Training Your Cat or Kitten

    The way to Training  Your Cat or Kitten

A lot of people believe that cats can’t be trained because cats don’t seem to respond to many of the methods used to train dogs. But cats do respond to training! In fact one of the first scientific studies highlighting the importance of reinforcement in animal behavior was done with cats.

The first step to training your cat is to understand him. Cats aren’t as social as dogs. Dogs have been bred specifically to work together with people, whereas the primary reason cats were domesticated was to kill vermin on their own. So they’re independent, and they aren’t as naturally inclined to work for praise and attention as dogs are. They’re also not as easy to motivate. You have to use really special treats that your cat finds irresistible. Training a cat requires some creativity and patience.

Training your cat has important benefits. You’re stimulating his body and his mind, which helps keep him healthy. And spending time together means you’re strengthening the bond you share. In addition to teaching fun tricks like wave and fetch, you can also teach him a range of useful behaviors like sit, stay and to come when called. You could even teach your cat to pee in the toilet and flush afterwards!

Use Tasty Treats

The first step is to find a treat that your cat goes crazy for. Fresh chicken diced in tiny cubes, bits of tuna, meat-flavored baby food, and commercial cat treats are all good choices. Once you’ve identified treats your cat likes, follow the basic steps of positive reinforcement training (reward-based training) to teach him the behavior you want. Suppose you’d like your cat to sit and stay on a stool while you prepare his dinner. You’ll first need to start with teaching him to sit when you ask him to:

    First, make sure you have your cat’s attention. Hold the tasty treat in your fingers right at your cat’s nose. When your cat begins to sniff the treat, slowly move it in an arc from his nose up just over his head between his ears. (Don’t raise it straight up, or you’ll be teaching your cat to stand on his rear legs rather than sit!) Many cats will follow this arc motion with their eyes and nose, and as their chin raises up and back, their butt will go down.

    Second, the instant your cat’s bottom hits the floor, praise him and offer him the treat. If his rear doesn’t go all the way down on the first try, give him the treat anyway. Over several repetitions of practice, give him a treat each time his rear gets slightly closer, until he’s gets into a complete sit with his rear all the way on the floor.

Cats don’t see things well that are still and close-up, so if your cat has difficulty taking the treat from your fingers, try offering it to him in your flat palm or tossing it on the floor. He’ll see the movement when you toss it and know where the treat is.

A clicker can make training easier and faster. If you don’t have a clicker, you can use a pen that makes a clicking sound. The instant your cat does the correct behavior, click and then offer a treat. The click lets your cat know the instant he does the right thing, so it helps him catch on faster. Just make sure you click at the exact moment he does the behavior you want, and then give him a treat. Cats learn through repetition, just like we do, so you’ll need to practice a few times in a row. Keep your training sessions short though-just a few minutes at a time. Most cats get bored if you try to drill the same thing over and over.

No Punishment!

While training your cat, keep in mind that cats respond very poorly to punishment! Rather than learning what behavior not to do, a punished cat usually just learns to run away. Depending on your cat’s temperament, punishment can frighten your cat to the point where he may hide from you and your family members. Punishment creates stress, and stress is one of the most common causes for problem behaviors in cats, including eliminating outside of the litter box and compulsive grooming. Stress also compromises the immune system, making your cat more vulnerable to disease, including feline idiopathic cystitis (inflammation of the bladder).

It’s much easier to train your cat when you reward behaviors you want and offer him more attractive alternatives for behaviors you don’t want. Persuasion, not punishment, is the key to training your cat. If you patiently practice and reward your cat with treats, you’ll soon have a cat who’s sitting on cue and purring contentedly.

Finding Help and More Information

If you’d like to learn how to train your cat, or if your cat has a behavior problem you’d like to resolve, don’t hesitate to seek help from a qualified behaviorist. To learn more about locating the right expert for you and your cat, please see our article, Finding Professional Help. Many Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists (CAABs or ACAABs) offer telephone consultations, in-home private consultations and training sessions, and some Certified Professional Dog Trainers also offer group classes for kitten socialization and basic training.

How to Communicate with Your Cat

Pets Scientists have discovered that cats have developed an elaborate communication system with hundreds of vocalizations to tell humans what they want or need.[1] Read on to find out not only how cats communicate vocally, but how you can communicate with them so that they understand you too.[2]

    1.Listen to your cat. 

If you watch what your cat is doing when he or she meows, you may be able to distinguish which meows are associated with which requests (or protests).[3] Some common meows can include:

        Short meow: Standard greeting

        Multiple meows: Excited greetings

        Mid-pitch meow: Plea for something like food, or water

        Drawn-out mrrroooow: A demand for something

        Low pitch MRRRooooowww: A complaint, or displeasure

        Lower than mid pitch MEEOOOOOOwww: Begging, for something such as food

        High-pitch RRRROWW!: Anger, pain, or being fearful

        Chatter (rapid teeth-chattering): Excitement, frustration

        Chirrup (a cross between a meow and a purr with rising inflection): Friendly greeting sound,     

        often used by a mother cat to call to her kittens

        Purr: Invites close contact or attention

        Hiss: A serious sign of aggression.

    2.Watch your cat.  

Since cats are more "fluent" in body language, certain gestures will accompany vocalizations to reinforce their message.

        Tail straight up with a curl at the end: Happy

        Tail twitching: Excited or anxious

        Fur on tail sticking up: Very excited

        Tail vibrating: Very excited and happy to see you

        Tail fur sticks straight up while the tail curls in the shape of an N: Extreme aggression

        Tail fur sticks straight up but the tail is held low: Aggressive or frightened

        Tail held low and tucked under the rear: Frightened

        Dilated pupils: Very playful or excited; it can also mean aggression

        Slowly blinking eyes: Affection, indicating the cat is comfortable with whoever might be around him or her

        Lifting the nose and tilting the head back slightly: "I acknowledge you." Cats sitting in windows may greet you in this manner as you walk by

        Rubbing against you means he or she is marking you as his or her own

        Wet nose "kiss": An affectionate gesture when the cat taps his or her wet nose to you

        Ears back: Fear, anxiety, or in a very playful mood; also used when sniffing something they want to know more about

        Tongue flicks out slightly and licks lower lip: Worried, apprehensive

        Rubbing head, flank and tail against a person or animal: Greeting ritual

        Head-butting: Friendliness, affection

        Face sniffing: Confirming identity

        Clawing: A cat will drive his or her claws in and out of you as a sign of happiness or playfulness; either way your cat knows and loves you

        Licks you: The ultimate sign of trust. Your cat may consider you to be a part of her family, like a mother cleaning her kittens. It might just be that you have something tasty in your hand though.

   3.Talk back to your cat.
As already mentioned, cats are always learning how to communicate with us. The more that you communicate with your cat, the faster he or she will learn.

        Use a slightly raised tone of voice to indicate friendliness and a lowered tone of voice to indicate displeasure or aggression.

        Repeat the same word, sleep or bed, each time you go to bed. Eventually, your cat will begin to associate the repetitive word sound with your actions and may even get to the bedroom before you. Use the word shower consistently each time you are ready to take one, and eventually your cat may beat you to the bathroom and even curl up in the sink to wait for you.

        If you blink slowly when making eye contact with your cat, she will usually respond by coming over to be stroked. This is seen as a very non-threatening gesture.

        Be consistent. A common blunder many pet owners make is to say "no" and pet the cat at the same time. This is very confusing to the cat. So for example, if you want your cat to go away, a firm "later" and gentle push, without showing affection, will let the cat know that her presence is not desired at this time. Most cats will try two to three times to invade a person's space, often from different directions. When saying "Later", be patient.

        Develop a "command tone" to use with your cat when he or she is doing something that you consider to be wrong. Use a voice that comes naturally to you and can be replicated easily, but that is also distinct from your everyday talking voice. If you use this voice sparingly but seriously, your cat will learn to associate the voice with the idea that he or she is displeasing you.

        Make a quick and sharp hiss or spit sound as a "no" command. This is similar to the sound made by his or her own kind when they say "no."