#does this count as torment? possibly but idk he seems happy to be the center of attention so i know he doesnt mind

[fakeosirian]

we're trying to get ziggy to use his scratching post more because he Destroys Everything and he's only sort of food motivated BUT: easily startled/anxious and gets freaked out/stops scratching his post when we praise him too excitedly

solution: we act really excited when he scratches something he's not supposed to (so he stops and runs away lmfao), and we hide the only type of treat he likes in a place he can't see near his post (and only flavors w package colors that aren't in the visible light spectrum for him bc "can't see" re: location is not reliable with him/he can jump like 8 feet clear in the air out of nowhere) and put him on a variable ratio reinforcement schedule with it/only give sometimes (my dad and i both have psychology degrees and need to use them somehow)