8 May 09 to include yet another retribution that fell on horrid Katie
http://shanlung.livejournal.com/92085.html
More Karmic retribution on Katie / directional flights / walking with Riam and Dommie
December 20th, 2008
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I was wondering why the uploading of videos and photos yesterday Friday was so slow. And same this morning when I was trying to get them out for inclusion into this blog. Then I read in BBC that some cables broke and paralysed the net
Severed cable disrupts web access
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7792688.stm
So I can only tell you those videos where Riam flew to named places, and other interesting photos are in this Flickr folder
Riamfada Thurs18Nov08
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlung/sets/72157611420603086/
On Wednesday night before I went to sleep, I had called for Katie as she would sleep next to me in bed. Dommie would sleep by my wife even if we all are in the same bed. Katie did not come at my call. In middle of night, I got out of bed to call her as it was unusual that Katie (yes, the same horrid one who tried to kill me in
http://shanlung.livejournal.com/79517.html ) did not answer my call.
I thought well, we would get to see Katie cold and contrite at the door in the morning regretting that she did not get to sleep on the bed with us.
Morning gave no sign of Katie even after breakfast for us. Curses on Katie did not make her appear either. It got me worried enough to go and call for Katie in the neighbourhood. My wife joined me when I walked down the road calling 'Katie, come come come'. No sound of her as I walked on and on, getting more and more worried.
Then 5 villas later, we heard her answering cry which became louder and louder as she found she got an audience of two of us. There she was, up on another roof. Which was music to my ears. Katie crying up there on that roof. Yet another karmic visitation on her evil deeds she persistently tried on me.
I would have enjoyed her crying even more if it was not so embarassing on me.
I told her to jump. She placed her paws down the wall , and then recovered herself and wailing away that was too difficult for her. All my persuasions failed.
I remembered another box of chocolate, and I turned back to home to get it for a visit to a new neighbour. Then the maid came out of that villa, and told us our cat was on their roof. As if I did not know that from the screaming and wailing in my ears. She told me her mistress send her to get a ladder from villa number 1 so the kitty could come down. I felt no ladder was needed. But out of politeness, I could not say that as that mistress was so nice. I could not let the maid handle the heavy ladder alone. So my great embarrasement was combounded as I approached yet another villa to borrow a ladder that was not needed.
And paraded myself with that maid carrying that ladder through the whole neighbourhood with Katie yeowing and screaming her head off to all to watch the scene.
The mistress of that villa was so nice and accepted all our apologies from me and wife. I wrestled the ladder up to the roof and ungrateful Katie looking down screaming at me to go up that wobbly ladder to get her down. I asked her politely to come down the ladder because the mistress was there and I had to watch my language.
Dommie came along and with us at the bottom looking up to his crazy sister. To encourage Katie to come down, I placed Dommie on the ladder and he went up. Dommie was the smart one, opening screen door to get in and out and other things. So he was up with Katie consoling her and then I asked Dommie to get down. Dommie got back to the ladder and slowly made his way down. It was futile hope on my part that Katie could be guided down that way.
(photos here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlung/sets/72157611445203519/ )
Katie continued to scream her head off. I suggested we leave the ladder so she could get down herself and she might do that if we left her alone.
So we got home, and I got back to the Internet. Not five minutes later, Katie came home demanding to be fed. I got ready to go out and that maid appeared to tell me Katie jumped down. So I returned that ladder which I thought was not needed with that maid.
I got back to give Katie the evil eye. She absolutely did not care and did her insidious figure of 8s around my ankle to try to cripple me yet again. If she was not so warm in bed and love to sleep with me and gave me such wonderful massages, I would have gotten Katie mummified and turned her into a bookend or a door stop.
You read and seen that cat carrier that spooked Riamfada. At the beginning, any approach to 3-4 meters of that carrier got him flying off.
BJ gave a thoughtful reply to my problem with that carrier. I had thoughts of getting another carrier with different color. And perhaps of getting a wire cage. If that was only to be in the car, then there would be less of problem. But as that carrier might be carried, it had to be light weight.
Muscat is not like your hometown, and we got used to very basic stuff here.
Over the week, I tried to get Riam accustomed to the carrier. You would see in photos how I got Riam to like the basket perch when it started with him spooked of that basket.
I gotten to the point that Riam would tolerate myself sitting next to the carrier as long as he was on my stomach or shoulder getting head rubs. But the moment he step up and I took him nearer to the carrier, he would fly away.
I knew I would not be able to get him into that carrier as yet on Thursday.
When I took him from his room to the living room, he would do his own thing for the first few minutes. He would fly to the bar, and from there to the perch , and the ring as if in exuberance. Then a bit of preening, and then we would train together. The formal training session, with me holding clicker in hand, would last 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Perhaps repeated 45 minutes later and again.
We did videos of him flying to the bar, flying to the perch, and flying to the ring. And of him on recalls. You see his response to my cues as on the dot. Videos of him doing touch target on the ring, and how he climbed down ring to branch to touch target. And also how he might not wish to do as qued, but that was after an un-natural long series of sequences. I did not mind at all.
You also see Riam on the ring when I spun it. You see for yourself that he enjoyed it. After all, Riam would fly on his own accord to that ring very often. He would take off from that ring in spin, and would fly back to that ring in spin. Very different from the first time he was exposed to that ring.
You see how I rigged the perches for him, and now you see photos of him in those context.
Riamfada Thurs18Nov08
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlung/sets/72157611420603086/
That ring became his perch of choice, with the perch the 2nd, and the hanging basket the third choice. That hanging basket dangled within an arm reach when I sat to go on Internet. That basket was on table next to laptop, but he got to walking on table and being a nuisance, so I hang the basket on perch.
The comfortable stable bars would be used by him now and then. He might be with me, playing with me, getting head rubs from me, and then he would fly on his own to the bar and poop there. To acclaims from me. He did that himself without being told by me.
He would do his thing, preenings and periodic flights from one perch to another and I did my thing. Then he might fly to my shoulder for head rubs and sunflower seeds if I left him alone for 30 minutes. I then send him off to any of those named perches.
I still wanted to take him outside. He accepted his harness with a few token squawks. He could have flown out of reach if he hated the harness, but he remained nicely on the bar while I put on his harness even if he squawked away in token protests.
I knew the line I tied at base of basket handle was not enough, but I thought the line looped around the handle of basket should hold him.
He remained nicely on that basket on lap of my wife. Until I started the car and drove out of the house. He made his way down the basket and with all his might, tried to yank himself to reach me. The photos showed that very clearly the way he strained himself to reach me when I was driving. After 200 meters, I told my wife to relent and released her hold on the line. The harness was only to use for emergency and not used as a restraint. I did not want to win the battle and lose the war. I did not want Riam to develope a distaste for harness making it impossible to harness him. Riam made his way to my shoulder and I drove back to the house.
I made an experiment. I sat on the passenger side of the car with my wife in the driving seat. Riam remained nicely on the basket on my lap. Until my wife started the car, and he immediately clawed himself down the basket intent on my shoulder.
So I realised I must get Riam used to the cat carrier. It would be far too dangerous for all of us to drive with Riam on my shoulder all the time.
Still, I needed to get Riam used to the outside with harness. So you see the photos of Riam on the basket on the ground with me on a chair holding a book in hand and reading. Note that my leg is through the reel around my thigh.
Riamfada Thurs18Nov08
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlung/sets/72157611420603086/
He would remain nicely and contented on that basket handle for that 45 minutes or so.
Other than for the driving, I did other things as if we were outside. Thats why I took Riamfada for a walk in the gated community of villas we were in.
To say hello to the lady of the house of this morning. And photos of us showing you where we lived in.
Through that Thursday, I thought I made much headway with Riam allowing me to sit nearer and nearer to the cat carrier without spooking.
But on Friday, Riam refused to allow me within 2 meters of that carrier before he flew off my shoulder. I felt my progress in this important aspect was one step forward and two step back.
After I did my formal clicker training with Riam, it was time for my wife.
He did step up very nicely. He would do touch target of the simple kind with my wife. He would bend left, and right, up and down to touch target. He would not do the contortionist touch target where he would clambered up and down with my wife.
In his way, he was getting well with my wife. I still had a shock when he did a fierce looking lunge at my wife hand to get a scolding from me. My wife stopped that telling me he did not bite and a parroty joke from Riam. That kind of joke from Riam could give me heart attack.
I then asked my wife to do a recall, with the hand perch just a foot away. Riam did that to click and lots of treats and praises from us.
I moved my wife so recall to her would be a meter away. Riam looked at her, opened his wings, and did a couple of slow flappings in parody of flight and then his head to give me a stony look.
My wife read of his parroty joke at me when he slowly flapped his wings when I gave recall. I could not but laughed together with my wife at Riamfada sense of humour and his telling me his recalls were for me but he would toss my wife a crumb or two.
We decided to continue with Riamfada acclimatising to outdoors by taking him for a walk in the wider neighbourhood. This was to let as many others in the neighbourhood know of us, and of Riamfada. Should accident happened, and Riam flew off , the others would know of us. Making it easier for them to get him back to us. If we lost Riam, and their neighbours got a new CAG, they would know and get back to us.
It was also good to be friendly with neighbours.
When we stepped out of the gate, Dommie came pounding along and meowed to be included for the walk. Katie was not around or she would have joined Dommie. Dommie liked to walk with my wife even if it was very nearby. But this time we were going for a long walk and not just to the rubbish bin.
I think we made a sight. Riamfada was periodically on my shoulder or on his hand perch. Dommie ran alongside of us, sometimes ahead, and sometimes behind. We crossed the road, and Dommie crossed the road. Dommie would run in zig zag fashion, not more than 15 meters from us at furthest as we walked on and on. When he was too far away, we called and he would return to us.
Dommie ran into open gates into other people garden, and then reappeard on top of low wall, running along side of us and jumping down to be with us.
We made a very strange sight for those who saw us. They were too flabbergasted to talk to us.
After twenty minutes or so , we turned back towards our villa.
And end of that weekend.
(photos of that walk here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlung/sets/72157611451553623/
)
editted and added on 21 Dec 08
ps
read a rant I made that you might have missed in
http://shanlung.livejournal.com/91826.html
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shanlungOctober 19th, 2008
shanlungNovember 12th, 2008
