Step 1: Test out 900 different types of wholesome, protein-rich treats to find one that will motivate your cat. End up at squeeze cheese.
Step 2: Wait until she’s in the mood for squeeze cheese and NOT in the mood for swiping at you.
Step 3: Train your cat for the 12-second window every few days when all the stars align.
OK, so that’s a smidge sarcastic, but it’s also kinda true.
Truth: Cats can learn absolutely anything.
Another truth: They have to be in the mood to do so or no progress will be made.
One of the things we’ve learned with Newt is that she loves to learn, but she doesn’t always love to work. It was a bit of a surprise to us because, with the dogs, even if they’re not super in the mood to work, the second they see the treats, they’re like, “LET’S GO!” Newt, on the other hand, when not in the mood saw the treats and said, “Meh.”
So, here are three things we’ve learned and some (legitimate, non-sarcastic) tips on how to train a cat.
- Positive reinforcement rules the day. No surprise there, right? Newt learns amazingly fast with the clicker + treats. Unlike the dogs, though, it doesn’t work as well for her to swap out the click with a word (like with Cooper, when I don’t have the clicker, we have him conditioned to “YES!”).
- The treats hold the key. Yes, Newt loves squeeze cheese. She also loves the Kittles from Wellness, bits of real cheese, tiny bites of meat, and even some bits of Emmy’s Wellness dog food. But never on the same day. Have a few “go-tos,” but be ready to switch if she’s not seeming motivated.
- Patience, dear, patience. All good things take time, right? Keep the training sessions super, super, suuuuuper short. If your cat loses interest, she might not be as excited to do another session down the road. Keep it light, fun, short, and sweet! Leave her wanting more!
Want some proof that it works? Check out my badass kitty doing some fist bumps!
I’ve never really tried to formally train any of my cats with a clicker or anything. We did train our cats Katie and Samantha to respond to a spspspsps noise, so they would come when called. We just made the noise before every meal or treat, and they eventually learned it. We don’t use it much any more but Sam does still respond to it.
I don’t remember exactly why we did it though? I think maybe because they were sometimes escaping outside and that was our way to get them back in.
That’s smart! I think if Newt got out, she *might* come running for the jingle of her treat jar. 🙂
Love your post, and no I’ve never intentionally trained any of my cats. I think that whatever they learned happened as a result of routine and repetition. They basically taught themselves to run into the kitchen whenever they smelled chicken, or heard a cheese wrapper, or a package rattle or… Boy they were brilliant!!
Hah! Yes, they learn quickly when it involves something yummy! 🙂 Newt even runs to the kitchen when we give Emmett his medicine every afternoon because she knows the sound of his pill package opening means everyone gets a bite of cheese!
First of all, the name Newt is awesome. 😀 And way to go, Newt! Cool fist bump! I currently have one cat, and I must confess she knows no tricks. Shame on me! I need to get to work!
Aw, thanks, Shannon! She’s named after the little girl from the Aliens movie. Let me know if you decide to do some trick training with your cat. Would love to hear other experiences! 🙂
I’ve never trained a cat but I’d like to for the sake of trying something new. How cool that she can do fist bumps!
It’s definitely a different sort of challenge from working with the dogs! Fun, for sure, but also frustrating at times! Wait… that’s JUST like working with the dogs! 😉 She’s just far less treat motivated, so it’s all about catching her when she’s in the right mood!
Treats – they are definitely the key to so many good things, including training! This is a really good post – I’ll share it with my kitty-loving readers!
Thank you so much, Rebecca! 🙂 (It always does come down to treats, doesn’t it?)
Training cats isn’t easy but it’s very rewarding. A double-dose of patience and a ‘won’t give up’ attitude is also required, sometimes for us it’s been a battle of wills.
Absolutely!! In truth, it’s less a “battle of wills” around here and more like “Newt’s will.” 😀 When she doesn’t want to work, no treat in the world will do it. She just walks away! It’s waiting for the perfect scenario and capturing it. She is SO smart that it’s totally worth what you called that double-dose of patience!
I have never thought about training a cat when I had them, good post
Thanks, Ruth!
Great job, Newt! Our mom says she’s going to try this with Lexy. I don’t care about food or treats, so I may not be a good candidate. Lexy, on the other hand, lives for treats.
I tried to train my rescue cat Nala a little after I saw my friend’s cat Kaiser in a trick-off against Nana the Border Collie. She was already 14 or 15 and pretty cranky/independent but she loved little pieces of bar-b-q chicken. She would do circles and weaves and sit using Yes and rewards. Wish I had taught her fist bumps. That is so cute. She passed away 2 years ago sadly.
I’m pretty sure training a cat is much like training a Great Pyrenees ? Although, instead of swiping at me, the fluffies just sleep. Or bark. 😉
Too cute! We have never had nor tried a clicker before. We need to get one.
I haven’t trained any of our cats . I am pretty sure it has been the other way around.
Most of mine think of me as staff.
That’s awesome! My 2017 goal is to do more cat training and videos. Thanks for the inspiration and I love the fist bump!
I’ve never tried to formally train the girls. I do use treats to get them to come to me.
I’ve never tried to train my cat to do any tricks, and honestly it wasn’t until a few years ago that I even knew it was possible. I grew up with the mindset that dogs are easy to train, but we never had cats. Newt sure is adorable!
It never occurred to me to train my cat when I had cats, they were such independent souls! The process with cats is similar to dogs you just need to try a bit harder & have lots of patience it seems.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Great info for training cats! I never thought about clicker training for cats. Love the bump video! Pinning on my Mews News board!
Go Newt! That is totally pawsome that she can do those tricks. Cats can learn anything, but it has to be on their terms. The more you can convince them that it is their idea, the better the results. I haven’t trained my cats for any tricks per say, but they do really well taking photos for me and they communicate with me really well. We may be trying out a few new things in the next few months (walking and car rides)!
One of my good friends in Oklahoma trained her cat to walk on a leash. He is the cutest kitty and black, just like Newt (whom I have a crush on, but I digress). Though we have no cats, I love these tips and that it is very similar to dogs.