Despite what many people think, cats are capable of learning simple commands (and later more advanced ones) as long as we do things correctly and use positive reinforcement.
This time on our site we will explain how to teach my cat to shake the paw, so you can interact with him and so further strengthen the relationship with your pet.
It is very gratifying to see how your kitty is able to follow a command that you have taught him with great patience and perseverance because, without these two qualities, it will be impossible for you to carry out anytrick to teach a cat So if you want your cat to learn to put its paw on the palm of your hand, keep reading this article and discover how to do it step by step.
How do I teach a cat tricks?
The tricks you can teach your cat depend on the animal's ability to learn and on your patience and perseverance to teach it what you want it to know how to do, so don't think that only dogs are able to follow orders because cats have that ability too, as well as being highly intelligent and enjoy interacting with their human companions.
However, it is true that teaching a cat tricks is more difficult than a dog, but with these instructions below and using positive reinforcement, the task will be much easier. The tricks that cats are most taught are give their paw, sit, or turn on themselves, but they are also capable of learning other things such as learning to use the toilet or learn his name.
First of all, you have to know that the ideal time to teach a feline a command is when it is active and never when it is asleep, sleepy or tired, because if you have to wake him up or encourage him to play with you you will never get good results. It is also recommended that the training session be done before his me altime, so that your pet comes hungry and the snacks you use as a reward to reward him attract more attention. To do this, use cat treats, snacks or canned food that you know they love.
Likewise, it is convenient that the commands that you are going to teach your cat are simple and within his possibilities, since logically we all have our limitations and the kittens are no less. If you use always the same word associated with the same command you will get better results, for example, "say hello", "hello", "paw" or "give me a paw ".
Finally, it is recommended to use, in addition to cat treats, a clicker as secondary conditioned reinforcement in training. The clicker is a small device that emits a characteristic sound and is normally used to teach commands to dogs but can also be used with other animals.
Teaching my cat to paw
To teach your cat to give the paw step by step, follow these instructions:
- Try to position yourself somewhere open and free of distractions to start the training session.
- If the kitty knows how to sit, give him that command first. If not you can always give it a little touch by pushing the lower part of the back down so that it sits on the ground.
- Now give him the command""say hello", "hello", "paw", "give me your paw" or the one you want to use to get this trick, at the same time asoffer your hand to your feline with the palm facing up.
- Wait for your pet to put his paw on you and when he does, give him a treat as a reward to reward him
- If he doesn't put his paw on your palm, hold it for a few moments and place it in your hand. Then give him a treat and the cat will begin to associate that gesture with a treat.
- Repeat this operation a few times no more than 10 minutes a day.
At first your cat won't understand what you want him to do but after a few training sessions he will know that if he puts his paw on your hand there will be a reward. So Over time, you can gradually eliminate the rewards and give him the order at any time without always having to reward him with food, but with pampering, caresses and praise, so that the pussycat feels fulfilled. Just don't think of doing this at first while he's learning the pawing trick because then you can get him confused.
Tips for training a cat
Just as each person is different, so are animals and each of them has a different learning capacity so If your cat finds it more or less difficult to learn an order than the neighbor's cat, don't worry or get upset because everything has its own process and in the end you will surely achieve it, yes, always with a lot of patience and perseverance and regularly repeating the training so that the animal remains motivated and does not forget what it has learned.
Remember not to get angry or scold your cat when he's learning to shake, because that will only make it a negative experience for him, instead of provide you with a fun and lively game time with your human friend, which is what it's all about.
Finally, you have to know that the sooner you start teaching your cat tricks the better because when they are small is when they soak up the world around them the most and have more capacity to learn, as happens with cats. human babies.
