You will love these tips! 30 Tricks To Teach Your Cat

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You will love these tips! 30 Tricks To Teach Your Cat

People often hear the words "cat training" and think that there is no way to train your cat. The truth is, cats CAN be trained and it's very easy to get started.

Some might say it's even easier than training dogs!

Whether you're looking to correct problem behaviors, teach some obedience skills, or train your cat to learn fun tricks, cat training is an enriching, rewarding, and fun activity that you can both enjoy together.

7 tips for training cats

Great, now you have the recommended tools and materials and have chosen your training path. It's time to start!

1. Start with something easy

As with anything new, it's important to start with the basics first. As tempting as it may be to start training your cat to jump through a hoop, it will most likely end in frustration for both of you.

Start with some simple skills to show your cat that training is fun and easy.

Teaching your cat that a "click" means a treat is the first step in clicker training. Once your cat understands the click, try teaching it to sit.

Target training is also a good skill for beginners. By starting with these basic skills, you will be well prepared to progress to more advanced behaviors.

2. Keep training sessions short

It can be difficult to keep a cat's attention when he's new to training. Shorter sessions will keep your cat focused and prevent him from losing interest or becoming frustrated.

When your cat is just starting out, we recommend starting with 3-5 minute sessions once or twice a day.

Short but frequent and consistent training sessions will be much more effective than longer ones.

For example, having two to three 5-minute training sessions in a day is often better than one 15-minute session.

As your cat progresses, you can increase the length of your training sessions. If possible, try to end your session on a positive note before your cat loses interest.

3. Eliminate any distractions

Choose a quiet area of your home for your cat's training sessions, a place with as few distractions as possible.

Family members, other pets, and noise can be quite distracting and your cat may not be able to concentrate.

If you have other pets, lock them in another room in the house so you and your cat can focus on each other and train.

While there are strategies for training multiple cats at the same time, it's best to start with just one cat at a time.

4. Reward immediately and consistently

The clicker takes a photo of the correct behavior and lets your cat know which behavior earned the reward.

For clicker training to work properly, it's critical to click at the exact moment your cat performs the desired behavior.

Since the click is a promise of reward, it is always necessary to give your cat a treat after the click.

Behavior that is rewarded is repeated, so once your cat knows which behavior is earning him treats, he will start offering that behavior, making it easier for you to add a cue along the way.

5. Find the right reward

There is no magic, universal training treatment. Just like with humans, different cats have different treat preferences.

Some may prefer dry treats or kibble, while others prefer wet food or squeezable treats. It is good to have several treats that serve your cat.

You may also find that your cat is willing to perform easy behaviors for one type of treat, but requires a higher value treat for more difficult behaviors.

A high value candy does not necessarily mean a more expensive candy. It is just a gift that your cat considers special.

Again, this will be different for every cat, but it will usually be something they don't get very often.

For example, if your cat only eats wet food at her regular meals, she might view dry food as something extra special!

6. Don't punish bad behavior

As a general rule, cats do not respond well to punishment. Punishing your cat can cause stress and anxiety, as well as undermine the sense of trust you're building.

Some cats even view punishment as a reward – negative attention is attention, after all!

Clicker training is all about positive reinforcement.

The idea is to always reward the desired behaviors. When your cat behaves negatively, you should try to redirect or distract your cat instead of punishing it.

Better yet, find out why your cat is doing this behavior and try to avoid it or teach it an alternative behavior.

For example, if your cat is scratching on the sofa, the goal is to teach her to scratch a more suitable option.

7. Be consistent with your suggestions

To avoid confusion, always use the same voice commands and hand signals for the behavior you are working on.

Make sure that anyone else training your cat also knows the correct commands and signals.

8. Train on time

Training requires a lot of attention from your cat, so you need to be strategic when conducting your training sessions.

After a nap or first thing in the morning is usually a good time, as your cat will be rested and ready for an activity.

Right before meals is also great, because your cat will be more willing to work for his rewards if he's a little hungry.

If your cat tends to be active at bedtime, you can give him a training session before bedtime to help him tire himself out, too.

9. Involve others

If you have other members in your household, it is beneficial to include them in the training process for your cat.

This is especially important if you are working on training unwanted behaviors.

All family members should know the method and purpose of the training so that they, too, can correctly and consistently deal with misbehavior when it arises.

Enjoy This Video Tutorial About Cats

Source: Cat School Clicker Training

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