I have put off way too long telling the story of Oreo, the reformed
pre-dawn yowler.  Oreo is our cat, but I'll include the ferrets in the
post, too.
 
Kim Fox was in the Animal Communication class Eric and I took from
Lorelei Hunt at Dodie Vecchione's house, and she was the star of the
class.  She clearly has a natural gift and just needed a little
confirmation so that she could begin to trust her talents.  When Oreo
began to drive us mad with his howling half an hour before Eric's alarm
went off, I decided we had to call Kim.
 
Oreo had already become increasingly obnoxious after our AC class.  He
was always Mr. Mellow and hardly cried at all before we met the request
he made to one of the students who talked to him.  He said that his teeth
hurt (a trip to the vet confirmed that he needed a tooth out) and that he
wished he could have soft food again (he'd been on kibble for years).
I gladly went out to buy canned food for him, and because he is a bored
indoor kitty I gave him a little bit four times a day as a treat.  Almost
immediately, he began howling when it was time to eat as though he were
trying out to be a Siamese.  After we moved at the end of August, he
started howling outside our door at least half an hour before Eric had to
get up.  This would be aggravating for anyone, but it was really getting
to Eric who is not well and needs every minute of sleep he can get.  We
wondered if Oreo was becoming deaf or senile or both.
 
When we couldn't take it any longer, I called Kim and she had a little
talk with Mr. O.  The first thing she said was that he was spoiled and
thought it was alright to insist on having his way.  She explained to
me that he needed to have limits and consequences for his behavior, so
between the two of us we decided that I would give Oreo wet food only
twice a day and not at times when he would disturb anyone if he asked
for it.  Then Kim explained to Oreo what was going to happen and why it
was happening.  She let him know how his behavior was affecting us,
especially because Eric is feeling sick.  Oreo immediately told her that
he felt bad about Eric, and he seemed to understand what was expected of
him.
 
The results were immediately and astounding.  For one thing, Oreo has not
howled or raised his voice a single time since Kim talked with him after
many months of howling.  He barely makes a sound even while I am opening
a can (although of course he still gets under my feet and slows down the
process by trying to hurry me along).  The first day after their talk, he
didn't cry in the morning.  The second and third day he did, so I called
Kim again.  Oreo told her he just forgot and that he'd be better.  I've
lost track of time with all we've had going on here, but it has been
weeks now and Oreo only cried once in the morning after a couple of weeks
had passed.  When Kim talked to him about it, he asked if Eric still felt
sick and she explained that he would always feel sick.  Oreo has been
perfect since.  Kim says he may still need a reminder now and then, but
he's being wonderful.  I tell him every day how much I appreciate having
a quiet kitty.
 
In trying to help the ferrets adjust to the new house (which has some
differences they don't like at all) I have learned a couple of things.
For example, I didn't know they even knew what a TV was (we don't watch
TV) much less being able to recognize one that was built into the wall,
but they told Kim that there was a TV in their new room (they communicate
with images).  They and the parakeet both told her that I had started
turning the music off at night, and all of them said they wanted the
music to stay on.  I thought I was giving them a nice quiet period, but I
guess their preference makes sense since it sure as heck isn't quiet in
the country at night.  They tell her things Kim couldn't possibly guess,
like that Francis and Jaxon walk on a coupler, and that Jaxon doesn't
like having Francis drag him around.  They also told her they were mad
when I didn't take them for a walk Sunday night, hence the latest round
of bad poop behavior.
 
When Kim and the ferrets and I have worked out our compromises to help
the ferrets adjust to the new place, I'll post again with that behavior
mod story.  In the meantime, you can send Francis kind thoughts during
his times out in the cage.
[Posted in FML issue 4307]