One day, while training the dog to do tricks, and my wife’s cat was laying on the deck banister watching. I found myself wondering if I could teach her how to do the same tricks that I had been working with my dog on. The idea, though unconventional, especially since I did not know anyone else who had trained a cat, was really interesting to me, so I decided to see if I could train the cat. I will be providing instructions on how to train this cat and there will be six steps involved in training the cat.
Items needed to accomplish training the cat are a clicker or any other devise that can be used to make a specific sound that the cat can identify for the learning process. Treats are necessary because you need the cat to be motivated to learn and they, like dogs, think with their stomach’s.
I also needed, what I would consider the most important item, the cat. The cat should not be over seven years old as cat’s tend to become more set in their ways after a certain age and this is the number that I came up with after attempting to train our other cat after the younger one had been taught.
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The first step was to get the cat in a quiet place so that the cat would not become distracted by any other stimuli during the training process. This step is due to the short attention span of the feline species.
The second step of the process is to find a way to get the cat interested in the process. This step can be accomplished by making a distinct sound that the cat can associate with a desired response and then providing a treat directly afterward.
The third step was to get the kitten to learn a specific hand signal, almost like sign language, to do the specific trick that is being taught, while also saying the command. By using the “sign” language, I was giving the cat an extra cue to help her remember what she was supposed to be doing.
The fourth step was to get the cat to understand what the command meant. Using “sit” as an example, I held the treat above her head, and it caused her hind quarters to naturally lower toward the ground.
The fifth step was to apply some pressure to the cat’s find quarters so that she was in a completed sitting position.
The sixth step is to make sure that throughout the entire process, the cat is getting clicked at. An example of this would be the cat is in a quiet room and I clicked the clicker, she gets a treat. Once the clicker means food to the cat, I move on to signing and saying the command as well as clicking the clicker. Once this has been accepted by the cat, then the sign and command can be given along with a click of the clicker. At this point, the cat will eventually learn to associate this as pleasurable as well and then the cat will realize that saying and signing the word “sit” and sitting, and the feline will learn how to do the trick on command.
The seventh step is getting the cat to do the trick without having a treat given to her every time. This will not be a quick process as the cat is doing things to get a treat. For a few weeks, the cat should get a treat every time, at this point, the trick can be practiced often and the treat can be withheld once and a while. The treats will never completely go away because the cat will stop doing the tricks once she realizes that there is nothing in it for her.
Once the process is complete, the cat will be able to hear a command, while also seeing the visual cue and do the trick. The cat will also be able to either hear or see the cue and do the same trick with or without the other cue. The end result will lead to a well behaved, obedient cat that will go upstairs and stay when you have friends, who may be allergic to cats, over for a visit.
