| How to Break Your Cat's Cycle of Xenophobia (Fear of Strangers) Posted: 23 Mar 2016 05:00 PM PDT Sometimes cats that aren't necessarily bothered by changes within the house can react problematically with the arrival of company. The problem may not have been caused by lack of social interaction with enough people when it was a kitten, but it might be brought about by a single unfortunate troubling experience with a noisy, frightening, and unkind guest who unwittingly taught the cat to avoid all contact with future strangers, thus resulting in xenophobia or the fear of strangers. If you're lost about how to solve this dilemma with your cat being afraid of people coming over, read on.
EditRestraint Method - Block the cat from attempting to escape or avoid exposure to the challenge that is being presented to it. When the cat succeeds in escaping, besides protecting it from the danger he perceives it to be, it's enabling him to learn how to cope on his own. Put the cat on a leash (if the cat is comfortable with wearing a harness or collar) or keep the cat in a portable cage for little amounts of time. This is so he can be around the guests. The remainder of these steps will assume you're using a cage.
- Place the cage in the room where people are often invited to sit and relax before the guests arrive. This helps your cat familiarize itself in this certain room.
- Choose your guest carefully. The more guests there are, the better, but the cat should start by having guests around that he knows, like family members. Ideally, they should be patient people, who have cats of their own and aren't scared of cats in any way.
- Have the guests ring the doorbell instead of using a key. The cat's first reaction is the alarm and he usually attempts to escape. But the cage prevents him from doing so. Have the guest enter the house and you'll see the cat calm down quickly. Having the guest repeat this process should help the cat associate with getting used to the doorbell and having non-threatening guests around.
- Have the guests sit in the room with the cat, at a short distance from him. It's also important that the cat gets used to having their presence around him in gradual stages over time. Since his cage has protected him from avoiding everybody, he should settle down quickly.
- Progress can be sped up by quelling the cat's nervousness and overreactions with a small sedative treatment like Valium, but only under the direction of your veterinarian. However, it is very important that the cat doesn't become dependent on drugs. You should withdraw giving the sedative after a few days, so his tolerance is increasingly learned, and decreasingly drug dependent. The drugs are simply a vehicle for exposing the sufferer to his problem. On or off drugs, and with frequent exposure to as many different people as possible under good conditions, the cat should soon view its territory as neutral space and "outside" company in it no longer a threat.
- This next step is a little more invasive toward the cat. Ask the guests to sit more closely to the cat's cage, a little at a time, so he can become familiar with their presence. The guests should not attempt to touch or speak to the cat until he's comfortable with their presence.
- Remove the cat from his cage and restrain him with a harness or leash when visitors arrive. They should offer food like before. Holding the cat, approach your guests. This however, should be done calmly and slowly so he doesn't go into a state of panic like he used to before. Make sure the guests will also be calm and kind to the cat. Over time, you can allow the guests to stroke and pet him. It may not be alright to let the guest hold the cat because holding is considered an enclosing action denying him escape and this requires his full confidence.
- It may be a good idea to have the guest approach the cat face to face at his level instead of intimidating him by bending over him. If your guest refrains from getting on the floor, place the cat either on the leash, on top of cage, or onto a table should be fine since this brings them to eye level with each other. Please do make sure, however, all visitors are safe and prepared if the cat decides to lash out and attack out of fear.
EditNo Restraint Method - Provide the cat with a safe area to go to before the strangers arrive. This is an area where the cat can completely avoid guests. Put water, food, and a litter box there. Put the cat there and let her remain there while guests come over. That way, the cat can stop associating the presence of guests in the home with anxiety.
- Find your cat's "starting distance". Have a (patient) guest come as close as he or she can to your cat before the cat displays any signs of anxiety or aggression.
- Ask the guest to remain motionless (standing or sitting). Bring the cat out of the safe area and put her at the starting distance.
- If the cat remains calm, reward her behavior with treats, play, or petting and attention for a few minutes, then put her back in the safe area. You can repeat this exercise a few times while your guest is visiting.
- If the cat seems uncomfortable, move her further away until she is calm, and reward her as just outlined.
- Decrease the distance by a few inches. Keep doing these sessions, each time watching your cat carefully, and increasing the distance if she becomes anxious. Eventually, the cat will be calm enough to remain within arm's reach of the guest.
- Anti-anxiety medication can help with this process also.
- Find the starting distance for when your guest is not motionless. Ask your guest to pace back and forth or make any movement that you want your cat to get accustomed to. You may find that the starting distance is longer - some cats are more timid about movement. Repeat the exercises with your guest moving so that your cat becomes desensitized.
- This process can take some time, so be patient.
- Do not rush the process, as it might affect the chances of the Xenophobia being broken.
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| How to Read a Book Which Isn't Written in Your Native Language Posted: 23 Mar 2016 09:00 AM PDT If you can follow a conversation or write short texts without using a dictionary, you're ready to read a book in another language. This will be difficult at first, but don't let that bury the sheer pleasure of reading. It's more important to enjoy the book and the language than to understand every detail of the plot or grammar. EditGetting Started - Start with something short and fun. Unless a specific book was assigned to you, always pick a book you enjoy. Children's picture books are great beginner choices, moving on to children's chapter books and comic books. Intermediate readers can try a young adult novel, pulp fiction, or interesting blogs and articles. Classic literature tends to use old-fashioned language and difficult grammar. It's best to save that for a later attempt.
- Avoid books aimed at foreigners learning the language. These tend to be very boring.
- It can help if you're already familiar with the subject matter. Classic fairy tales are a good choice for this reason, as are books you've already read in your own language.
- If children's books bore you, find a book with side-by-side printings in two languages. Try only to refer to your native language text when you're truly lost.
- Find a friend to read with. If you can, do at least part of your reading together with a conversation partner, teacher, or native speaker. Even someone at a similar level of language ability can help you unpack difficult sentences and stay motivated to continue.
- Consider reading aloud. Speaking and listening are important for learning a language as well. Practice these skills by reading some passages aloud. If you're reading with a conversation partner, take turns reading aloud.
- Pick out as much as you can from context. Don't rush to the dictionary every time you don't know a word. Read the rest of the paragraph and see if you can figure out the general meaning from context. Only look up a word if you can't make sense of the passage without it, or if you see the word appear many times in the story. While difficult at first, this active effort increases your understanding of the vocabulary and language.
- Use a fast access dictionary. A pocket dictionary or electronic dictionary lets you look up words much faster than a comprehensive printed source. Just don't give in to the temptation to look up every word.
- Pause and summarize. Periodically stop and summarize what just happened. If you're not sure or it doesn't make sense, you may want to go back and try again.
- Take notes if necessary. If you're serious about learning the language, keep a small notebook around as you read. Jot down vocabulary and idioms you'd like to remember, or unusual grammar you'd like to ask someone about. This helps you expand your knowledge without much interruption of your reading.
- If you don't understand an idiom or informal phrase, an online search can be more helpful than a dictionary.
EditImproving Your Reading Skills - Set yourself goals. Even a fun book can be difficult to read. Setting a daily goal is a great way to keep yourself on track.
- One or two pages per day is a very reasonable goal for a beginner. Increase this as your skills improve.
- Switch books to match your interest. If a book is losing your interest, find something different. This may mean the book is too easy or too difficult to hold your attention, or just that you're not enjoying it. Move on to a different author or genre if you're not excited by the subject matter or plot.
- Expose yourself to new types of writing. If you want a broad understanding of the language, read at least two types of language: formal writing and colloquial conversation. News articles are a good middle ground that can teach you contemporary speech with fairly formal grammar.
- Move away from translation. Everyone who learns a foreign language begins by translating every sentence back to their native tongue. As your language skills improve, you'll start to bypass this and understand it without translation. Keep this in mind as you become an experienced reader, and resist the urge to think in your native language.
- If you can't yet read quickly enough to keep your interest, start by watching foreign films instead. Turn on the subtitles in the same language as the audio, so you can practice both reading and listening.
- Books written in that language expose you to another culture and literary tradition. If you only read works in translation, you're missing out on part of the experience.
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| How to Get Rid of the Smell of Garlic Posted: 23 Mar 2016 01:00 AM PDT Love the taste of garlic, but hate the lingering smell? Here are some tips on how to remove the odor of garlic. Choose one that best fits for the condition. EditRemoving the Smell From Your Hands - Rub or spray your hands with lemon (or other citrus fruit) juice.
- Make your own citrus spray by adding the grated rind (peel) of any citrus fruit (e.g. lemon, orange, grapefruit) to hot water. Allow to cool, then strain the water into a spray bottle.
- Rub your hands on stainless steel or use a "steel soap." In theory, the steel reacts with the sulfur in garlic neutralizing the smell. This works for some and not for others.
- Use soap and stainless steel. Apply soap to your hands and use a clean stainless steel spoon to rub it all over your hands, even in between fingers.
EditRemoving the Smell From Your Breath - Realize that the smell of garlic may stay in your lungs for 24-48 hours (1-2 days) after you eat it. The solution to getting rid of garlic breath isn't as simple as washing your mouth out or brushing your teeth since the garlic smell, isn't just in your mouth.
- Chew on some fresh parsley or mint leaves.
- Drink some green tea or cinnamon tea.
- Drink lemonade, or eat a lemon. Meyer lemons are sweet enough to be eaten like fruit. Use homemade lemonade because store-bought lemonades tend to have very little lemon juice in them.
- Run a stainless steel teaspoon all around inside your mouth. Touch all the skin surfaces, including the entire tongue and the sides! Turn the spoon upside down to get your tongue all the way back.
EditRemoving the Smell From Wood Cutting Boards - Use dish detergent.
- Soak the board in very hot water. Do not allow the board to soak for hours (or overnight) as the board may warp.
- Squirt undiluted dish detergent on the wet board.
- Scrub the entire board thoroughly with a scouring pad or brush.
- Rinse off the board with hot water and leave to dry. A thoroughly well-scrubbed board will not smell when it's dry.
- Use salt or baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and lemon.
- Rinse off your cutting board.
- Sprinkle the salt or baking soda on the board.
- Use half a lemon to rub the salt / soda into the board.
- Rinse the board and allow to dry thoroughly.
EditRemoving the Smell From Your Home - Open the windows and use air freshener. If you have extraction fans, turn them on.
- Place a small bowl or saucer of baking soda in the affected room (or fridge or cupboard).
- For removing odors, you want baking soda (which is the same as bicarbonate of soda). Baking powder, however, is not the same thing.
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