Train a Cat? Can You Really do That? Of Course You Can!

We’ve all seen cats perform on TV. Do you think those cats have something your cat doesn’t? Probably not. Cat "actors" may be more comfortable than your cat would be in front of all the cameras and lights, but the only other advantage they have is a patient and knowledgeable trainer to work with them. In fact, you can bet that many of those cats you see on TV were rescued from a shelter.

You may not envision stardom for your cat, but you can still teach your cat a few tricks and impress your friends and family. Tricks like sit, high-five, come, stay, and jump (on or over something) are relatively easy to teach. Training is fun and will strengthen the bond between you and your feline friend. Patience and a sense of humor are key. Anger and frustration have absolutely no place in training.

Clicker Training

One great training method used for cats and many other animals is called "clicker training." This method is often used with performing marine mammals and zoo animals that need to learn to accept human handling. It involves using a specific sound IMMEDIATELY after the desired behavior is performed. The sound can be a click (you can purchase cheap clickers from pet stores or just use a click of your tongue) or it can be a key word ("yes," "good," etc.). The trick (for you!) is to make sure you use the same sound or word all the time.

The idea behind clicker training is that the click (or whatever sound you choose) serves as a "bridge" between the desired behavior and the cat’s reward (after clicking, you’ll give your cat a food treat). So the order of go is: (1) The desired behavior occurs, (2) you click and (3) you give your cat a reward.

The reason for having a bridge is simply that animals live in the present. To make it easy for them to learn, we must let them know RIGHT AWAY when they do a good thing. Say your cat sits. In the seconds it takes you to fumble around for a treat to reward her for the sit, your cat may have turned her head to look out the window. For all she knows, turning her head is what got her the reward, not sitting. But you can eliminate that confusion by clicking the moment her butt hits the floor.

Of course, clicking in itself is not a particularly motivating reward for your cat. So now you must link the click with the treat. To begin, take a few treats in your hand, sit on the floor with your cat, and just click and treat. Click and treat, click and treat, click and treat. Kitty doesn’t have to perform any special behavior here. She’s just figuring out that the click is a good thing because it means a treat will follow. This may take minutes, hours or weeks!

(By the way, training should never last for more than a few minutes at a time. To speed up progress, you can do really short training sessions several times a day. But also keep in mind how many food treats your cat is getting, and adjust her diet accordingly if necessary. In fact, you may want to use her regular food as the treat if she’ll go for that. Or talk to your veterinarian about healthy treats and a good diet for your kitty in training.)

Targeting

Once your cat associates the click with the treat, a great way to begin actually teaching her to do something is by using a target. A target is something that she’ll learn to touch with her nose (and later maybe with her paw). A stick, a dowel, or something similar will work, as long as it’s long enough for you to be standing with it in your hand and have it still reach your cat’s nose while she’s sitting on the floor. Another suggestion is to use the "wand" from one of those cat toys that has a string and feather attached. Just remove the string and feather first.

Okay, now you’ve got your target. Begin by standing or sitting with the target in your hand and your cat nearby. Hold the target so that it’s easy for your cat to come sniff it. Some cats may be frightened if you wave it around them. Now comes patience (because you never want to physically force your cat to do what you want; learning is more effective when she figures it out for herself). Most likely, your cat will eventually come sniff the target out of curiosity. When she does, click and treat! If she just doesn’t appear interested, you might try putting a dab of moist food or catnip spray on the tip of the target. You may even have to begin by clicking and treating when she comes toward it, even if she doesn’t touch it initially. Baby steps are okay! Eventually, though, your goal is to get her to touch the tip of the target. Again, this could take minutes, hours or weeks. Several short training sessions are ideal.

Once she’s consistently touching the target, move the target around. You’ll eventually be able to use the target to make her walk beside you, jump up on the bed or a stool, perhaps even jump through a hoop! At some point, you can eliminate the target stick and just use your finger or hand as a target.

A Couple of Easy Tricks to Get You Started

Sit

Sitting is easy to teach. You can use the target or put a treat in your hand and let your hand be the target. If you use your hand, let your cat sniff the treat you’re holding so she knows it’s there. Stand in front of your cat. Lure her into the sit position by simply raising your hand or the target up and toward her back a little. Keep your hand/target close to her nose as you do this. As she follows your hand with her eyes and nose, the rest of her body will automatically end up in the sit position. If she gets up on her hind legs, you’re holding the target or treat too far away. As soon as her butt hits the floor, click and treat. Once she knows to sit by just your hand rising over her head, you can add the command, "sit." When she knows "sit" pretty well, you can begin phasing out the treats, rewarding only randomly.

High-Five

High-five is similar to the sit. Remember how we said that your cat may get up on her hind legs if you hold the treat too far away? Well, this is what you need to do for the high-five. Some cats may reach with one paw, some with both. Once one of her paws hits the target or your hand, click and treat. Eventually add the command, "high-five."

Don’t Stop Now!

This is just a brief introduction to the fun things you can teach your cat. To learn more, read the book, Clicker Training for Cats, by Karen Pryor, do an Internet search for "clicker training," Just remember that training should always be FUN for both you and your cat. The look of amazement on your friends’ faces as your cat performs is a great added bonus!

This article was written by animal behavior volunteer, Cheryl Kolus.

Copyright 2003, Larimer Humane Society