Cat Tricks....

A friend from my trivia days asked if our cat (now deceased) was the cat she remembered from many years ago.....the magic rolling-over trick cat. Yes....our cat (now deceased) was trained by me to roll over for treats and wet cat food. I had never had a cat growing up, but someone once mentioned to me that cats could be trained to do tricks - so early on, I thought I would see if I could teach the cat a trick. Before I would put out wet food, I gave a command to roll over (and I showed her how to roll over the first few times). At the beginning, the cat gave me an "I hate you look" - but after a few days, the minute the wet food or treats came out, she would roll over happily. It was a great party trick (and obviously memorable) - but I always regretted not teaching the cat to do something useful, like unloading the dishwasher. In a related matter - teaching my children to do tricks? Completely unsuccessful.....