|
Pet Medication Home -> Training Your
Cat
"How to Make Your Cat's
Life, and YOUR Life, Happier - Training Your Cat"
Imagine that you are scolding your cat for scratching
at your new furniture, and Kitty is sitting staring at you. Suddenly
you realize how silly you look and how futile your scolding is.
So how do you train your cat to respect your home?
All cats can be trained and should have some training
from their owners. You will need to train your cat to use her litter
box, sharpen her claws on the scratching post instead of your couch,
and to stop negative behavior when you say "no." Cats
can also learn to do "tricks," and the mental stimulation
of learning is good for them.
Cats learn the same way dogs and people learn; they
repeat behaviors that have a pleasurable result. The best way to
train your cat is to reward her when she does something right. The
reward might be a small piece of a special food, or lots of praise
from you in a happy, high-pitched voice.
Training to change negative behaviors requires you
to catch your cat "in the act." For example, if your cat
uses your stereo speakers as a scratching post, wait until she is
about to put claw to fabric, then firmly say "NO." The
moment she freezes and turns towards you, switch to the happy voice
and praise her. Move towards her to distract her away from the inappropriate
object. If she makes any movement towards you praise her even more.
Timing and repetition are the keys to success here. You must catch
her as she moves to act inappropriately, and praise her the exact
moment she stops.
Things to remember if your cat scratches your furniture
- Understand your cat's need to scratch.
- Forget punishment - it doesn't work.
- Provide a suitable place for your cat to scratch such as a
scratching post
- Make the scratching post attractive to Kitty
- Make the place she's been scratching unattractive - physical
or scent related deterrents will work
- Whenever possible, start cats young.
- You may want to trim your cat's claws.
Training simple tricks can be incorporated into daily
playtime. Always keep some cat treats in a pocket during training
time. To teach your cat to "shake hands," begin by saying
"shake," then touching your hand to the underside of one
of her front paws. Praise her for letting you touch there, and give
her a treat. Repeat this over and over again. Eventually, you can
lay your hand flat on the floor just in front of her paw. Say "shake"
and wait. If she even moves her paw towards you praise her and give
her a treat. Little by little, she'll catch on that every time she
touches your hand with her paw she can get you to give her a treat.
Once she willingly touches your hand, you can start to raise your
hand off of the floor a little bit at a time. Keep training fun.
Stop the session before she loses interest, and always end on a
positive note with a reward.
You can use the same one-small-step-at-a-time technique
to teach your cat to walk on a leash. This allows you to take your
cat outside for fresh air and sensory stimulation without having
to worry about her running off. Purchase a cat harness from a pet
supply store. Before you even try putting it on your cat, simply
leave it lying by her bed for a day or two. When she is used to
seeing and smelling it, loosely put it on her just before her normal
mealtime. Hand-feed her food to distract her from the harness and
to make wearing it a pleasurable experience. Remove it when the
food is gone. After a few days, you can let her wear the harness
around the house. Let the leash drag behind, but watch to make sure
it doesn't become tangled around furniture. When she seems comfortable
with the harness and leash, pick up your end and walk with her,
letting her lead the way. Eventually she will walk willingly beside
you, and you can both venture outdoors.
|
