In Which Chaz Duz Not Lern

[desperance]

You'd think, by now, after all these recent posts about the stealing of food; you really would think, wouldn't you...?

Thing is, though, I did think. I remembered particularly that one of the little hellcats had jumped up onto the stove and knocked the lid off the chicken curry and picked out all the chicken. (I like to think he might've left some for t'other hellcat, but, well... Hellcats...)

That was handy (paw-ey?) little bits of yummy chicken, though, in curry, and they like curry. This was an entire gammon joint, and I'd simply boiled it and was leaving it in the water to cool. I did think, I swear I did; but what I thought was, dip their lovely spruce paws into nasty greasy water? I don't think so. And besides, it's a big joint in a deep pot. Even if they do fish for it, they'll never get it out of there...

Ahem.

The boyz are ingenious, or one of them is. (I like to think they cooperated, but, well... Hellcats...)

Today's big question is, once I've cut off the chewed bits (for no, I am not going to chuck out the whole damn joint), do the boyz get the parings? I am much against wastage, and so are they; but should they be rewarded, for thievery...?

Comments

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

You could freeze the parings, and take them out at some later time as treats once the cats have forgotten it was related to the thievery?

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Just what I was going to suggest. :)

[szandara.livejournal.com]

On the parings, I agree with Bugshaw.

Another suggestion--have you considered putting a door on your kitchen?

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

The marquis is absolutely firm on thieving: cats that steal get no scraps. He's been known to chase offending cat (usually Horus), remove stolen item and hand to to well-behaved cat (usually Moon).
I'm softer and work on the principle that the feline short-term memory is, umm, vague.

[julesjones]

And me...

[yendi]

They're cats, though. That means that after ten minutes, the theivery will already be old news, and they won't associate the reward (or lack thereof) with the crime.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Ah, doors... The kitchen does actually have a door, but - like every other door in this house - it is never closed. If it were closed, they would open it. They can do that, which is largely why I never bother to close doors.

And the kitchen door gives them access to their own food and water, and the litter tray; and actually half the foodie-thievery happens in the dining room next door, because my kitchen is way small and everything spills over, storage and preparation and all. That's really the problem with the whole house, that it's all too small for one man and two cats; there's no way to make it work that would allow any areas they didn't have access to.

I am focusing on small-scale solutions, mostly containers they cannot open and tidier habits than I'm used to...

[martyn44.livejournal.com]

You could live in the Arena and it would still be too small to keep the boys out of your food (ever thought of Masterchef?)

Unless you can inculcate notions of right and wrong into them - more specifically that everything they do is automatically right because they do it (all cats are tories . . .) what is the point of punishing them? You'll only hurt their feelings, and you know what happens next.

Or possibly, the borrow one of the greatest lines in cinema, 'Teach it phenomenology'.

[martyn44.livejournal.com]

Ummm, word missing. Insert 'not' between 'is' and 'automatically'.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

That's rather what I suspect, to be honest. I think my hesitation is more for my own self-image: am I weak, or a firm disciplinarian...?

[yendi]

am I weak, or a firm disciplinarian...?

You own cats. I think we all know the answer to that question already (he says, as a fellow cat-owner).

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I dunno. My cats have unexpectedly long memories, although mostly, it does seem, in regard to things that have frightened or hurt them, rather than things involving food...

[devonellington.livejournal.com]

Hold the parings aside and give it to them tomorrow or the next day, when it's not a reward.

They are extremely ingenious. I have three, and it's amazing what they can do when they work together. However, they always leave Elsa to get caught.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Thievery is its own reward; I see no need to reward it further.

Besides, they might burst...