Training a cat to do something? Sounds a bit bizarre and unrealistic. But think like a Southerner. Most of the time, we don’t assume cats are that bright, but it’s absolutely possible to use the available opportunities to get them to do more than just knocking things off tables.
Isn’t it great that we can call our cats and they come to us, or even use the toilet? Well, that’s a tall order, so how about we take a look at some more useful tips!
Understanding The Cat’s Perspective
Oh before I forget, talking about training, your cat has a thought process that is very different from yours, and to make them understand what you want to achieve, it’s important to make them understand the reason behind it.
Cats pretty much live life how they want to, which is not the case with dogs, so please do not expect your dumdum fluff ball to like pleasing you (such as a dog would). They are pretty much these spoiled little furry superpowers capable of purring.
What do you think is your cats source of motivation?… toys, treats or basking in sunlight? Every cat has its likes and dislikes.
A piece of tuna is so delectable to my cat, Fluffy, that she would sell her soul for it—or perhaps, sell it to me while pretending to ignore me entirely with a feather toy she has grown bored of.
This type of thinking is important to grasp since it will help you formulate how to structure your training sessions into bite sized portions.
Moving on to something else, patience: a lot of it. This is not something that is going to happen in a day or even a week; you should prepare yourself mentally for a long training season.
Fluffy clearly knows how to use ‘Sit’ command but would rather take a nap mid session instead; A nap it is then. After all who does not love napping.
Positive Reinforcement: The Key to Success
One thing I’d state if I were to give a bit of advice in a one-liner would be to exercise positive reinforcement.
It is strange but imagine the alternative, if everybody was able to say something like “It’s a great day, let’s do some exercises and have a blast” instead of telling someone they’re wrong for not doing the given task.
This really is how things should be, And how most people are able to cope with their tasks “by doing things correctly” without needing to be ridiculed.
It goes back to this quote, since everybody loves to be rewarded, Fluffy loves to be given a treat. And since everybody has a favorite treat, Fluffy too has one, and snapping her favorite treat would finally make her stand up.
However, once she does stand up, ensure you treat her immediately since it will help her understand that standing up has its advantages.
All of these principles apply when managing a persistent technique where timing is most crucial. If you want to encourage your kitten to sit down, then reward them a few seconds after they have done it.
If a long period of time passes, such as her dinner, she will most likely not associate the beginning of the action with the ending. . It’s very improbable that the kitten even grazed the thought of performing the task.
Short Sessions: Mind the Concentration Limits
Let’s see… cats are not the world’s most mysterious creatures; the poor things cut a rather pitiful figure, when compared to goldfish in concentration!
It’s best to do it in bits and pieces; a maximum of around five minutes should suffice, One would discover that the lesser the duration, lesser the chances of Flufff getting, and you too, manic with boredom. In this way, dry gulches will be avoided.
In these few minutes, tackle only one command. It would be quite amusing but rather unproductive to trying to get her to ‘sit’ whilst also dealing with performing ‘high five’, as both of you would simply amuse themselves with her waving her paw about, attempting to push ‘sit’ away.
And the other also regarding soggy confusion… everyone better also use the same commands; be it “come” – “stay” – “no!” – it doesn’t matter. To spare poor Fluffy from the trouble of assuming every member of the family has a slightly varied vocabulary, everyone should use the same words.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
All things considered, any training session is most likely to not go optimally well: it is just the reality even in the best of homes with loveable kitties and well-meaning humans alike!
So, what do you do if Fluffy seems to be more focused on catching dust bunnies instead of learning new skills?
To be fair, sometimes, distractions can be the fastest route to defeat and perhaps even faster than the mention of ‘catnip.’
Respectfully speaking, when external stressors such as the sound of kids playing outside, or other pets running all over indoors, it might be worth considering shifting the training to another time or place when Fluffy is more likely to be able to concentrate better.
On the other hand, keep also in mind that each kitty has its set of habits, some would take a while, other may not ever be able to learn something just because they are simply overly stubborn, a habit I do know all too well that cats have.
In such situations, your patience is so much more precious… once again!
Last-but-not-least-and this advice comes straight from my cat training days as an amateur one- one must never forget that little victories aid in building the momentum!
Even though Fluffy may over some commands not be able to follow up on them perfectly and do so on the first try, it would still be enough to not be a cause to the frustrations as there are and will be smaller successes made along the way, thus raising the motivation for both parties!
Suggested Resources:
The Cat Behavior Answer Book
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Behavior-Answer-Book/dp/1592531811
Clicker Training for Cats
https://www.clickertraining.com/cats
Feline Training Basics
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/feline-training-basics