Feline Friday: NEW Weekly Post! Cat Training Tips

I have decided to add a weekly segment on cat-related things. I want to focus on training of course, but Feline Fridays may also include posts on cat behavior or links to cat-related articles.

"We need to talk. Your blog is lacking in feline-related posts."

I will kick off our new Feline Friday segment with a brief post on cat training. Yes, it IS possible to train your cat! But there is definitely an art to cat training. Cats are certainly not dogs. They learn differently than dogs. Their motivation is different. I like to joke that the trick to training a cat is to make the cat believe he is training YOU! Cats take great pride in knowing that they have successfully trained their human to dispense a tasty treat when they cue them with a paw lift or a sit. In reality, cats are rarely motivated by a desire to please their human (unlike dogs). But like dogs, cats will work for the right treat. Which brings me to my first tip...

Tip #1: "Crack, not crackers." If you read my post yesterday about engaging your dog in a training session, you may remember this saying. Again, I apologize for the drug reference. But we want our animals to be absolutely ecstatic about their treats! This holds especially true for cats, who rarely care about pleasing their human. If your cat isn't excited about that piece of food in your hand, you're unlikely to get very far. The trick to training any animal with food is to find that "high-value" treat. Like dogs, cats typically find smelly, high-protein, high-calorie treats to be the highest value. I personally love dried bonito flakes. They are cheap, come in large tubs, contain only one ingredient (tuna), and are easy to break into smaller pieces for training. But you can use any food item that is safe for kitty consumption as long as your cat is excited to work for it. 

Tip #2: Follow that treat! I have found lure training to be very effective when working with cats. Lure training is when we use a piece of food or toy to get an animal to move in a way that we want. The key is to get kitty's nose right on the treat. Then eventually fade the lure by holding the treat in the other hand and moving your original treating hand as though you still have a treat. This hand movement then becomes the cue (more on that in another post).

Tip #3: Clicks for Kitty! I have also found clicker training to be highly effective when working with cats. Communication is especially important with cats, who will easily get bored and trot off if they get too frustrated. Which brings me to the next tip...

Tip #4: No mad faces during cat training! Cats aren't generally considered as intuitive as dogs when it comes to human emotions. But it is always a good idea to avoid training an animal when you are frustrated, upset, etc. The same goes for the cat! Try to end your training sessions before you or your cat gets frustrated. Also, avoid training Kitty when she seems like she is in a bad mood. Oh, and never use fear, intimidation, or pain to train your cat! This is true for any animal, but especially for your cat. Even yelling at Kitty may turn her off to training! 

Tip #5: Keep it short...really short! So in our last post, we talked about keeping our dog training sessions short to ensure that Fido stays actively engaged in the lesson. This is also extremely important in cat training. With dogs, I recommend keeping your sessions between five and ten minutes long. With cats, I recommend trying to keep your sessions under five minutes long. Cats have extremely short attention spans. If you bore your dog with a long training session, he may start to tune you out a bit. He may get distracted by a nearby toy, or decide that he reeeeally needs to scratch behind his right ear for awhile. Cats, on the other hand, rarely tolerate being bored. They will turn tail and trot off! So keep your cat training sessions as short as possible, end on a high note, and leave your cat wanting more. 

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed our first Feline Friday post. As always, thanks for reading!