CNAPSA)—Ifyour cat can shake hands, open the refrigerator door, answer the telephone or perform any other cool trick, his/her talent could earn you $10,000 in cold cash. However, if you’re hike the majority of cat owners, your pet’s only talent may be to avoid falling off the sofa while asleep. However, with some simple guidelines and a hetter understanding of your cat's instinctive nature, any cat can be taught new tricks. “Tn general, people bave developed the notion that a cat’s independent nature makes them virteally impossible to train. That’s why we're all so amazed when a cat can be taught te perform a trick,” said celebrity animal trainer Joel Silverman, who has been training animals for movies, television shows, commercials and theme park performances for more than 30 years. “People need to realize that a cat’s indifference doesn’t mean they can’t learn cool tricks; it simply means you haven’t convineed them yet that doing so is in their best interest.” As one of the leading manufacturers of cat litter products, Arm & Hammer worked with Silverman te develop a series of training tips: * Know your cat—Remember that in training cats, a cat is totally different than a dog. A cat needs a “paycheck” to be motivated, so determine early on what imspires yourcat. Find a favorite food— Felines are highly food motivated, so you need to come up with a tasty reward that gets the cat running into the kitchen. * Keep your cool—tf you are trying to teach your cat to do something, and it isn’t responding, one of the worst things you can do is punish the cat. Simply repeat a behavior, and reward your cat while it is doing thetrick. You can teach an old cat new tricks, and then showcase your fabulous feline in a new contest. As part of the Arm & Hammer Coolest Cat Trick Contest, people can submit videotapes of their cats performing their coolest cat tricks. Tapes must be no longer than three minutes in length, and should be accompanied by a piece of paper with a deseription (50 words or less} of the cat’s trick. Entries will be judged on originality, degree of trick difficulty, general appeal and written description of the trick. Videotapes and descriptions should be sent to Arm & Hammer Coolest Cat Trick Contest, PMI Station, P.O. Box 3481, Southbury, CT 06488-3581. Entries must be received by August 31, 2002. Ten semifinalists will receive one year of free Arm & Hammer Crystal Blend cat hitter, as well as a complimentary subscription to a popular cat magazine. Three fimalists will be flown to NewYork City for a “cool” time on the town and the national competition to vie for the title of “America’s Coolest Cat.” The grand prize winner will collect $10,000 and a Cool Cat trophy. For complete contest rules, visit www.armhammercathtter.com.
