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| Can you really train a cat? Yes you can! |
As we wrap up Train Your Dog Month I
can’t help but wonder why we don’t have a Train Your Cat Month.
People are often surprised when I suggest training for felines. “You
can’t really train a cat….can you?” The short answer is
absolutely! Most cat owners have unwittingly trained their cats to
respond to the most basic of cues, come when called. Okay so it’s
more like come-when-I-open-a-can-of-cat-food but still, the cat makes
an association between the sound of the can opening and the
presentation of good stuff and voila…you have a cat that runs to
you on cue.
So why bother? Why train your cat?
These days we make an effort to keep our cats inside to protect them
from a host of threats including disease, cars and wild animals. It
is believed that on average the life span of an indoor cat far
surpasses that of an outdoor cat. The problem is indoor cats often
lack exercise and mental stimulation leading to obesity, behavior
issues and even depression. Fortunately there is a solution and one
that is fairly straightforward if you are willing to put in the time;
environmental enrichment and you guessed it…training! (We’ll
explore environmental enrichment in another post).
Cat training not only alleviates
boredom and facilitates exercise but it also helps to strengthen the
bond you have with your cat, build confidence in nervous kitties and
tame feisty felines. So what can you train your cat to do? Anything
you would train your dog to do and more!
Soko came to us a starving, feisty
feline who met human touch with sharp kitten teeth and who would risk
everything to steal a piece of food right out of your hand. Soko was
the first cat I trained. She was extremely food motivated which made
the process that much easier. We worked on basic cues like come
when called, sit, paw and target. We also used a little behavior
modification to teach Soko to not just accept but to enjoy human lap
time and petting.
Cats do not respond well to punishment,
in fact it can create or worsen problems. Training a cat, just like
training a dog requires patience and humane methodology.
Submitted By:
Danielle Basciano
CNY Pet Training & Behavior
