celeste

Like a dog peeing on the floor, dropping a mouse on the bed has to happen once so they can figure out it's unwanted. Unfortunately. The impulse is sweet, though - she was sharing food and play with me - so it's just a silly story I share about her, now. She was such a great little hunter. I had her as a kitten in an old house, and she leapt to the challenge of taking care of the slight mouse problem. Or, supplementing the household's food, as perhaps she saw it. When we moved from that house to one with a serious mouse problem, she became the hardest worker there. That memory, once the sheets were clean, became a cherished one. She cared about my well being, and giving me food was a way of showing me I was part of her cat family.

I can't guarentee anything, but hissing is usually 'knock it off' and growling is 'fuck off i'll bite.' You could try being generally loud first, though, since your human hiss might not get parsed the same as a cat hiss if you don't do it right at first. Say 'no!' very loud. Clap your hands. If it's far, stomp and go "hey!!!" Some cats pick up weird socialization and I'm not a cat expert, so take what i say with a grain of salt, tho.

When I see my cat scratch the wrong thing I go "Hey!!" and thump the table and she'll stop what she's doing. Then when she scratches the right thing, I go "Oh, good job, kitty!" in a much softer, gentle voice. She doesn't really get it. She hears the loud tone, stops scratching, and jumps up on the couch. She doesn't get it's 'stop,' but she stops, so it's good enough for me. They don't like loud noises or certain smells, so you can use those to make them not want to be around you without hurting them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CatAdvice/comments/13oclp7/how_do_i_get_over_my_fear_of_cats

I like the advice here on how to reduce a cat phobia. If you spend time with some very chill cats who will only be aggressive in extreme cases, you'll learn their body language and signals and have an easier time signalling to them. It's easier to "get" cats when you understand how little they understand us.

I wish I could help more. I remember being terrified of dogs as a kid, until I met a neighbor's tiny elderly guy, who was so gentle and hard to fear, I slowly overcame it. Good luck! Sorry about the rambling.

Unfortunately it was easiest to find on amazon (i just got it at a pet store years ago)

https://a.co/d/2LPZFyk

It was something like this

That's tough, because street cats that do that have been socialized to be super pro human (strange humans give them snacks?)

I guess if it was me and I was visiting someone allergic, I'd do something silly like put on hand sanitizer and let them sniff my hand. Or hiss at them, if I didn't see people around. Walk loud. Unfortunately, a lot of "i'm scared go away" body language can come across as 'I'm not threatening! Say hi!!" to a friendly cat. What's the specific situation drag is in?

Depends what you're teaching them. They're biting? Move away so they know playtime's over if they bite. Be consistent, because they won't get it the first time. Don't scratch that? Put a scratchable surface in front of it, and when they use it, reward them with positive attention. Etc.

Had a mouser cat drop a live mouse in my bed once. It ran up my leg. Haunted.

I cured her of the desire to bring me mice by trying to take them from her while she was still playing. I lost mouse privileges :(

I remember when we were trying to slow down one cat's eating, we got her a ball that released food as she knocked it around. She would knock it, grab some, and knock it again, leaving tons of food behind. Our second cat would hoover those up. That was unintended two cat play, however.

I think ripple rugs are meant for multiple cats?

Love the contrast with the pillow

Honestly, save the text where he said she's yours, and I think you're good to go.

So pretty, in the snow

Very good nose! I like !blurrypicturesofcats@lemmy.world for posting my blurry cats but here is good too imo

He looks handsome for an elderly goblin!