Training Your Cat

Many people don’t think it is possible, but you can actually train your cat to develop certain skills, such as recognising their name and coming to command. As with other pets, don’t confuse or overload your cat by trying to teach her too much, too soon. Stick to one new behaviour at a time and reward her every time she achieves it correctly. Having learnt the behaviour, however, don’t continue to offer regular rewards. You shouldn’t offer your cat too many treats either, so it is a good idea to carry out training before mealtimes. This will make the food reward less appealing and prevent them from overeating.

One of the most important aspects of training you can do is getting your cat to use the litter tray. Cats are very clean living animals, so if you find she keeps using the wrong place as her toilet, place her pet food there – she won’t want to eat in her bathroom!

Before issuing a spoken command, use your cat’s name. Having achieved the correct behaviour and rewarded your cat, continue to repeat the same command in a positive way. If you find that you are struggling to achieve the desired behaviour, it might be because you are going too fast. Keep your sessions consistent, with the same trainer, signals, commands and rewards each time.

Keep your training sessions to around fifteen minutes so that your cat doesn’t get bored or tired, and also make sure you have some training every day so that she doesn’t forget what she has learnt so far.