How to Train Your Visitors
(Mini How-to Series 2)
According to Zooey and Thea
If your human is anything like ours, she will occasionally open the door and invite other people into your home. Some of those people will remain at the door and then go away again. But others will walk all the way inside and stay for a while. Those people are called “visitors,” and they require their own training. We have different approaches to these people who are not our human, but we think our differing techniques complement each other and can work well when applied together. If you have siblings, you might split up the techniques like we do. If you’re an only pet, we recommend alternating between the following strategies for optimal training of your visitors.
Step one: Friendly Cat, Scaredy Cat
This first step works best when you have a sibling or two. In our household, when the door opens to grant a visitor access to our home, Zooey usually takes on the initial role of Friendly Cat, and Thea plays the part of the Scaredy Cat.
When you are the Friendly Cat, you should trot right up to the threshold when the door opens and greet anyone there. Keep moving, though. You don’t want to get stepped on, especially when multiple people are entering the home at once. Encourage the visitors to follow you into the living room where there is more space. Then you sit or lounge in front of them, showing off your beauty and making them feel welcome. Make sure you are front and center as they enter the room.
When you are the Scaredy Cat, you should run into the other room when strangers first arrive. Sometimes you can stay out in the open if your human is home, too. But make sure there is some distance between you and the visitors. If the visitors are loud or move too quickly, or if your human is not home, duck into one of your favorite hiding places. Top recommendations for hiding: Dive behind furniture or sit on a windowsill that is protected from the strangers’ view by curtains. The Friendly Cat will hold the visitors’ attention long enough for you to use your senses (primarily sound, obviously) to scope out the new people and determine whether they are safe. When you are ready, let them see you. If they still seem okay, go ahead and meet them. Just keep a close eye on your human (and your sibling) to make sure support is available if you need it.
Step two: Keep the Focus on You
We know that our readers are all talented in the art of getting attention, so we’ll keep this step short and sweet. Once you determine that the new people are not too scary, make the rounds of the living room. Circle the guests, sniff their belongings, and listen to them talk about how amazing you are. Check in with your human from time to time. She might even give you some treats, and she’ll show the visitors the best way to pet you. Let the visitors try to tempt you with toys or treats. You don’t actually have to play with them, but if you act interested sometimes, they’ll keep trying to coax you, which will keep the attention on you.
Step three: Set Boundaries
Attention is wonderful, but sometimes visitors get a little too enthusiastic. And sometimes a cat just needs a break. At first, you might retreat to higher ground. Pick a spot like the top of the refrigerator where you still have full view of the people and their activities, but where you are somewhat removed from direct contact. If the visitors’ enthusiasm gets out of control and they continue to pursue you, a hiss in the face is usually sufficient to tell them to back off. Open wide, expose your fangs, and give the visitors a good dose of your smelly cat food breath. They’ll get the point and give you a little space. They might still return to your spot to look at you, offer you catnip, and pet you, but they will move a little more slowly and respect your need for some time apart.
Having visitors can sometimes be overwhelming, but if you follow these simple steps, you can train your visitors to shower you with attention when you want it AND give you space when you don’t.