Caturday: Who’s in Charge Here? Controlling Cats in a House Where Cats Think They Are in Charge
Happy Cat, Bear, and Jack, well behaved and sharing a calm moment Let’s be honest. Cats don’t really do obedience . They weren’t bred to fetch your slippers or roll over on command. In fact, if you live with cats—as I do, with a feline family of eight—you’ve probably figured out by now that they expect you to do the fetching. That said, even in a cat-run kingdom, someone has to keep the peace. That someone is usually me. People sometimes ask, “Can you really control cats?” And my answer is: absolutely, yes —but not the way you’d control a dog. You can’t force cats, but you can teach them. You can set limits. You can build social expectations. And you can absolutely keep a lid on chaos without being a tyrant or turning into the Cat Nag. Start with Names: Yes, They Can Learn Them The first step is making sure every cat knows their name . Not just sort of knows it when treats are involved— really knows it. This means using the name consistently and always making it clear you're ta...