Training the Cat

The couple’s young daughter had adopted a stray cat.

To her mother’s distress, the cat began to use the back of their new sofa as a scratching post. “Don’t worry,” her husband reassured her. “I’ll have him trained in no time.”

They watched for several days as he patiently “trained” their new pet. Whenever the cat scratched, he deposited the cat outdoors to teach him a lesson.

The cat learned quickly. For the next 16 years, whenever he wanted to go outside, he scratched the back of the sofa.