Content
- Choose the proper name
- Things to be aware of
- How to teach your cat to recognize the name?
- Care to use your name
It may be difficult for you to know how raise a cat and, even more, know how to teach him to come to you when you call him by his name, but believe that it is not something that complicated if you use the right stimuli to motivate your feline to learn.
The two things that give the cats the most pleasure are food and affection, so you just have to know how to use them to always train with positive reinforcement and for your pet to associate your name with a pleasant experience.
Cats are very intelligent animals that learn easily, so if you keep reading this PeritoAnimal article about how teach your cat a name, I'm sure that sooner or later you'll get it.
Choose the proper name
To teach your cat a name, you first need to choose it properly. Please note that the name you choose must be simple, short and without more than one word to facilitate your learning. In addition, it should also be an easy name to pronounce so that the feline associates it correctly and cannot resemble any other order of training it was taught, so there is no chance of getting confused.
It is recommended to call your cat always the same way, without using diminutives and always with the same tone of voice, to make it easier to understand that you are referring to him.
The normal thing is to choose your cat's name based on its physical characteristics or a specific personality trait, but in reality, as long as you follow the above rules, you can choose the name for your cat that you like best.
If you haven't made up your mind and are looking for a name for your cat, here are some articles that may help you:
- Names for female cats
- Names for very unique male cats
- Names for orange cats
- Names of famous cats
Things to be aware of
Although the vast majority of people believe that cats cannot be trained, the truth is that they are animals very smart and very easy to learn if you give him the right stimulus. They are fast as dogs, but what happens is that their independent, curious and detached character makes it harder to get their attention, but in reality we just need to find a way to motivate them, just like you teach a puppy to recognize your name.
When educating a cat, the ideal is to start doing it as soon as possible, especially in the first 6 months of life, which is when the feline has more capacity for learning as it is in full socialization phase.
The stimuli that cats like the most are the food and the affection, so this is what you're going to use to catch their attention and teach them your name. The food you give him will act as a "reward", he should not be given it daily, it should be some special treat that we know he likes and that is irresistible for your pet, as learning will be much more efficient.
The most appropriate time to teach your cat the name is when it is more receptive, that is, when you see that you are not distracted, playing with something alone or resting after eating, without being nervous, etc... because in these moments it will not be able to capture their interest and it will be impossible to carry out the training.
If your cat has not been socialized correctly or has had a psychological problem, it may be more difficult to learn its name, but any cat is capable of doing this if the right stimuli and motivations are used. Especially when they understand that after they've done something well, you give them a reward in the form of a treat.
How to teach your cat to recognize the name?
As mentioned earlier, the key to teaching your cat the name is positive reinforcement, so the first thing you need to do to start training is to choose the tasty treats you'll use as a reward.
Then start calling the cat by its name by clearly pronouncing it from a distance of less than 50 centimeters and with a soft, affectionate tone to associate your name with something nice. This is very important, as we have to get our feline to relate this sound with situations of pleasure, positive and fun to do what he wants and come to you when you call him.
Then, if you managed to get your feline's attention and get it to look at you, give him the reward in the form of a candy. If he hasn't looked at you, then don't give him anything, that way he'll know that he'll only get his reward when he pays attention to you.
If, in addition to looking at you, your cat approached you when you called it by name, then you should give it in addition to treats, caresses and pampering, which are another of the most positive stimuli to understand that we are happy for the their behavior. Thus, little by little, the animal will associate the sound of its name with pleasant experiences for it. On the other hand, if he looks at you but doesn't come to you, then move closer to him to remind him of what awaits him as a reward if he does.
It is important that you know that with 3 or 4 times per hour you do this exercise is enough to not upset the cat and get the message. What you can do is teach your cat the name every day and take advantage of any pleasant moment, such as when you put food on her plate, to call her name and reinforce that word even more.
As you see that the cat is learning his name, we can move closer and closer to call him, and if he goes to us, then we should reward him with treats and treats to make him understand that he did well. Otherwise, we shouldn't reward him and we should keep trying with patience and perseverance, but always careful not to tire the pet.
Care to use your name
Negative stimuli are much more effective than positive stimuli in cats, so just a single negative can end the exercise of many positives, so it's important do not use your name to call him in vain or at any negative time, like for example have to scold him for something.
The only thing you'll get by calling him to come when we have to scold him is that the feline thinks we've tricked him, not only not rewarding him with a treat but also scolding him. So the next time you do the same your pet will think "I'm not going because I don't want to be scolded". If you have to scold the cat for something, it's best to approach him and use body language and a different tone of voice than normal so he knows how to tell them apart.
Please note that all members of your household must use the same name. to call your feline and should reward it in the same way you do, with food and lots of affection. Don't worry about everyone's tone of voice being different, as cats can distinguish specific sounds perfectly, so you'll be able to recognize each of your voices without any problem.
Thus, teaching your cat a name can be useful for many things, for example, to call it when you are not at home and it has hidden, to warn you of any danger or domestic accident, to call it when you run away from home or simply to let you know that you have your food ready on your plate or when you feel like interacting with him with his toys. We assure you that this exercise will serve to strengthen your bond and make your relationship better.