how to train a cat

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 25 January 2021
Update Date: 7 November 2024
Anonim
How To Train Your Cat: Beginners Start Here
Video: How To Train Your Cat: Beginners Start Here

Content

Cats are very intelligent and curious animals, with great learning ability. However, it can often seem strange to many people to teach a cat new things and tricks beyond basic obedience, given their reputation for being quite independent and self-absorbed.

However, feline training does exist, and this activity brings several benefits for your cat's well-being, as it stimulates him mentally, proposes different challenges in his daily life and, of course, enriches the relationship with the tutor. For that reason, if you are interested in knowing how to train a cat, read this article by PeritoAnimal until the end.

What is feline training

The concept of training refers to the act of carrying out a learning process with an animal, so that it learns to perform an action when indicated, using a gesture or an oral command.


This procedure is performed on all types of animals, with the intention that they learn the most varied skills and/or tricks. From small actions, such as pawing or sitting, to complex executions, such as dancing.

Differences between training and educating a cat

This term should not be confused with education, because although this concept is related to training, since both are learning processes, they have different purposes.

Education is necessary for the animal to learn to behave and adapt positively to different daily situations. For example, teaching a cat to play without hurting you implies that you are educating him to behave correctly when you play with him. You're not teaching him a specific command, as you would in training, but changing your behavior so that the game is beneficial for both of you. In this article, we don't explain how to raise a cat, but rather how to train cats so they learn specific commands.


Is it possible to train a cat?

Of course! Training is a procedure that can be used on all types of animals, whether our pets, birds, rodents and even the famous dolphins. All animals capable of learning can be trained when learning the theory of learning, specifically, the conditioning. However, it is necessary to know the needs, capabilities and behavior patterns of each species in order to have realistic goals.

However, why aren't we so familiar with this facet of cats compared to dogs? The individual characteristics of cats make them more difficult to train than dogs. In any case, the correct statement would be that dogs are much easier to train because of what they are, dogs. This is because they have lived with humans for many centuries and, as they have been our companions for so long, they have shaped their cognition, having a much more adaptable mind and an interest in pleasing us as well as learning, which is why they have been used for a variety of jobs and we know more about the facet of dog training.


Cats, on the other hand, are much more instinctive, don't need to please us and they were not required to become prone to learn, because they were not needed over time to do specific work. These animals only became our pets because they were originally used to ward off rats, a purpose for which there is no need to train them since they already do it themselves.

how to train a cat

Training a cat is a process that will require consistency, patience and understanding of feline behavior. The guidelines you should consider are as follows:

short sessions

The time you spend training your cat should not exceed 15 minutes, several days a week. That's because your cat is sure to lose interest easily, especially if you've recently started training her.

For this reason, the ideal is to end the session before your cat starts ignoring you or getting distracted. You should always ensure that your cat stays motivated throughout the session, and that you end the session, not him, when he's tired.

Awards and Motivation

It is unthinkable to train a cat without using the positive reinforcement, that is, without giving a very valuable prize each time he performs the desired action. That's because the prize will motivate your cat to learn and pay attention to you.

The prize in question must be something he only gets during the training session (therefore, they are not worth petting or your ration), something really valuable that the cat will associate with these sessions, such as wet food, slices of ham, malt for cats...

Lastly, in many of the tricks you can teach your cat, the prize will serve as a guide to follow in getting her to move in the way you want to reach a specific position.

easy goals

During training, you should set small goals that gradually approach the final goal, which is technically known in training as increase criterion.

What does that mean? For example, if you want to teach your cat to stand on its two hind legs, you must first reward any lift it does with its front legs, and progressively increase the difficulty, rewarding the cat every time he makes progress. That is, reward when he raises one paw, then reward when he raises two paws, and then how much to keep them raised for a few seconds, when he lifts his body, etc. So you can't want your cat to be able to stand on its hind legs from the start, because it won't understand you and it won't, and it will end up frustrated.

Avoid physical manipulation and punishment

We often tend to pick up and move the animal like a puppet to teach it how to perform a trick. This procedure is not fully effective because, because of the way it learns, the animal does not understand that it needs to adopt a position that we force it into, but perform an action to get a backup, ie the prize.

Using physical manipulation on cats is much more contradictory, as although dogs, depending on their personality, can tolerate manipulation to a lesser or greater degree (for example, when you take their paw to teach them how to give a paw), the cat just hates it. For these animals, getting caught is something instinctively seen as a threat, so the training session that should be motivating and fun for the feline turns out to be unpleasant.

Likewise, punishing your cat to learn is simply unfeasible, because he won't understand and that will generate distrust, something completely counterproductive if what you want is for your cat to want to be with you and trust you, so that he can learn new things.

Gesture and verbal command

To teach your cat to perform an action after asking with a verbal command, you must first teach him to obey the gesture, as they usually find it easier to learn to obey the visual commands.

then you must associate this gesture with an auditory stimulus, that is, a short and clear word, which must always be the same and in the same tone of voice so as not to create confusion.

understand your cat

Teaching a young cat is not the same thing as teaching an adult; in the same way, you shouldn't have the same goals for a tame cat as for a skittish cat. The limit to what you can and cannot teach your cat will be your well being. That is, if teaching your cat something implies that it will suffer stress and/or physical pain, due to age, some illness or its personality... you should simply stop teaching this trick and look for a simpler one, or, obviously, that does not cause discomfort to the cat, as training should be an activity that benefits both.

Use of clicker

The clicker is a very useful tool used in training all kinds of animals, as it allows you to teach all kinds of tricks and the most spectacular skills, while respecting their natural behavior.

It consists of a small box (it fits perfectly in the hand) with a button, which each time you press, it emits a "click" sound and serves to tell the animal what it is doing well, so that it repeats the behavior.

To use this tool, you must first load the clicker. This step consists of associating the “click” sound with positive reinforcement. For this reason, in the first few days of training, you should just teach him this association to create a good foundation for training. To do this, give your cat a prize and, every time you do, make the sound. That way, your cat will understand that every time the "click" sounds, you will reward him.

Tricks to teach your cat

With the use of the clicker, there are many possibilities for what you can teach your cat. In fact, any behavior your cat normally performs, like meowing, for example, can be associated with a command if you make a gesture (visual stimulus), click when he performs the action, and instantly reward him. Your cat will consistently associate this gesture with the action you just performed.

Let's learn how to train cats? To start training your feline, we recommend that you teach it simple tricks:

How to teach a cat to sit

  1. Have the clicker in one hand and the prize in the other.
  2. Raise the prize above your cat's head.
  3. Your cat will sit and/or lean back. Click the clicker and give him the prize quickly.
  4. Insist for several sessions until your cat is fully seated and associate raising the prize above her head with sitting. When he has done this, associate this action with a clear oral command such as "sit" or "sit".

For more information, you can refer to this other article on how to teach a cat to sit.

How to teach a cat to lie down

  1. Have the clicker in one hand and the prize in the other.
  2. Ask the cat to sit down.
  3. Drag the prize from under your head to the ground.
  4. Your cat will begin to lean its body towards the ground. "Click" with the clicker and quickly give him the prize whenever he approaches the lying position. With insistence, you will get him to end up stretching.
  5. Once your cat understands the gesture, you should associate it with an oral command such as "down" or "ground."

How to teach a cat to get around

  1. Have the clicker in one hand and the prize in the other.
  2. Ask him to lie down on the floor.
  3. Drag the prize over your back from one side of your body (side) to the other.
  4. Your cat will follow the prize with its head, turning its body from side to side. Click with the clicker and quickly give the prize.
  5. When your cat understands the gesture, associate it with an oral command such as "turn" or "turn".

How to teach a cat to stand on two legs

  1. Have the clicker in one hand and the prize in the other.
  2. Ask the cat to sit down.
  3. Drag the prize above your head so that it follows you, lifting off the ground.
  4. Reward him when he does the slightest lift off the ground (even if it's just a paw), using the clicker and handing out the prize. Keep increasing this criterion progressively.
  5. Once he learns to lift his front legs, gradually increase the amount of time he must hold (ie first one second, then two, etc.).
  6. When your cat understands the gesture, associate it with an oral command, such as "standing."

If you liked this article, also check out our video that explains how to gain your feline's trust: