Latest news with #DaveFanningShow
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
How to train your cat
Analysis: just like dogs, cats need support to adjust to living with us and simple forms of training can be good for their wellbeing By Lauren Finka, Nottingham Trent University The pandemic fuelled a rise in first-time pet owners and people adopting puppies and kittens. While even inexperienced owners expect a new puppy will need some training, people rarely think the same applies to kittens. But just like dogs, cats need support to adjust to living alongside us. Simple forms of training can be good for their wellbeing. Compared to dogs, cats share different historic relationships with humans. Cats have never been selectively bred to enhance their ability to cooperate and communicate with us, or perform working roles such as herding, hunting or guarding. But research shows they can recognise and respond to our subtle social cues and be trained to perform similar tasks to dogs. However, it's unlikely we would need a cat to "walk nicely" on a lead, or settle quietly at the pub. And cats typically need less support than dogs to master toilet training – providing the right litter tray is usually sufficient. From RTÉ 2fm's Dave Fanning Show, animal handler Charlotte Wilde on how it's possible to train cats just like dogs But we are missing a trick if we only think about training pets to make our lives easier. Myself and colleague Daniel Cummings of animal charity Cats Protection would argue that there are many possible benefits to the cat also. In a rehoming shelter, for example, training can be a useful tool to increase a cat's exploratory behaviours, positive reactions to people and maybe even their chances of being adopted. At home, we can use simple techniques to help cats with things like feeling comfortable in a cat carrier, getting used to car journeys, as well as tolerating being groomed and receiving basic health examinations and treatments. Such training can also help cats cope better with visits to the vet. What works Cats are not born with an innate affinity towards humans and must be exposed to gentle, warm handling from two weeks old so they can learn we are friend rather than foe. There is limited evidence that younger cats are more attentive to our social cues, which could mean they are more amenable to training. Kittens should also be played with using cat wands or fishing rod toys so that they learn not to attack our hands or feet. Punishments such as shouting, rough handling or using a water spray can induce stress and compromise the quality of owner-cat relationships. Always use positive reinforcement (such as treats and praise). This is not only the most effective way to train pets, but it's also better for their wellbeing. Reward-based techniques can be an excellent way to teach a cat to enter a carrier on their own or sit calmly whilst we deliver their flea treatment. Some very friendly food motivated cats may enjoy being taught to give a high five, or to sit or spin. But cats are often less motivated than dogs to pay attention to us, or do what we are asking, especially in situations where they don't feel comfortable. These factors may explain the high drop-out rates in studies that involve training cats to attend to human social cues. It's important that we make sure the cat is somewhere they feel at ease when we undertake any training with them. Always ensure the cat has the option to walk away or end the session when they want and try to give them a break if they seem uncomfortable. Signs to look for include the cat turning their head away, nose licking, head shaking, a raised paw, sudden bouts of self-grooming, looking hunched or tense, a twitching or thumping tail and rotated or flattened ears. Here's how to teach your cat enter a carrier and settle in five easy steps: Lure them onto a blanket In a place where your cat already feels safe, teach him or her to settle on a blanket. Do this by luring the cat onto the blanket using food. Reward the cat for staying on the blanket with more treats, petting or verbal praise, depending on what your cat likes most. Feed treats at nose height to encourage them into a sit position, then feed treats at ground height to encourage the cat to crouch and then eventually lay on the blanket. Introduce the carrier Once your cat has mastered step one, place the blanket on the bottom of a carrier with the lid removed. Repeat the same luring and rewarding steps. From Jaw-Dropping Mistakes, 20 common mistakes people make with their cats Take it slowly When your cat is happily resting on the blanket in the carrier, place the lid on top of the carrier (without attaching the door) and repeat the luring and rewarding process. Let your cat set the pace After your cat has happily entered the carrier and settled inside, place the door on the carrier but keep it open to start with, so that he or she doesn't suddenly feel trapped inside. Allow them to exit the carrier when they want and use treats to encourage them back in. In small movements, start to close the door slightly then open it again, each time giving the cat a treat. Build this up slowly until the door can be fully closed (for only a few seconds at first) while the cat is still comfortable. Feed the cat treats through the closed door. Almost there Work towards the cat being in the carrier with the door closed for longer periods, adding a few extra seconds each time. Keep rewarding the cat by popping treats through the sides or door of the carrier, gradually increasing the time between each treat delivery. Each training session should last no more than a few minutes in total, and some cats may prefer only one session a day. It might take lots of sessions and many days or weeks before this final step is complete.
RTÉ News
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
All you need to know about transhumanism - and how it might transform our existence
Analysis: Transhumanism might appear to be the stuff of science fiction but advances in medicine, engineering and bioscience are bringing it closer to reality "Forever young, I want to be forever young": many would agree with those lyrics from Alphaville's 1980s hit song. Indeed, who never wished to retain their youthful traits and vigour through time, defying old age and ultimately death itself? This has been the relentless mission of tech entrepreneur and billionaire Bryan Johnson for the last few years, as portrayed in the Netflix documentary Don't Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever. Johnson has been following a strict daily routine and spent millions of dollars in anti-ageing medicine, food supplements and medical procedures over the last few years with the aim of realising that goal. This in turn has sparked the 'Don't Die' movement, promoting Johnson's lifestyle and ideals, who made a business of sharing his protocol and selling his supplements on the Internet. Trailer for Don't Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever But Johnson is only one of those who have been continually advocating to push the boundaries of human existence using science and technology. Another one is Elon Musk , whose Neuralink company aims to create a brain-computer interface in order to enhance mental and physical abilities in individuals. There is in fact a name for that kind of endeavour and the ideas underpinning it: Transhumanism. It came into being in the 20th century among engineers, scientists and intellectuals like evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley (who first coined the term) and professor of 'futuristic studies' FM-2030 (whose real name was Fereidoun M. Esfandiary, but who renamed himself to suit his belief that the year 2030 would constitute a pivotal moment in human history). Transhumanism see the human being as an 'unfinished' product of evolution. It presents the overcoming of the traditional boundaries of human life—such as death, diseases, as well as other mental and physical limitations linked to our biological existence—as something not only desirable and achievable, but as an imperative per se. It aims to achieve this goal by relying on the progress of human knowledge and accompanying technological and scientific advancements. From RTÉ 2fm's Dave Fanning Show in 2017, interview with author Mark O'Connell about his book To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death These ideas are not just the preserve of a few select eccentrics and idealists and have infused popular culture, as seen by a number of recent fictional productions such as Years and Years, Altered Carbon and Black Mirror, or the creation of a Transhumanist political party in the United States. At first glance, Transhumanism's aims might appear to be mostly the stuff of science fiction, such as the integration of technology within human biology or the alteration of the human genome using sophisticated scientific methods. However, advances in the fields of medicine, engineering and bioscience like CRISPR (for which two researchers have recently won a Nobel Prize in chemistry) or nanotechnology have in reality made Transhumanist aspirations closer to reality than ever. Such advances are currently seen as having mainly medical applications. Neuralink's devices are primarily destined for quadriplegics to help them recover a sense of autonomy and CRISPR has been developed as a 'gene therapy' to treat specific diseases. However, there is absolutely no doubt that possible applications go far beyond that, effectively challenging human physical and mental limits in a way never seen before. Google's director of engineering Ray Kurzweil has predicted that humans and machines will eventually merge to create a 'superintelligence' that will bring humanity to the next phase of its evolution, leaving behind its outdated, 'carbon-based' biological existence, what is commonly referred to as the ' technological singularity '. It appears that some people are not been waiting for this event to take place in order to start transforming their own selves. An important part of the Transhumanist movement today consists of so-called ' biohackers ' and ' body hackers ' who are closely monitoring their health and bodily functions (following the example set by Johnson, the ' most measured man in human history '). These people are even implanting technological apparatuses directly into their bodies in an attempt order to extend their lifespan and increase their cognitive and physical abilities. The ethical implications of the technological and scientific transformations advanced by partisans of Transhumanism are also concerning This should come as no surprise therefore that the concept of the cyborg, until now limited to the domain of science-fiction, has come to be widely used by partisans of Transhumanism to promote their mode of life and conception of the human. As one of them, Stefan Lorenz Sorgner tells us 'we have always been cyborgs'. You may think that what Sorgner says is quite outlandish, but remember this the next time you are going on a run using your 'smart watch' to keep track of your progress, or using the AI assistant on your connected device for everyday tasks. Aren't these technologies already an integral part of ourselves, to the point that we cannot conceive our existence without them? At the same time, the increasing pervasiveness of those technologies in our everyday life as it is being promoted by Transhumanists is not without its issues. Serious concerns been raised—and rightly so—around the questions of privacy and the impact of screens and other connected interfaces on our mental health and well-being. The ethical implications of the technological and scientific transformations advanced by partisans of Transhumanism are also an issue, given that those advances could reinforce already existing social inequalities between those who can actually afford them, and those who cannot. Once those issues are taken into consideration, the question becomes not so much 'do you want to live forever?', but rather 'who can actually do so, and at what price exactly?'
