Cats are very intelligent and curious animals, which have a great learning capacity However, generally many people can It may seem strange to teach a feline new things and tricks, beyond basic obedience, due to their reputation for being rather independent and self-focused animals.
Now then, feline training exists, and this activity brings multiple benefits to your cat's well-being, as it stimulates him mentally, proposes different challenges in his day to day life and, of course, enriches the relationship with your guardian. For this reason, if you are interested in knowing how to train a cat, be sure to read this article on our site until the end.
What is feline training?
The concept of training refers to the act of carrying out a learning process in an animal, with the aim that it learns to execute an action after indicating it to it, either through a gesture or an oral command.
This procedure is performed on all kinds of animals, with the intention that they learn the most varied skills and/or tricks. From small actions, like shaking the paw or sitting down, to complex executions, like 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 they are learning processes, both have different purposes.
Education is necessary, because the animal learns 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 appropriately when you play with him. You are not teaching him a specific instruction, as you would do in training, but to change his behavior so that the game is beneficial for both.
If you have just adopted a kitten, we recommend you read this other article on How to educate a cat from a young age?
Can you train a cat?
Of course Training is a procedure that can be used on all kinds of animals, whether they are our pets, birds, rodents, and even the well-known dolphins. All those animals that are capable of learning can be trained if the theory of learning is known, specifically, conditioningHowever, it is necessary to know the needs, capacities and behavior patterns of each species in order to have realistic objectives.
However, why don't we know so much about this facet of cats compared to dogs? The individual characteristics of felines make them more difficult to train compared to dogs. Or 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 been with us humans for many centuries, and being our companions for so long have modeled their cognition, having a much more adaptable mind and interest in pleasing us, in addition to learning, which is why they have been used for the most varied jobs and we know more about the facet of dog training.
Cats, on the other hand, are much more instinctive, they don't need to please us and they have not been required to become prone to learning, because they have not been needed over time for specific jobs. At most, these have become our pets because they were originally kept to scare away mice, an objective for which it is not necessary to train them, since they do it by and for themselves.
On the other hand, to educate and/or train a cat correctly, it is important to take into account these 15 things you should not do to your cat.
How to train your cat?
Training a cat is a process that will require perseverance, patience and understanding of feline behavior. The guidelines that you should keep in mind are:
Short Sessions
The time you spend training your cat should last no more than 15 minutes, several days a week. This is because your cat will surely lose interest easily, especially if you have only recently started training it.
For this reason, it is ideal to end the session before your cat starts to ignore you or become distracted, you should always make sure that throughout the session your cat is motivated and that it is you who ends the session, not him when he is tired.
Prizes and motivation
It is unthinkable to train your cat without using positive reinforcement, that is, giving him a very valuable treat every time he performs the desired action. This is because the treat will motivate your cat to learn and pay attention to you.
The treat in question should be something that only is there during the training session (so petting or your I think), something really valuable that you associate with these sessions, such as wet food, slices of ham, m alt for cats…
Finally, in many of the tricks you can teach your cat, the treat will serve as a guide to follow, so that it moves in the desired way to achieve a specific position.
Easy Goals
During training, you must set small goals that gradually approach the final goal, a fact that is technically known in training as increase criteria.
What does this mean? For example, if you want to teach your cat to stand up on his hind legs, you should first reward any elevation of his front legs and progressively increase the difficulty, rewarding him every time there is made a progress That is, reward him when he raises one leg, then reward him when he raises two legs, then when he holds his body up for a few seconds, etc. Therefore, you cannot pretend that your cat can stand on its hind legs from the beginning, because it will not understand you or achieve it, and it will end up frustrating.
Avoid physical manipulation and punishment
Many times we tend to pick up and move the animal as if it were a doll to teach it to perform a trick. This procedure is not completely effective, because because of how they learn, the animal does not understand that it has to adopt a position to which we force it, but to perform an action to obtain a reinforcer, that is, the prize.
Applying physical manipulation to cats is much more contradictory, because while dogs can tolerate being manipulated to a lesser or greater extent depending on their character (for example, holding their paw to teach them to give it), the cat just hates it, because being grabbed is instinctively seen as a threat. Therefore, the training session designed to be motivating and entertaining for the feline ends up becoming unpleasant.
In the same way, punishing your cat so that it learns is simply not feasible, because it will not understand you and it will generate mistrust, which is completely counterproductive if what you want is for your cat to want to be with you and trust you, in order for it to learn new things.
Gesture and verbal instructions
To teach your cat to perform an action after a verbal command, you must first teach it to obey the gesture, because they generally have an easier time learning to obey visual commands.
Next, you must associate said gesture with an auditory stimulus, that is, a short and clear word, which must always be the same voice and in the same tone of voice so as not to create confusion.
Understand your cat
It is not the same to teach a young cat as an older one, in the same way, you should not have the same objectives for a tame cat as for a rather skittish one. The limit on what you can or cannot teach your cat will be its well-being That is, if teaching your cat something implies that it will suffer stress and /or physical pain, due to age, some pathology, his character… you should simply stop teaching him this trick and look for another simpler one or, obviously, one that does not cause him discomfort, since training must be an activity that benefits both of them.
Using the clicker
The clicker is a very useful tool that is used in the training of all kinds of animals, since it allows teaching all kinds of tricks and the most spectacular skills, respecting their natural behavior.
This consists of a small box (fits perfectly in your hand), which emits a “click” sound every time you press a button, and serves to indicate the animal what it is doing well, so that it repeats it again.
To use this tool, you must first load the clicker This step involves associating the “click” sound with positive reinforcement. For this reason, the first days of training you should teach him only this association to create a good base for training. To do this, give your cat the prize and, every time he goes for it, make the sound. In this way, your cat will understand that every time the “click” sounds, you are going to reward it.
Tricks to teach your cat
With the use of the clicker, there are many possibilities you have to teach your cat. In fact, any behavior that your cat performs normally, such as meowing, can be associated with a set point if you make a gesture (visual stimulus), make the "click" when it performs the action and instantly reward it. With consistency, your cat will associate this gesture with the action he has just performed.
To start training your cat, we recommend that you teach him these simple tricks:
How to teach a cat to sit?
- Have the clicker in one hand and the treat in the other.
- Raise the treat above your cat's head.
- Your cat will sit up and/or lean its body back. Make “click” with the clicker and quickly give him the treat.
- Insist several sessions, until your cat sits up completely and associates the gesture of raising the prize above his head with sitting. When he does, associate the action with a clear oral command, such as “sit down” or “sit”.
For more information, you can consult this other article on How to teach a cat to sit?
How to teach a cat to lie down?
- Have the clicker in one hand and the treat in the other.
- Ask him to sit down.
- Drag the treat from under his head to the ground.
- Your cat will begin to lower its body towards the ground. "Click" with the clicker and quickly give him the treat each time he gets close to the lying position. With insistence, you will achieve that it ends up stretching.
- When your cat understands the gesture, associate it with the oral instruction such as “lie down” or “floor”.
How to teach a cat to turn around?
- Have the clicker in one hand and the treat in the other.
- Ask him to lie down on the floor.
- Drag the treat over his back from one side of his body (lateral) to the other end.
- Your cat will follow the treat with its head, turning its body on itself from one side to the other. Make “click” with the clicker and quickly give him the treat.
- When your cat understands the gesture, associate it with the oral instruction such as “kibble” or “turn”.
How to teach a cat to stand on two legs?
- Have the clicker in one hand and the treat in the other.
- Ask him to sit down.
- Drag the treat up its head so it will follow, rising off the ground.
- Rewards the minimum elevation from the ground (even if it's just one leg), using the clicker and rewarding immediately. Gradually increase the criteria.
- Once he learns to raise his front legs, gradually increase the time he must hold (ie first one second, then two, etc.).
- When your cat understands the gesture, associate it with the oral command such as “up”.
