Trained by Ursa Major

Ursa Major, the amazing cat that adopted me in the wilds of the Nort' Country, Florence County, Wisconsin, taught me all about how to train cats.

He was both an acrobatic cat and a brighter-than-average cat. Don't get me wrong; I love all cats. Period. But some cats are unusual and Ursa would head such a list.

He loved kitty treats, any kind of kitty treat. After my wife and I taught him to scratch the first Natural Scratch, I taught to do other tricks, including dancing. For a treat, he would stand on his hind legs and dance around in a circle. Cool. Another trick he learned was to leap over an expanse of water from a boat house ledge to a dock--again for a treat. The distance was probably about four feet; he would make his way around the edge of the boat house--keeping his natural fear of water at bay-- to the ledge and then jump across to the dock. Very cool. Always for a treat.