• cookie@lemmy.world
    10·
    11 months ago

    One time I was in bed, when suddenly the smelliest cat butthole a foot away from my face just straight up assaulted my nose.

    Now I’m so thankful whenever I hear that slep slep slep in the middle of the night, and I can sleep peacefully without dreaming of any cat buttholes.

    • starlinguk@kbin.social
      5·
      11 months ago

      I’ve trained my cat to clean his backside off the bed. He’ll wash himself until he gets to that bit and then jumps off the bed and continues.

      I find a cat washing himself very relaxing somehow.

      • cookie@lemmy.world
        2·
        11 months ago

        You train? Your cat?? In this house, it’s more like my cat trains me😭 but yes, very relaxing. I’m sure my cat thinks I’m creepy as I love staring at him while he licks that one wet spot over and over again.

        • Asafum@feddit.nl
          21·
          11 months ago

          Consistency is key with all animals! I really don’t think they understand the concept of “sometimes.” so if it’s something like “I don’t want you on the countertop” then you always need to respond to that in the same exact way and in a way that isn’t frightening so they’re not afraid of you, but to just respond to what you’re doing. So for example I snap my fingers when I don’t like what she’s doing and she’ll stop, or I make a specific hand gesture if I want her to jump up on my lap.

          Some cats are just stubborn assholes though so I guess your milage may vary lol

          • cookie@lemmy.world
            2·
            11 months ago

            Mine’s definitely in the extremely stubborn category, but I just love him so much- assholery and all lol

        • cookie@lemmy.world
          1·
          11 months ago

          Gag me ugh, need someone like him to empty out my genie pail. I would 100% take the butthole over that ammonia + methane bomb anyday.

  • squiblet@kbin.social
    4·
    11 months ago

    Urgh, i had a girlfriend with an old basset type dog who would neurotically lick his paw until it was red and raw on top. So at night, slurp… slurp… slurp… slurp… slurp…

    • Aesthesiaphilia@kbin.social
      125·
      11 months ago

      I’m sure I’ll get canceled for this, but I broke my dog of this habit by just smacking her whenever she started. Nothing that would hurt or cause a bruise, but if she’s doing that (or humping a pillow, or any other stuff like that) I’d give her a light smack and she’d stop. She also has her own pillow that she’s allowed to suckle when she gets overstimulated, so she has some outlet, just one I approve of. After a few months she mostly stopped with the neurotic licking.

      • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
        3·
        11 months ago

        Pretty sure you can do the same by just like, poking them or shoving them a bit. The point is just to interrupt the behaviour and eventually their habit should break.

          • OneOrTheOtherDontAskMe@lemmy.world
            75·
            11 months ago

            I mean ,you said it was coming, you recognized the behavior as neurotic, and still opted for the smacking solution. Did you talk to your vet about ways to reduce boredom before that happened? Or about redirection training?

            I saw this without chastising, but all you’re really reinforcing is to not do it when you’re around, OR you’ve reinforced a negative set of hormones being released when they feel like licking their paw. The behavior you’re trying to stop is the licking, but the behavior you probably need to stop is the underlying reason for the licking. Find more things to entertain the dog during the day, or reinforce a new behavior to replace the old one. That way, when they go to do the paw licking, a different behavior will be vying for the top braincell and whichever one feels better or floods the dog with the most positive emotion will win out. Let it be fun for the dog, not fearful.

            • naught@sh.itjust.works
              26·
              11 months ago

              “I was a dick and scared/bullied my animal into not doing something! Works like a charm!”

              Same shit as spanking. Yeah I know the animal wasn’t permanently physically harmed, but you have taught it to fear you with the threat of physical violence… sure it can be effective, but is that what you want to impart on the world? Meh. You know what else is effective? Training your dog properly.

              I should also note that grooming is a self-soothing behavior that makes your dog feel better. Imagine being smacked every time you took some deep breaths etc. If having an animal annoys you, maybe you shouldn’t have the animal you are not equipped to deal with.

    • squiblet@kbin.social
      1·
      11 months ago

      I had great success with construction/shooting range ear muffs. Great for noisy hotels, also.

  • AphoticDev@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    2·
    11 months ago

    Listen, real talk. Doesn’t matter how you identify, you’re just jealous because you can’t also lick your own genitals.

  • TechDiver@kbin.social
    32·
    11 months ago

    Da hell? My cat licking itself while sitting on me while i try to fall asleep is the most soothing thing ever