It is a common fallacy that cats cannot be skilled or educated. Yes, you can educate a cat to make it skilled. While they may externally seem less responsive to training than dogs, cats are open to various training methods. It is more operative when you start training during their kittenhood.
What do You Want to Train?
It is first important to determine what you want your cat to learn. Secondly and most importantly start with small steps each day. It is essential to consider what type of behaviors and actions you want your cats to learn. Make a list of few things on what you want to teach.
Such as how to train her to use the litter box, how to keep her calm when outside or on a vet visit. Along with this, some other things that you can teach them is how to stop scratching everything such as furniture or carpet. These are some of the few things you can easily work on.
Some objectives might include:
- Litter training
- Responding to your gestures
- Interacting with you or other animals
- Playing with toys
- How to keep them calm while traveling
Common Cat Behavioral Problems
There are common cat behaviors that can be addressed with appropriate instruction and teaching. This can be very helpful in understanding the needs of your cats and can save you from big problems. Such as:
- Furniture scratching is very common in cats
- Avoiding the litter box
- Becoming aggressive towards people or other animals
- Feeling stressed, fear or anxiety
7 Helpful Ways to Train Your Cats
Some of the useful ways you can adapt to training your cats are:
- The Best Support is to Give Your Cat Treats
Using plenty of treats is a great way to train your cats such as food-based treats. It is a very powerful tool to start training your kitten. The best reinforcement you can use is the right training. It is advised to pair it with their favorite reward. Such as diced chicken, low-sodium tuna, or commercial cat treats.
This can help you a lot with your cat’s training and it will be able to learn everything quickly.
- Never Punish Your Cats
If you truly want to train your cat or kitten then it is a rule of thumb to never punish her. Cats simply won’t learn anything when you punish them. It can hurt it. This can lead cats to stress, anxiety, behavioral change, or other health problems that you will never want.
- Train Your Cat to Use Toilet
Training a cat to use a toilet or litter box is a hard thing, but it is definitely worth it. If your cat learns this skill it can provide you many benefits including a clean and fresh home. Along with this, training your cat to use the toilet can also save you on the litter.
- Eliminate Distractions
While teaching you cats, reducing or completely eliminating distractions from your surroundings is also a great way that can help them learn fast. When you are spending time on the training try to completely cut off background noise, TV’s volume or any other kind of distraction. It can pull their focus away from you.
- Train Before Meals
Kittens are much more receptive to the training and instruction when they are hungry. Therefore, try to train them before feeding them. This is also considered to be one of the great ways to learn new actions or gestures. You can also give them mini rewards after each session, this will enhance their learning.
- Remain Consistent with the Training
A key to success is remaining consistent and regular with the training. Never deny the importance of staying regular in training your cats. At the start, it will be difficult for both of you but it will surely have reaping benefits for you and the kitten.
Keep on practicing, never stop. Always use signals to teach them and never forget to give them rewards for their work even if it is a tiny step. This can have long-term benefits for both you and your animal.
- Keep Your Training Brief
Cats can get bored easily. Therefore, it is advised to keep your teaching sessions under 15 minutes or less. You don’t want your cat to become dull or boring while you are teaching them. So, keep it short but keep it brief.
Conclusion
This article explains in detail some common cat behaviors and a few of the interesting yet essential training tips to make your kittens or cats skilled. Although the process is a bit difficult and time taking. But, in the end, it can truly benefit both you and your cats. Therefore, some of the best practices and ways are discussed above in this content piece.