THE IMPORTANCE OF CAT TRAINING:

When one thinks of training a pet, one invariably thinks of dog training. Cats, after all, seem such aloof and independent creatures, it’s easy to presume that for them no training is required or that they are simply untrainable. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Undeniably, cats are not dogs, but they are creatures of habit, and so, like dogs, are susceptible to conditioning, which is the basis for any animal training regimen.

The benefit of training your cat is not only that he will learn to pay attention to you, coming when called and settling down instead of becoming a distraction, but it will also cement the bond between him and his adoptive family. While he will retain his independent spirit, he may become just that little bit more dependable, and perhaps he will seem just that little bit less aloof, as well.

The keys to good training are consistency, patience, and persistence. Or, at least those are the things that you will need to bring to the training. What is required of the cat is engagement and a willingness to learn. To that end, you will need to not only engage your cat’s curiosity during each of the training sessions but you will also have to sustain his interest.  This may prove harder to do than with your ever-eager canine, as cats are rather independently minded, so keep training sessions short and motivation high.

Begin by aligning your cat’s training with his general character. For the agile explorer you may wish to begin by working on fun acrobatic exercises and recall, while for the perpetual loafer you should probably start on ‘sit’ and ‘stay’. By working with your cat in this way, you are more likely to sustain his initial interest, which will help as you gradually move on to areas that may challenge his natural disposition.

Consider all of your cat’s senses and sensitivities around sight, sound, smell, and touch, and reflect on how employing each one in training can either help or hinder your cat’s learning. Begin by training in an area where there is minimal distraction, focusing on sight (with visual cues) and smell (using smelly treats as lures and rewards), while keeping your tone soft and engaging.

Cats are also touch sensitive, so pushing, pulling, or prodding them into performing an action will only cause them to resist your efforts or trot away with a fare-thee-well flick of the tail.

Finally, cats are also emotionally sensitive creatures. They are very quick to pick up on our cues, both subtle and unconscious. So how quickly will they pick up on your stress or frustration?

For all these reasons, it is best that training sessions are not overly long – up to 2 to 3 minutes per session – and end before any stress or frustration sets in. Try to finish each session on a high note. It will help you to look forward to the next period of training, and for your cat not to run in the opposite direction when it does come along.

Quick Links to Page Contents:

• Cat Training Techniques
• Kitten Training
• Core Exercises for Cats
• Clicker Training, Whistling & Targeting
• Learning Life Skills

TRAINING TECHNIQUES:

All training should begin in a calm and quiet space with minimal distractions, and is best carried out prior to feeding, when the cat may be feeling hungry and therefore may be more willing to work for his treats.  Be aware, though, that some cats can become fussy eaters and may not take to novel flavours. Find out what your cat enjoys and then stick to that range, but try to keep the range on offer as broad as will suit your cat’s palate.

Keep training sessions both short and varied.  Unlike dogs, who will sit, lie down, roll over, or repeatedly do whatever it takes for a tasty morsel, cats will become habituated fairly early on, and with habituation comes loss of engagement. So focus on two or three different behaviours within a session to keep your cat’s interest. It’s always best to end a session on a high note, so if your cat is doing really well, congratulate him and call it a day. If your cat’s interest does begin to wane, don’t persevere with training. Let him wander off to find other diversions while you look forward to your next training session.

Ultimately, you will want to train your cat the same behaviours in a variety of different locales and at different points in the day, so that he generalises that learnt behaviour, and not merely associates it with one spot in the living room or at a particular time of day. Continue to find different low-distraction spaces to train him, and once you feel he has taken onboard what you are training, you can proof it by testing it out in more distractible locations, like outdoors.

Training tools:

As with all animals, including humans, cats learn through association. This type of learning takes three forms:

• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Aversion Conditioning

Classical Conditioning is a purely unconscious reflex to an external stimulus. Your cat hears the sound of a can lid clicking open, and so he comes running over to inspect his food bowl. Alternatively, he may automatically run away at the sound of the front door opening.

Operant Conditioning occurs when the cat comes to understand that he can effect a stimulus response through his own actions. Your cat meows at you, and he gets stroked. He paws, or even claws, at your hand once he’s had enough, and your hand withdraws.

Aversion Conditioning is where a negative association is made between an unpleasant stimulus and an unwanted type of behaviour. Your cat receives a sharp rebuke for clawing your hand, and so he may then think twice before approaching you again! Equally, it can come about through an unwarranted association between two completely separate things. For instance, if your cat is harassed in your front garden by a neighbour’s cat, he may become fearful of venturing out there for some time.

These examples highlight the fact that conditioning can create both desired and undesired associations. Desired associations are created through training, while undesired associations require correction.

There are four essential tools employed for correction, but if used incorrectly can cause distress and possibly worsen the undesired association. It is therefore vital that a qualified behaviourist work with you to apply these tools:

• Counter Conditioning
• Desensitisation
• Habituation
• Omission Training

Counter Conditioning is the act of changing an undesired response into a desired one. Just one way this can be achieved is through redirection. So for the cat that has become used to treating your sofa as his personal scratch pad, by providing him with a post on which to scratch and then transferring his scent to it, you will be redirecting his interest (and claws) to this new, preferred location.

Desensitisation is the act of reducing an undesired emotional response or association. So for the cat that is too scared to go back out into the front garden, it is about rebuilding his confidence in that space and bringing with it more positive associations. It is important to note here that this process needs to be undertaken gradually and with a qualified behaviourist. Forcing a cat to confront its fears too quickly is called flooding, and this can lead to a deepening of fear as well as a new negative association to you for forcing him into that situation.

Habituation is similar to desensitisation, but it implies no fear response on the part of the cat, purely that he has an undesired response. So the cat that is conditioned to get some distance from the front door whenever it opens may shorten that distance if the person or persons who keep coming through are friendly. If they begin to offer him treats every time, he may in fact end up loitering at the door or eventually come running each time the doorbell rings!

Omission Training, or Distraction Technique, is preventing the undesired response from occurring, with the aim that over time the negative association will diminish, leading to what is called extinction. For instance, as part of the process of introducing a dog to a cat household, one should feed or play with the cat while the dog is both present and calm. By doing this, one is not only distracting the cat to the presence of the dog but the cat becomes conditioned to the fact that when he disregards the dog’s presence, good things happen (for the precise steps as to how to best introduce a cat to a dog, please view our page on ‘Cats & Other Pets’).

Finally, it is worth remembering that no learning can take place without trust. The most essential tool in your arsenal is the establishment of trust between you and your cat, for all else that you establish and build on will flow from there.

Auto Training:

This is the most basic form of training, in that it is purely informal. It also is the one that will take the longest time to achieve results, but it is perfect for cats that are starting out in their training.

Essentially it involves capturing the moment the cat performs the desired behaviour naturally, and rewarding it for doing so. If you want to train your cat to respond to your call, simply wait for it to approach you naturally, and then pair that action with a visual cue, word, or sound, then reward your cat when he reaches you. Continue to do so each time that your cat approaches you, be it indoors our outside, and before you know it your cat will come running each time you provide that visual or verbal cue.

Luring & reinforcement training:

Alongside auto training, this will be the basis for nearly all your cat training, as it involves using a toy or a treat to lure your cat into assuming the position or performing the behaviour that you wish. It is best achieved when using something that your cat particularly craves, so something that he finds highly rewarding.

Once your cat has learnt the behaviour you then pair it with a visual and a verbal cue, as in a gesture and a word. The reason why we mention a visual cue alongside a verbal one is because cats generally respond better to visual signals than to auditory ones. It is important that these cues be clear, concise, consistent, and distinctly different from one another, in order to avoid confusion.

Remember to praise your cat as you give him his reward. Both praise and encouragement go a long way, as it’s just as important to a cat that he knows what he has done right as when he does something wrong. Getting a something wrong should not earn him a reprimand. Save your ‘No!’s for when training through Negative Punishment (see below). Simply reissue your cue or take a step back in the training.

At the end of the day, we want our cats to be focused on us, not on the treat dangling before their nose, so once the action has been understood and paired to your cue, remove the lure from sight and move on to Positive Reinforcement, or Positive Reward, Training. This is where you will provide the verbal or visual cue without luring the cat. As soon as the cat performs the associated behaviour, you will then treat and praise.

As your cat begins to consistently respond to the cue, slowly begin to treat less and less, saving the reward only for the responses that are improvements on what went before. By doing this, you will be shaping your cat’s responses, and if the treat is highly motivational, he will be learning to shape up in terms of both action and speed!

Positive & negative punishment:

Positive Punishment is taking punitive action against the cat for not responding in the manner we would want. This can be done by scolding the cat or even hitting it. This is not training, it is torture, and it can only be counterproductive to learning. All that it will teach the cat is to fear the trainer, and can lead to stress, anxiety, and learned helplessness. So much for the foundation of trust, which we maintain is the cornerstone to any good training regime.

Negative Punishment, on the other hand, is withholding something that the cat values, and can work in conjunction with Positive Reward Training to teach the cat not only what it is doing well but when it is going wrong. The withholding of a treat or of praise are examples of Negative Punishment in practice, and is the basis for teaching a cat the ‘No!’, ‘Leave!’, and ‘Off!’ Commands.

Negative Punishment should be followed with a positive reward once he has complied, but timing should be carefully managed. If your cat jumps on your computer and after telling it ‘Off!’ you immediately give it a treat, the cat will see jumping on your computer as a means of getting your attention and then its reward. Withholding a reward – and hence Negative Punishment – only works when there was an expectation of receiving a reward in the first place.

So with regard to teaching your cat to remain off of your computer, the trick would be to introduce your computer into one of your cat’s training sessions when you are not using it and then to reward your cat with games and treats everywhere but when it gets within a short distance of your computer, in time pairing that negative reward with the word ‘Off!’, and then continuing to reward your cat as it steps away.

KITTEN TRAINING:

Training your kitten should not wait but should begin the day you welcome him into your home. In fact, despite whatever efforts you may employ to put off today what can begin tomorrow, training will most certainly not wait once you discover the furry little bundle has begun to toilet in inappropriate areas around your home! So the best course of action is to take action from the start.

Ensure that it is both consistent and fun for you and the little one. And never scold or rebuke a kitten for when he gets things wrong. Mistakes will invariably happen, and when they do simply take stock, try figure out how you can better aid your kitten to understand what is expected of him, and persevere with the training. It will all work out in the end!

Litter tray training:

By the time you bring your kitten home, he may already be familiar with the use of a litter tray.  This is more likely if, at around three weeks of age, he had the opportunity to observe his mother using one, and then followed her example.  But should a litter tray be unfamiliar to him, or should he lapse, there are some basic steps that you can take to help bring him back on track:

1. Provide a suitable tray: There are a number of litter trays on the market, from ones with lids to open top trays with raised edges.  Some kittens prefer the privacy of a closed top tray, while others find it difficult to enter through their swing door.  If you provide one with the latter, it may be worth removing the swing door until your kitten has mastered getting through it.  Ensure that the tray is large enough for your kitten to turn around in.  If you do get one that is of a suitable size for a kitten, you may need to purchase a larger one as he grows into adulthood.
2. Stick to the litter your kitten is used to: In order to set your kitten up for continued success, it is important to provide the same type of litter as he used while at that formative age. Should you wish to change the substrate over time, you should do so by mixing some of the new litter in with the old and gradually transition your kitten over the course of a two to three week period. For those kittens that were allowed to do their business on newspaper or outdoors, it would be a case of transitioning them off that familiar substrate and onto the cat litter you would prefer they used. So were newspaper their substrate of choice, it would be a case of layering the litter tray with newspaper and then gradually adding some litter into the tray over time. If your kitten was used to toileting outdoors, by mixing in some garden soil into their litter tray you should hopefully tempt your kitten into doing his business while gradually reducing the amount of soil you place into the tray over time.
3. Timing your kitten’s toileting requirements: Predicting when your kitten will need to toilet will help prevent accidental setbacks. The most likely times are: upon waking, just before or after feeding, and during or just after a bout of play or moment of excitability. Be sure to let your kitten have access to the litter tray around these times, as well as just before you go to sleep. You may even want to guide him in initially, simply to cement in his mind that this is where he needs to do his business.
4. Praise and reward your kitten for each and every success: Remember to do so only once he has finished with his business, or you may interrupt his flow! If you have paired a reward with a clicker, you should click just as he finishes what he is doing. Cats live very much in the moment, and you want to capture that moment without distracting him from it.
5. Keep his litter tray clean: Remove all feces and urine-soaked clumps of litter on a daily basis, replace with fresh litter, and check that the urine hasn’t soaked through to the base, which overtime may leave a pungent smell. Cats have sensitive noses, so even a seemingly clean litter tray may not seem so attractive if it has the overpowering scent of liquid body waste. And because they have sensitive noses, it is equally important that when cleaning the base you do so using unscented cleaning agents and give the tray time enough to dry and aerate before putting back for use.

So really the key to good litter tray training is as much up to you as it is up to your kitten. If you provide a sufficient number of litter trays (at least one tray per household cat), place those trays somewhere accessible and safe, provide the appropriate substrate, and keep them clean and presentable, your kitten will have a much better chance of observing good toilet manners.

Cat carrier training:

Very few cats love their cat carrier, and the reason should be fairly obvious. Every time they get in one, it means a car journey, be it to a cattery or to the vet. And if there are three things that an independent, reserved, stay-at-home kitty detests, it is all three of those things!

Their distaste for their carrier is then compounded by how they are forcibly manipulated to get inside it, be it shoved head-first while being held in a vice-like grip, or pushed down through the door at the top of the carrier while their forelegs are held together to prevent any grabbing at the grating.

So the best thing we can do for our cats is to rid them of these negative associations right from the start, when they are still kittens. And that process begins by never forcing a kitten into a carrier nor locking it in until it has chosen to enter of its own volition.

1. Reward his approach to the carrier: If he needs a little incentive to explore inside, toss a couple of treats leading up and into the carrier, and then reward him for being inside by treating him through the grating at the opposite end from the door.
2. Establish the carrier as a place of comfort, safety, and security: Create a cosy space by placing a favourite blanket inside, and leave the carrier open for your kitten to retreat to when he wants to sleep. If the top of the carrier can be removed, you may want to on occasion leave only the base, so that your cat can view the goings-on around him, and at other times keep the carrier complete, so that your cat may feel more secluded.
3. Interact your cat when he is settled in the base: Build up positive associations with the carrier by both playing with and treating your cat while he is settled in the carrier. There will invariably come a time when he will need to go to the vet or a cattery, but that doesn’t mean every time he goes to his carrier it has to entail a negative consequence.
4. Transporting your cat: After a week of your cat being able to enter and exit the carrier of his own volition, and positively interacting with him while he is inside, it is time to briefly shut him in and carry him. Close the door, pick up the carrier, and take it to the front door, and then return it to where it was. Open the carrier, and let your cat out. Perform this action a couple of times to get your cat used to being transported in the carrier.

If you need to get your cat into his carrier before you are able to implement or complete this training, avoid stress and leaving an indelibly negative association to the carrier by placing your cat in rear-end first. You will find that you will have a lot less of a struggle on your hands and your cat will be less stressed as a consequence of that.

CORE EXERCISES:

These are essential exercises that all cats should learn, as they will teach the animal to be attentive to its owner while at the same time giving the owner the tools to both control and safeguard their pet.

If your cat appears to have difficulty understanding what is expected of it, simply move back to the previous stage of training and reinforce instruction there. For some cat, it may take some time, but once they achieve that breakthrough, repeated action invariably follows. After all, there are strokes and treats to be had!

Always try to end a training session on a high note, so that both you and the cat can feel a sense of achievement. And then enjoy a serious bout of play together. You both will have earned it!

Teaching your cat to use a cat flap:

The process of teaching a cat to use a cat flap is similar to that which you would use to teach him to climb inside of a cat carrier, namely by enticing him through with a treat.

1. Leave the flap open for the initial training: Either tie the flap back so that it remains up or remove it altogether.
2. Remove the scent of other animals: If you have other cats in the house, you may want to wipe the surrounding area, just in case there is the scent of other cats that may put your new cat or kitten off.
3. Entice your cat or kitten to the flap: Scatter a trail of treats up to the open cat flap and let your cat follow the trail to the source.
4. Reward exploration: Position yourself on the other side of the flap and reward your cat or kitten for his curiosity. As he sniffs at the flap, treat and gently compliment him.
5. Lure your cat through the flap: While you are on the other side of the flap, hold out a treat to your cat’s nose and draw the treat back toward you. The flap should be open, so there should be no hindrance to your cat making his way through. Once he is on the other side, reward him, and then reverse positions so that he has to follow the treat through the flap and back into the house. Repeat this process until such time as your cat appears confident moving through the flap.
6. Replace the flap: Once your cat has solidified his learning in passing through the flap, drop the flap; down or reinstall it and again try to entice him through. He may take some time to learn to push his way through the flap, but gently urge him on. Reward him for his courage once he is through!

You may consider limiting your cat’s access to the outdoors during certain parts of the day or night. This can easily be done by locking the flap in one or both directions. By placing some kind of visual signal across the flap, you will be able to let your cat know when it is locked. Some suggest to place tape across the flap in a mark of an ‘X’ to signal that the flap is not open for business. Alternatively, by attaching some material, using Velcro or looping it over a wire whose either ends have been screwed in above the flap, you can create a curtain that you will be able to drop over the flap each time it is locked.

Teaching your cat basic recall:

We have already outlined one way to train your cat with a basic recall, and that is through auto training. That method, which involves capturing a behaviour as it occurs and then rewarding it, is probably the best method for conditioning a cat to repeat a behaviour upon instruction. It does, however, take a long time, as you will need to be waiting and watching for that behaviour to occur.

Alternatively, you can train a cat basic recall through luring and then positive reward training.

1. Entice your cat to come to you: You should begin quite close to your cat in a low-distraction environment. Hold out a tiny treat and wait for him to come over. Reward him with the lure as he reaches you.
2. Gradually increase distance: Repeat the above exercise over and over while gradually putting more distance between you and your cat.
3. Pair the lure with a signal: Once you have consistently lured your cat at a distance, begin to pair the action with a visual signal and vocal cue. This could be as simple as holding out your open hand with a treat on it at his head-height while calling his name.
4. Phase out the lure: Remove the treat from your open hand but continue to reward your cat with it once he reaches you. In time you should switch the reward from providing a treat to simply giving cuddles and strokes.
5. Proof the recall: Perform the above in a more distractible environment, such as outdoors. You may need to ramp up the incentive value for your cat by luring him with something irresistible, such as a juicy prawn or some flavoursome fish.

Reward your cat as soon as he reaches you, but then release him again to enjoy the rest of his day. After all, you don’t want him to have as the only association of coming to you being constrained or locked inside the house at night.

Teaching your cat to relax:

Being able to relax is extremely important to a cat. Stress, especially over an extended period, can be quite detrimental to a cat’s wellbeing, both mentally and physically. In fact, stress is one of the leading causes of illness in cats. So to be able to cue your cat to relax, especially in potentially stressful situations and locations – such as during a visit to the vet – would be extremely beneficial to both you and your cat.

The trick is to have your cat associate a blanket or towel with a calm and relaxed state.

1. Create a relaxed space: Select a blanket or towel that you will use, and place it in one of your cat’s preferred settling spots, preferably somewhere near to a plug point. Attach a Feliway diffuser to the plug point and when you see that your cat is in the mood to settle down, guide him to the blanket with a treat.
2. Gentle interactions only: While your cat is on the blanket, give him strokes and cuddles while avoiding any area of the body, such as his belly, that might ramp up his energy or disturb him.
3. Pair this relaxed state with a signal: Pair this moment of contentment with a visual, or touch, signal and a cue word, such as ‘relax’. Repeat this exercise every day for at least two weeks, remembering to only do it at a time when your cat settles down to sleep.
4. Use the relaxation blanket in the cat carrier: Move the blanket into your cat’s carrier, making it available for your cat to enter and curl up inside. Continue to stroke him gently while he is inside the carrier, and provide the visual, or touch, signal and cue word. You may want to install it in the future when your cat needs to be transported to the vet or to a cattery.
5. Use the relaxation blanket for grooming sessions: When training your cat to be brushed, have his teeth checked, or his ears cleaned, use the relaxation blanket as a safe space in which to do all this, introducing your cat slowly to each of these procedures as outlined later on this page.

Be sure not to use the relaxing blanket only for stressful occasions, such as going to the vet or receiving medication, or instead of being associated with relaxation it will slowly become imbued with negative connotations for the cat. The blanket is like a relaxation sponge, soaking up positive vibes during times of relaxation and becoming drained during times of stress, and so is in need of regular refilling in order to continue to fulfill its purpose.

Teaching your cat to be touched:

A lot of cats don’t enjoy being touched much less handled or picked up, and yet this is vital for any cat to at least tolerate, insomuch as it is necessary for it to be groomed, medicated, and examined. So getting a cat used to being touched is of paramount importance. And equally important is that the cat learns to generalise that learning, so it is not only you that is able to touch or handle it but others, such as a veterinary nurse or professional cat groomer, as well.

This exercise can take place on his relaxation blanket (see above) if you have already formed that association with your cat. It would also help if you have a Feliway diffuser on hand.

1. Entice your cat into a relaxed state: Summon your cat over to you and treat him when he does. Gently stroke him so that he begins to purr and show signs of relaxing. You will want your cat calm and relaxed, so wait for him to settle down.
2. Touch-and-treat: Gently touch one of his paws, and treat him as you do so. Touch each paw in turn, treating him on each occasion. Move to his face to gently touch each of his ears, and then gently press your finger against each of his cheeks. Work your way slowly over your cat’s body, touching him lightly and rewarding him as you do so.
3. Extend the duration of touching: The first foray over your cat’s body should be brief and light, but as you progress through future sessions you will take a little longer as you touch and examine each part of his body. So now when you touch each of his paws, you will gently press down on each of his pads to unsheathe his claws. When you move to his cheeks, you will gently raise his upper lip to see his teeth and gums.
4. Get others involved: You want your cat to be able to generalise this kind of touch, and to that end, once you have got your cat used to your touch you should then have another member of the family begin the process all over again. This way your cat will learn to accept such handling from more than just one person.

Clicker & Targeting:

Clicker, whistle, and target-based training are all powerful tools that can be used in conjunction with both Positive Reward Training practices. The only reason we present them after, as opposed to before, the core exercises is to explain how you can still fulfill your cat’s training requirements without them. But what these two tools will give you, should you decide to employ them, is:

• a more precise means to mark the exact behaviour that you wish to reinforce
• the ability to mark behaviour from a distance, or even while your cat is not facing you
• the ability to communicate at a distance, or even while your cat is not facing you
• the means to have your cat focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else
• a way in which to direct your cat to a specific place or to move in a particular direction

The way in which you apply these training techniques are similar, but we will cover each in turn.

Clicker training:

For clicker training, all that you will require is a clicker – a device that emits a sharply defined and distinct sound when pressed – as well as a bag full of high motivator treats.

1. Prime the clicker: Lure your cat over to you with a treat, and then as he takes his reward for coming over, click at the same time. Your cat need not be sat in front of you but should be free to move around, but as you continue to offer him a tidbit, click as you treat.
2. Proof the clicker: After ten or twelve click-and-treats, click and then withhold the treat. If your cat looks slightly confused, as if wondering why he has not been reward, you know that he has made the association.

Now it is time to use the clicker to conduct some training. You may wish to begin with something that he is familiar with, such as sitting!

1. Marking the action: Entice him over, and then wait for a moment when he sits down. As he does so, click-and-treat. He will probably stand back up again to see if there was any more where that came from. Be patient, and wait for him to sit again, and then immediately click-and treat when he does so. Again he will probably stand back up to look for more of those goodies.
2. Luring him into position: With the treat held between your middle finger and thumb, extend your forefinger as if you were pointing and gently point over his head so that you’re holding the treat over his nose. He will have to look up, and as he does so, his tail-end will drop. He may rise up on his haunches to grab at the treat if it is held too high above him, so keep it close to his head. Click-and-treat as he drops down on his haunches.
3. Pairing with a signal: Use this pointing as your visual cue for him to sit. Do this a number of times before you incorporate the verbal cue: ‘Sit’. But remember, cats respond better to visual than verbal cues, so the former will be your primary mode of communication, Keep it consistent!
4. Phase out the lure: Continue to click to mark the behaviour you want, but gradually delay dishing out the treat. As your cat begins to consistently respond well to the cue, remove the treat from your hand and merely perform the action of pointing, treating him from your other hand. This way you will be able to ensure that you’re not simply luring him with the treat.

You can also instruct your cat to ‘settle’ by following the same action, but this time pointing with the treat in your hand beneath his chin, guiding him down to the floor. Always click to mark the behaviour that you want while rewarding him once he has performed that behaviour. In time you will be able to have him sit on cue and then guided down to settle, clicking at each appropriate moment while only dishing out one treat at the end.

Consider the clicker to be the conditional reinforcer, telling your cat when he is doing the right thing, and your treats and praise to be the unconditional reinforcer, simply congratulating him for a job well done!

Target training:

Target-based training entails getting your cat to focus on a single object or item to the exclusion of all else, whether it is to nudge it with his muzzle, to paw at it, or to settle on it. It can take the form of a toy, a wand, or a towel. Whatever devices or objects you decide to use, ensure that they are novel, which means they are only used for this purpose and not otherwise familiar to your cat. It is also helpful for this type of training if you have already trained your cat with the use of a clicker.

1. Introducing the target: To have your cat touch, paw, or follow an object or toy, merely introduce him to it by holding it out to him. Most cats are curious about novel items, especially those that are introduced to them by their doting human companions. You can use this to your advantage if it is something that you want your cat to nudge or touch with his nose.
2. Mark the intention, reward the behaviour: Simply wait for him to approach to sniff and, with the clicker safely hidden from his sight, click to mark his curiosity. Save your treats for when he actually touches the novel toy, but when he does, be sure to click-and-treat.
3. Shape the response: Continue to click-and-treat for each touch that he performs, gradually phasing out the treats and saving them only for those harder nudges or longer touches.

When it comes to pawing an object, you can use a cat’s natural tendency to reach out to grasp items just out of nose-reach.

1. Introducing the target: Hold a wand over your cat’s head. If he seems disinterested, you may need to make it a little bit more beguiling by taping a tiny feather to its end.
2. Mark the intention, reward the behaviour: As your cat reaches up to grab it, mark that intention with a click, and then remove the wand, treating him as you do so. Hold the wand back out over your cat, and then mark the response again as he reaches for the wand, treating him as you remove it. Once you have your cat consistently reaching for the wand, remove the feather and continue as before, making sure that your cat associates reaching for the wand with getting a treat.
3. Shape the response: Gradually move the wand out in front of him and click every time he approaches it, rewarding him when he reaches it. You may want to bring in a verbal cue, such as: ‘Follow’.

Instead of touching an object, how about having him stand or sit on something such as a blanket or towel?

1. Introducing the target: Have some treats in a bowl placed a short distance away and have the towel placed on a surface that has a distinctly different feel and colour. If you have already target trained him to follow a wand, you can guide him to the blanket and then treat him as he reaches it. Remove the wand and let him wander off the blanket, if he so chooses.
2. Auto-training to target: Gently ward him off or block his paths to the treats, and leave him to wander around. No longer direct him to the towel, but the moment he passes over it or touches it, reward him with another high motivator treat by tossing it onto the towel for him. Most likely he will happily come over to you for more, but ignore him and let him re-explore the off-limits bowl. Block him or ward him off, and again reward him for stepping on the towel when he does.
3. Pairing with a signal: At some point things will begin to click for him, and he will start to venture onto the towel. At this point, tap the towel as he does so, for this will be your visual cue to him in the future. Once he begins to move there more readily, you can introduce a verbal cue, such as: ‘Blanket’.

All of these foundational lessons need to be trained frequently and repeatedly but in short sessions. Do not let your cat get bored or frustrated. He needs to find it both fun and rewarding if he is to persevere. The benefits and rewards for you, however, can be immense if you can make him succeed. Clicker and target-based training can be immensely helpful in teaching your cat certain life skills, as we shall reveal next.

LEARNING LIFE SKILLS:

There is a lot that a young cat has to learn in a relatively short space of time, certainly a great deal that will seem completely alien to him, but that is required in order for him to adjust to human society.

While your feline family member will feel it perfectly normal to groom himself, he will now be expected to put up with your brushes, combs, and clippers. And while four paws are all that your cat feels is necessary to travel, now he gets stuck inside a carrier and slung into the back of a metal box that rolls around on four wheels. And let’s not even talk about going to the vets. Let’s in fact, not go there at all!

So what is your kitty to do, but to have you help him to make sense of this brave new world.

Most of these training sessions will involve habituation, and for these to be successful it is important that each step is undertaken gradually at a pace that is conducive to your cat. Don’t try to cram everything into a single session, but have short, multiple sessions each day. It may take a couple of weeks, but your cat will get there in the end, and will thank you for your patience and understanding by being more willing to trust you in these sometimes stressful but ultimately necessary tasks.

Accepting medication:

Training Tools: Habituation, Positive Reinforcement

Cats are notoriously bad for taking medication, and while no amount of training will get your cat to happily swallow his meds, there is still much that you can do to make the whole process less excruciating for both you and your cat.

In fact, it’s not the act of taking the medication that your cat finds most stressful, it is the process of you pinning him down to manipulate his jaw as you try to get the tablet down his throat that he rails against. So if you can get him only halfway toward tolerating your handling, the entire process should then be at least half as stressful as it was before.

In order to achieve this, you will need to habituate your cat to the type of handling required as you medicate him. But before we explain that process, it is best to be clear what type of handling should occur.

The first step to habituating your cat to accepting medication is to get him used to your holding him as per the description above.

1. Entice your cat into a relaxed state: Summon your cat over to you and begin by stroking him in a manner that he enjoys. This would normally involve gently rubbing his chin or his cheeks.
2. Touch-and-treat: As he begins to purr, begin to stroke the top of his head down to his shoulders, gradually delaying the stroke so that you maintain your hand over the top of his head for longer and longer. As you delay the stroke, so should you begin to reward him for being such a good sport about it.
3. Mimic the act of giving medication: Start to offer him tablet-sized portions of chicken that you have cut up and rolled into tiny balls. At first let him simply take the chicken from between your finger and thumb (as you would ordinarily hold a tablet), making sure that he takes the treat while your hand is over the top of his head and not while you are stroking his neck or shoulders.
4. Shape the procedure: Once you have come to a point that he is comfortable taking the chicken while your hand gently covers the top of his head, begin to hold his head a bit more firmly, still allowing him to reach for the chicken but this time waiting for his mouth to part and then quickly tipping the morsel into his mouth yourself. Immediately release him each time the food goes into his mouth.
5. Moving to completion: Finally, once you’ve had a number of successes at the previous stage, move on by holding him firmly but gently as previously described, and tip his bottom jaw gently open with the middle finger of your free hand before dropping the chicken into his mouth. Immediately release him again.

The above process should be done incrementally in short sessions over a number of days or weeks, and should not be attempted in one sitting. When you finally do have to give your cat a tablet, you will need to push it to the back of his mouth, close his jaw, and then massage his throat, but you should hopefully find him to be just that little bit more compliant. Nevertheless, it would not hurt to treat him to some tasty chicken afterward!

A similar process can be followed when introducing a syringe. However, in this instance, instead of tablet-sized chicken you will want a syringe filled with a delicious paste.

Grooming:

Training Tools: Habituation, Positive Reinforcement

As with receiving medication, having your cat used to being touched is an important part in him accepting to be groomed. Here, though, you will want your cat to get used to being touched on all parts of his body. This will also be vital for preparing him for visits to the vet.

1. Entice your cat into a relaxed state: If you have trained your cat to relax on a blanket or towel, you may want to incorporate that conditioning into this learning. Alternatively, entice your cat onto your lap, and once he has settled there you can begin.
2. Touch-and-treat: Gently touch each of his ears, and reward him with a treat. Do the same for his lips, gently raising them so the gums are visible on either side, treating each touch in turn. Raise each of his paws and press gently on each of the pads to unsheath each of his claws. Gently praise and treat him at each step of the way.
3. Introduce the grooming tools: You will also want to habituate him to the tools that will be involved in the grooming process. Introduce your cat to each of the tools that you will be using, allowing him to sniff each in turn. Treat him for doing so.
4. Applying the tools to areas of your cat’s body: Having given him the opportunity to sniff the tools, place each one gently against his body as if they were to be used, but do not turn them on or use them. Raise his paw gently and touch the pet nail clipper against each of his claws in turn. Tip the bottle of ear cleaner against each of his ears without actually pouring. Hold the pet tooth brush against his gums without brushing.
5. Habituating your cat’s senses: Certain tools, like electric clippers, create a sound and vibration when turned on. Other tools, such as nail clippers, create a pressure on the claws and a sharp sound as they clip the nail. You will want to habituate your cat to each of these sensory experiences. For anything electric, you should turn them on well away from your cat and let him explore the source of the sound himself, rewarding him as he does so. For clippers, you can approximate the sound that would be made by clipping a stick of spaghetti and rewarding your cat while you do so. Your cat can become habituated to the feel of these grooming equipment by gently pressing each implement against your cat while not actually using them.

When you finally do perform the actual grooming, be that brushing, ear cleaning, fur or claw trimming, have someone with you to praise and treat your cat throughout, and keep the first session short. You don’t have to do it all at once. Perhaps for now just focus on one thing. You can always give your cat a break and continue with further grooming over the course of the week.

Travel journeys:

Training Tools: Habituation / Counter Conditioning, Desensitisation

Most likely your cat’s first foray in a car was when he was rudely removed from his mother and litter mates, placed in a box or cat carrier, and driven away from the only home he’s ever known. Not exactly a positive beginning!

But then it got worse.

His next venture in a car was to be taken to a place that smelled of the fear of other cats, perhaps even dogs, where he got picked up by strangers, pawed at around his eyes and muzzle, poked in his ears and bottom, and then pricked with a needle. No wonder he’s come to associate that strange metal box on four wheels with all manner of evil!

So how do you reverse all these negative associations and at least get your cat to tolerate the interior of a car?

1. Create positive associations around your cat’s carrier: If you haven’t yet habituated your cat to his carrier, now is the time to start. Follow the steps as outlined earlier on this page, right down to getting your cat used to being transported in the carrier to your front door.
2. Induce a relaxed state in your cat: You may wish to introduce your cat to a relaxation blanket, which can then be placed inside the carrier, to help your cat settle down. Follow the steps as outlined earlier on this page for getting your cat used to relaxing on cue.
3. Take your cat nowhere slowly: With the above two steps taken, place your cat carrier in your car. Put it in the same spot that you will place it when you will be taking your cat on future journeys. Ideally, it should be a cool, sheltered spot where the carrier is unlikely to roll over should you have to break hard but where your cat can still see you. The front passenger footwell would be a suitable spot. Sit in the driver’s seat and treat your cat when he is calm and relaxed while ignoring any of his protestations. Begin by keeping these sessions short – no more than five minutes – but then build them up to fifteen minutes. So take a book or newspaper with you!
4. Take your cat somewhere unimportant: Your first journey should not be to the vet or a cattery but somewhere inconsequential. So if you have a bit of shopping to do, why not take your cat along? But make sure that it is a quick shopping trip, as you don’t want to leave your cat on his own in the car for too long. Also try to choose a day when it is neither too hot nor too sunny.
5. Time your journey around your cat’s toileting: Don’t make a journey with your cat just after he has eaten or if he has not toileted for a while. The best time is when he bladder and tummy are empty. You don’t want him to have any accidents in the carrier while in the car, as this will not only involve cleaning but will create a host of additional negative associations between your cat, his carrier, and your car.

For further travel tips, feel free to check out our page: ‘Traveling With Your Pet’.

Visits to the vet:

Training Tools: Habituation, Positive Reinforcement, Target-based Training

The first visit to the vet has all the potential for stress and anxiety in a grown cat, let alone a little kitten, and his reaction to that first outing can inform his response to all future visits. So how can you mitigate the stress whilst building positive associations to such an experience?

1. Book an appropriate appointment time: Speak with your veterinary practice to find out at what time they have the least number of clients and try to get in then, so that the reception area is not teeming with other pets and owners when you arrive. Some practices offer cat-only appointment times, so be sure to take one of these if on offer, to keep your cat from having to put up with a bunch of barking dogs in the waiting area.
2. Get an appropriate cat carrier: Invest in a cat carrier whose roof can be separated from the base. This way, when your cat is introduced to the vet, he can be viewed by simply removing the lid of the carrier.
3. Condition your cat to the consultation process: Set your cat up for success by habituating him to the cat carrier, as per the instructions provided earlier on this page. Once he is comfortable and confident in his carrier, practice by lifting the carrier onto a table at home and removing the lid while your cat is sat inside. Praise and treat him for remaining there.
4. Condition your cat to being touched: Once your cat seems relaxed on the table top, you can begin to habituate him to how he will be handled by a vet. Gently lift each of his ears in turn, pull back his lips to expose his teeth and gums, touch and then hold up each of his paws. Treat and praise him during each of these exercises.

For further suggestions as to how you can prepare for vet visits, view our page on ‘Training for Visits to the Vet’.

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