar of Maggie's treats, stored in a small resealable plastic sandwich bag, because otherwise they go stale and Maggie
is extremely specific and picky when it comes to her treats. (So yes, there you have Maggie's first "trick" - which is more of a success on her part at teaching the Reeds of Prune Ridge exactly how she wants them to behave.)
By now you're likely curious about Exhibit C (see just below). That's right, a bag of dishwasher soap tablets. This packaging is actually quite different from the packaging observed with Exhibit B, but close enough for Maggie's over achieving ears and brain.
I should mention at this point in the reporting that when Maggie B's sister Tori still lived with us, the two girls had different treats because of their equally developed but distinctly different palates. Tori's treats were small, hard, crunchy treats stored in a plastic resealable bag very similar to the dishwasher soap tab bag. Tori used to assume (almost logically so, to our ears) that every time the dishwasher soap came out - it was time for treats! Maggie B's treats, on the other hand are soft and sound entirely different when shaken in the package from either Tori's treats or the dishwasher soap. Herein lies the first mystery of Pavlov's Cat. Tori left us in early February of this year - approximately 8 months ago. Maggie B has only begun to respond to the dishwasher tab bag sound within the last few months in the way that Tori did before we lost her. This, however is not the end of the tale.
Maggie has suddenly "learned" in the last couple of weeks what Exhibit D sounds like:
The opening of the dishwasher sometimes leads to the dishwasher tabs arriving on the scene for duty. With dishwasher tablets apparently being the aural equivalent to soft cat treat sounds muffled inside their plastic canister and plastic bag, the only logical result of an opening dishwasher sound can be dispensation of treats. And so, we have Pavlov's Cat who now comes running and/or crashing through the house, mumbling to herself all the way, every time the dishwasher is opened. Must be time for treats:
*I feel I should mention that Maggie B is so well trained in this process at this point, that these pictures were all taken in quick succession with full cooperation on the part of Pavlov's Cat as soon as I opened the dishwasher door with camera in hand. And yes, she was rewarded with some treats.
