The Way of Cats Quotes

“They get to stay in their Outpost when they stay in their Outpost. Now, we are both happy. ◆ Isn’t this… giving in to the cat? Sure. ◆ Doesn’t this make the cat… our Boss? Yes. ◆ Our cat knows better than we do when it comes to what they need. Once we have gifted them their kitchen Outpost, we can simply move them from the counter to their Outpost and be happy and pleased they have a spot to be in without getting into trouble. Explain why we gave them this Outpost — it was for their own safety. Because the next time we see our cat on the counter, we should act shocked — shocked — that they are on the counter. ◆ Project worry, not anger. Tell them this isn’t a good place for them, and use a cleaning spray on that area with great gusto, and clean it off. This takes care of our cleanliness issues, and it also lets our cat know we are looking out for them. That area was about to be sprayed. It could happen again at any moment. ◆ Is it ever too late? ◆ No, we can always do what we should have done in the first place. ◆ It is easier to train us to do it right than argue with the cat. Why can’t the cat just stay out of the kitchen? They have a strong interest in where the food happens. Why can’t the cat just leave the kitchen when we want them to? Because they have a strong interest in being with their people and sharing their lives. We got the cat for companionship. We are getting it.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them

“They get to stay in their Outpost when they stay in their Outpost. Now, we are both happy. ◆ Isn’t this… giving in to the cat? Sure. ◆ Doesn’t this make the cat… our Boss? Yes. ◆ Our cat knows better than we do when it comes to what they need. Once we have gifted them their kitchen Outpost, we can simply move them from the counter to their Outpost and be happy and pleased they have a spot to be in without getting into trouble. Explain why we gave them this Outpost — it was for their own safety. Because the next time we see our cat on the counter, we should act shocked — shocked — that they are on the counter. ◆ Project worry, not anger. Tell them this isn’t a good place for them, and use a cleaning spray on that area with great gusto, and clean it off. This takes care of our cleanliness issues, and it also lets our cat know we are looking out for them. That area was about to be sprayed. It could happen again at any moment. ◆ Is it ever too late? ◆ No, we can always do what we should have done in the first place. ◆ It is easier to train us to do it right than argue with the cat. Why can’t the cat just stay out of the kitchen? They have a strong interest in where the food happens. Why can’t the cat just leave the kitchen when we want them to? Because they have a strong interest in being with their people and sharing their lives.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them

“Cats off the counters: the way that works The real solution to keeping the cat off the kitchen counters is to give the cat what they want. Put out a kitchen stool, designate the top of the fridge, or offer the upper surface of a cabinet that will let them get up there without stepping on things they should not. Put pieces of cat furniture near their routes so they can scratch something that makes it “theirs,” as their survival instincts urge them to do. In nature, cats have various spots to do the important work of monitoring all activity in their hunting territory. This instinctual need does not go away when they live with us. We need to get over thinking that the cat can watch from the floor. Why won’t they do that? Because they can’t really see from the floor, and they are also underfoot on the floor, and we don’t want them milling around on the floor when we are trying to prepare food. Such an approach makes them feel vulnerable and frightened and us feel exasperated and annoyed. We do both of us a favor if we create and gift them: ◆ their own Outpost, a place where they can hang out and be with us ◆ introduce it with happy voices so we can Make a Fuss over it ◆ Bless the Spot by placing them in it to signal our approval Put them on it whenever they are making a nuisance of themselves in the kitchen. We can point to it and tell them to go there. A few repeats and they will understand the wonderful gift we have given them.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them

“Cats are not compelled to be affectionate, as pack animals are. Cats only reciprocate with affection when they are treated with affection. ◆ Trading favors is so important to proper cat management I call it the Law of Reciprocity. I didn’t make up this law. Human psychology did. When referring to humans, it means we do favors for people who do favors for us. When referring to cats, it means the same thing. Cats understand favor-giving, and they are absolutely compelled to return a sweet gesture. It is practical magic which works on all kinds of cats.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them

“The only thing cruelty does is add to the total amount of cruelty in the world.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them

“They should not be treated as though they are under us. They do not think they are over us. They are friends on the same level.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them

“Remove the idea of punishment when it comes to our cat relationships. Actually, it wouldn’t hurt to remove the idea of punishment from most of what we do. The only thing cruelty does is add to the total amount of cruelty in the world. No good will come of that.”
― Pamela Merritt, The Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them