Because she’s more aware of approaching visitors, she runs to the door to greet them rather than staring out at the silent world through her “catio” screen. The training has given Jelly Bean a newfound sense of confidence. She’s also so smart that, according to Kelly, she started trying to game the game - testing how little she had to do to get the reward. “She definitely seems to get excited when it's time for training,” says Kelly Keenan Zavis, one of Jelly Bean’s caregivers. The training sessions provided an outlet for her busy mind, and the regular schedule gave her a sense of stability. She concentrated on what she could do to get a treat, and then another and another. It didn’t take her long to learn that touching her paw to her caregiver’s hand meant that the flash would go off and a dollop of wet food would soon appear. With the lights turned off and a camera flash in hand, Jelly Bean’s training began. Instead of a traditional sound-based clicker, a bright flash of light could be used as the sign of reinforcement. Jelly Bean couldn’t hear, but she could certainly see. Clicker training was out of the question because she wouldn’t be able to hear a signal indicating that she had done what was asked. Caregivers hoped that Jelly Bean would be happier if she had a productive way of burning off excess energy while getting the attention she wanted. It was clear that she liked people and wanted to be petted, but then she couldn’t handle it. Though she liked to be petted, she soon got overstimulated and her first reaction was to bite.Īt Cat World, Jelly Bean got her own quiet room where she could decompress and get help from expert behavior consultants. When she shared space with other cats, they often startled her unintentionally, not knowing she couldn’t hear them approach. As caregivers got to know her, they could see how the lack of hearing and the neurological condition affected her behavior. Jelly Bean lost her home, ended up at Cobb County Animal Control in Georgia, and from there made her way to Best Friends.
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