Cat Training 411 - Tips and Advice

Have you noticed that cats aren't the easiest of Nature's creatures when it comes to training them to do what YOU want them to do?  (Using their litter box all the time, not scratching your furniture, staying off the dining table when you're trying to eat dinner?)  Let's face it:

   • cats are not very enthusiastic about being trained, and;

   • they are not interested in pleasing their caretakers (that's you and me).

So, what's a cat lover to do?  PATIENCE, consistency, a good reward or positive reinforcement system and an enjoyable experience for your cats are the key ingredients towards successful cat training sessions.
 
Training your cats for proper toilet, litter box, playing and behaviors require a good amount of time and patience. The task of your cat is to do the lesson at hand but yours is the patience.

Because of the known independent nature of cats, some owners view them as untrainable which is wrong. Behavior and psychology are the things you have to understand before training your cat. You may want to ask your veterinarians or consult books about cat training.

Cats respond to REWARDS or bribery very well. This is how they learn. By words of praises, affection from pats, rubs and a loving voice and of course food, they can learn what you want them to learn fast and well done. You will want to use their own natural instincts and behaviors to help achieve the desired behavior.

Cats are trained and encouraged by treats or rewards. A clear illustration of such behavior is when cats come running when it hears the food bag rustle or the can opener’s sound. Cats often relate the sounds to food rewards.

Keep in mind that your cat must be closely examined on a regular basis by the veterinarian, to ensure that there are no unknown problems in your cat’s health that could be aggravated or intensified during training activities.

To further encourage your cat to maintain a good behavior, the most effective way is to offer immediate treats, a full tasty meal, or a favorite toy as rewards.

When saying “good” and offering a treat all together, your cat will later relate the word with its positive act, even if later, food is not available and upcoming. In place of food rewards, you can give your cat an enjoyable playtime or a rub behind its ears.

With the use of positive emphasis and reinforcement, your cat will be willing to learn good behaviors and basic instructions or commands.

7 Tips for Training Your Cat:

1.      It is best to begin training with kittens. They will be more open and responsive to training. Bad behaviors have not yet been formed and not given a chance to develop.

2.      Use positive emphasis and reinforcement at all times. A gentle hug, caress, or a whisper has a longer lasting effect than harsh or bitter words.

3.      Limit the training time. Make it brief but frequent. Cats normally have short attention and interest spans; so it is much more effective to have four to six sessions of five minutes each, during the course of the day than an hour or two of continuous training.

4.      If your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, confine the training to indoors. This is essential so that your cat will not be distracted by other neighboring pets or be attracted to climbing trees instead.

5.      Always make use of your cats name when commanding them. Afterwards, praise and reward them.

6.      If you catch their attention by using distinct sounds and commands, be sure that it is brief and repeated not more than twice. It will lose its effects if overused.

7.      Be consistent in your training. Cats have very good memories.

Discipline should be instilled for a well behaved cat, but tough punishment must be avoided.

In training your cat to avoid negative acts, you need to approach it positively. Cats generally will not respond to certain punishments like hitting or yelling (yelling is bad enough, but never, never strike an animal). They usually correlate the undesirable act with you rather than with their bad behavior. The outcome will be that your pet either stops loving you or will be afraid of you; not the result that will lead to a loving and warm relationship with your wonderful pet cat!

Keep in mind that cats are not dogs. (For many of us, that's a good thing).  Their endurance for longer activities is less compared to dogs. Be sure to keep your training sessions to at least 15 minutes maximum per day. They respond very well to trainings before mealtimes when they are hungry. Cats are good in doing tricks especially when they are given rewards like foods and affection.

Synonyms:  trainng, trainings, trainning, tranning, traning, trainging, taining, trainin, trainig, trianing and traing are typos for "training."