Cats can be trained and this is not news to you, but many owners are tormented by the question “How?” How to make this “striped face” perform tricks and understand commands? First, forget the word “force”; training a cat, like training a dog, is a team effort that brings pleasure to the animal and its owner. Are you wondering how to teach your cat commands? Have you noticed the talent for performing in your “fluffy little thing”? 10 minutes of theory and you are ready to practice.
Pet age
In order for the training of your purring friend to be successful, it is important to start training no earlier than six months. Although it is generally accepted that kittens begin to understand a person from three months, the optimal age for starting training is the interval from six months to eight months.
This is the period when the kitten is really ready to accept human commands, and is already physically developed and very active.
If you start training your pet later, results can be achieved. However, this will take more time and effort. Therefore, the first year of a cat’s life is the best period for teaching it commands and tricks.
Preparation and training principles
The kitten looks like a child. The psychology of communication comes first in the relationship between the owner and his furry baby. It is important not to shout at the kitten or use physical force.
You need to play with the kitten more, talk to it, give affection and care. Only in a trusting atmosphere is the future of training possible.
Before training begins, the animal must already have a comfortable home:
- A separate place for sleeping and rest is allocated
- Having your own toys
- Separate eating area (food bowl and water bowl)
- The pet is trained to the tray
When the kitten no longer experiences stress from separation from its mother and has become accustomed to its new place, you can think about starting training. The room should be spacious, without unnecessary distracting objects. It is advisable to conduct classes alone with the cat.
The morning or evening hours are suitable for the lesson, when the pet has slept well and several hours have passed since feeding. The duration of the workout is 10-15 minutes. The animal does not need to be overtired. It's better to do several approaches per day.
When answering the question of how to teach a cat to train, you need to remember two points:
- Fluffy, when slightly hungry, performs his owner’s tasks better
- Encouragement is a tool without which learning will not be effective.
At the start of the training process, the cat is encouraged with its favorite treats. The pieces are prepared in advance, small in size, without the need to chew. Otherwise, the animal will quickly get full and lose interest in the activity.
The treat should be given immediately after performing a command or trick. If you delay this, the cat will not understand what exactly the reward is associated with.
- You can praise the mustache not only with food, but also with affection or voice.
- Most Muroks love being petted by their owners. As for the voice, the cat eventually becomes well versed in human intonations.
- It’s not for nothing that there is even a proverb that a kind word is pleasant to a cat.
- Therefore, during regular training, it is advisable to encourage your pet with treats 3-5 times the task is completed, and the remaining times either by voice or by stroking.
What you need to know when starting training
The cat will perform the action that will benefit it. Hence the first rule of training is to train your pet before eating. On an empty stomach, the kitten will quickly understand what needs to be done to get the coveted treat, because for every correctly performed action, a piece of his favorite food awaits him.
Use your pet's favorite food during training
Classes should not be long; five to seven minutes will be enough. If the cat gets bored, she will simply leave.
It’s a big mistake when training when a cat trainer starts raising his voice or using physical force on the cat. In this case, the pet will harbor a grudge and will not fulfill your requests. Is it possible to teach commands to a disgruntled cat? Of course not! Encouragement and kind attitude are the only motivators when training.
If your cat is sick, it is better to postpone training until complete recovery.
As a rule, among all family members, the cat chooses its owner. Only this person can train a pet and achieve results.
Classes should be taught by a beloved owner
Learn only one trick at a time. It is advisable to repeat it on the same day to consolidate it, for example, in the evening. Repetition is an inferior activity. It will be enough if the cat follows the command once or twice. If it doesn't work, you shouldn't continue.
Do your workouts in a quiet place where there are no distractions. And, of course, this place should not be new for the pet. The room where the cat spends most of its time is ideal.
Training equipment
The cat training kit must be prepared before training. First of all, it depends on what command or trick the owner is going to teach the pet.
An important lesson: All objects are familiar to the cat, otherwise, instead of studying, he will sniff them.
Typically training equipment is:
- Small hoop
- Small balls
- Sticks with a toy at the end
- Threads
- Pointer with laser
- Chairs
- Container with goodies
You can buy toys and training items or make your own. It is better to store them in one place. The cat must have them. Otherwise, she will play with inappropriate things, sometimes even causing damage to them.
Why train a cat?
Cat training means two things:
- socialization - the animal is taught the skills of living in a house or apartment (respond to its name, find food in the same place, use a tray);
- learning tricks – makes communication with a furry pet more enjoyable and educational, and provides an opportunity to entertain guests.
A trained animal is sociable and causes fewer problems in everyday life. It is more contactable and more attached to its owner than an untrained one. Knowing how to train a cat at home, and applying this knowledge in practice, you can teach your pet circus tricks, even without experience in training animals.
Simple commands
Training cats at home starts with simple exercises.
These include commands such as:
- Sit
- Lie
- Stand
- To me
- Give me your paw
Their implementation can be practiced in an animal until it becomes automatic. Moreover, these commands are natural for cats. After all, the pet can accept any of the positions itself in everyday life. The command “give me a paw” is also quite familiar to furry animals. It is with their paw that they often try to steal food or touch an object that interests them.
- For example, when teaching the command to stand, you should first say this word in those moments when the cat independently took such a position.
- Don't forget to reward the cat after the command.
- If your pet doesn't get up, you can gently help him and give him a treat again.
- Gradually, the animal will develop an unconditioned reflex, and the command will be mastered.
- Other simple tasks are worked out in the same way.
With such commands, other than treats, special items are not needed. The main thing is the good mood of the owner and the ward.
Difficult tricks
Teams for training cats are built according to the principle from simple to complex. If your pet performs easy tasks, you can move on to more complex tricks. As a rule, pets get a taste for it and learn new commands with interest.
- As examples, consider jumping through a hoop and the command “fetch.”
- To perform the first trick, you will need a small hoop or large embroidery hoop.
- The cat must walk or jump over them. The main thing is not to let her get around the obstacle. When the fluffy gets it right, you can raise the hoop higher and higher.
The “fetch” command is more difficult to teach. In this process, much depends on the animal’s temperament. If a cat likes to play with a ball or a toy, then most likely she will bring them to her owner. If not, it is better not to torture the animal, but to move on to practicing another trick. Try to teach him to jump from chair to chair on command or to climb on top of his owner.
Overcoming obstacles
For those cats that like to constantly jump from place to place and look for higher places, you can try a complex with obstacles. To start training, you can get by with two regular chairs. The cat is seated on one of the chairs, and a treat is placed on the second, and it will make a jump on its own.
To obtain the correct and quick result, cat chairs should be placed at a minimum distance . The cat must learn that there is always a treat waiting for it on the opposite side. Then the chairs are moved further away. When it is maximum, you can include a hoop in the set of obstacles for the cat.
The most trainable breeds
All cats can be trained to one degree or another. What is important here is the right approach, knowledge of the character of your mustachioed friend, patience and regular training.
Despite this, experienced trainers identify a number of breeds that are most prone to training.
- Siamese cat
- Scottish Fold
- Abyssinian breed
- Cornish Rex
True, these breeds are quite expensive and require careful care. And even experts do not exclude the possibility that a person may come across a lazy specimen.
When purchasing an animal for your family, you still need to choose it according to several criteria at once, and not rely only on the theoretical ability to learn.
With the right approach, training a furry at home turns into an exciting form of leisure time. The owner and his pet learn to understand each other. The result of the training, as a rule, pleases both. There are many cat training videos on the Internet that confirm this.
How to identify a cat's learning abilities
Just like people, cats have different temperaments. Based on the pet's personality traits, it is easier to understand what commands can be taught to a particular cat. Is she active or likes to lie down, playful or calm? It depends on what will be easier for your cat to do. For example, for plush couch potatoes, the commands “sit”, “lie down”, “voice” are suitable. It’s easier for fidgets to start with the “hoop”, “to me”, “bring” trick. Any cat can be trained, the main thing is that its owner has qualities such as patience, love and kindness.
To begin, choose tricks based on the animal’s initial data.
Of course, you shouldn't train kittens that are too young. In the first months of their life, all days are spent learning about the world around them. The main teacher during this period is the mother. It instills important life skills, teaches interaction, shows that a person is a friend and can and should be trusted.
Older cats are also not the best subjects for training. They have already developed a constant course of life; learning can bring them discomfort and even pain.
The best student is a young, healthy and happy cat who is loyal and trusts you.
