I always marvel at the amount of resources, books, programs for puppy/dog training, and so little focused on cats. What a shame! General consensus is cats can't be trained, they're so independent. Course, breeders highly train their cats for shows, but they seem to imply that's because they're "pure blooded".
All our cats are/were rescues, all began their basic training a few months old. Amazing, their intelligence, willingness, desire to please, and affection for other family members, incl. other pets. What they can learn by 1 year of age is amazing to me, and I am sure we could have done more if there had been books that went beyond litterbox training.
Basic training:
Indoors- litter box (all were naturals, needed merely to be "told" rather than "trained" where we wanted them to go, as they were taken to the box, made "puddy paws" into the litter, never had to be shown twice); where to scratch (at 1 year, none scratch where they shouldn't); where to climb (by 1 yr, no one climbs where they shouldn't); where to sit and sleep (all have their am, pm, night sleeping spots), eating (all have schedules they follow, free feed, none over-eat, the one that did was re-trained).
Outdoors: Pets, like children, should never be outside without supervision. This goes for cats too.
Leash-trained.
Fence trained.
Tree trained: She now uses shrub trees (6 - 8 feet) for climbing exercise, and not go for the fence, despite birds and squirrels on other side. Will follow instructions on which branch to jump to next and we circuit the garden that way. Bend over making a "flat back", and say "Jump" she will jump onto it and down.
Yard trained - meaning if there are sections of the yard we don't want them to go today, I say "no" when they walk over there, even if yesterday it was OK.
Plant trained - been taught about good plants and bad plants. E.g. they will not go near any houseplants regardless, as it's not theirs. They have their own grass garden plots, and they know theirs is theirs and ours is ours.
Communication training:
Cats, like dogs, can and should be taught to understand basic spoken commands. At 1 yr old, she will follow spoken and sign commands: Home, No, Come, Stay, Jump.
All talk to Mom and Dad esp. if not feeling well, e.g., bad tummy - she gets us, leads us to where she will hunker down behind the litter box, looks mournful, and meows softly.
Doesn't like what we put out for her? she'll paw it and walk away, and if the food is questionable she'll turn the food bowl over. We never inhibit/always respect these actions - as in one case of a bag of a brandname kibble, smelled it very carefully and detected rancid fish oil odor. Rancid oils are, of course, huge cause of livers going off.
We never "force" them to finish any food if they don't want, they get to say what agrees with them or not. Always gets offered one other choice.
When she needs "special foods" e.g., their kyodophilus a probiotics, gnaws the bottle cap.
When there is trouble outside the house (stranger, animal or human) finds a way to get our attention.
Special skills: Jumps 4 foot high full 360 rolls. Retreives Da Bird and drags it (bird and wand) by mouth all the way to the top of a shrub tree.
Next lessons:
Using a toilet if litter boxes not available... never understood why cats are underestimated in this regard, i.e., has to be one or the other.
(They never attempt to go in the back yard, they always head inside for the litter box).
Traveling - stowed in a bike basket - without freaking out...
Swimming... cats can naturally swim... just as a precaution and to make them less afraid of water in general.
Stroller training ... training cats to be stowed and strolled around in public places.
All our training, even with failings, always end with treats. Cats prefer love to treats anyway. A happy approving loving voice and words about them are better than treats. They understand every word, every tone. Needless to say: Never yell or hit your pet, it breaks their heart.
Wish: --Intelligent books about cat training. Cats - like dogs and children - need to be taught boundaries esp. as our world gets more complicated and crowded.
--Cat accessories not originally designed for dogs, e.g., life vests, rain coats, climbing harnesses. That common sense prevails and not weird extremes. --Cats need access to real fresh air, direct sunlight, daily exercise - wish for a basic feline companion animal bill of rights.
All our cats are/were rescues, all began their basic training a few months old. Amazing, their intelligence, willingness, desire to please, and affection for other family members, incl. other pets. What they can learn by 1 year of age is amazing to me, and I am sure we could have done more if there had been books that went beyond litterbox training.
Basic training:
Indoors- litter box (all were naturals, needed merely to be "told" rather than "trained" where we wanted them to go, as they were taken to the box, made "puddy paws" into the litter, never had to be shown twice); where to scratch (at 1 year, none scratch where they shouldn't); where to climb (by 1 yr, no one climbs where they shouldn't); where to sit and sleep (all have their am, pm, night sleeping spots), eating (all have schedules they follow, free feed, none over-eat, the one that did was re-trained).
Outdoors: Pets, like children, should never be outside without supervision. This goes for cats too.
Leash-trained.
Fence trained.
Tree trained: She now uses shrub trees (6 - 8 feet) for climbing exercise, and not go for the fence, despite birds and squirrels on other side. Will follow instructions on which branch to jump to next and we circuit the garden that way. Bend over making a "flat back", and say "Jump" she will jump onto it and down.
Yard trained - meaning if there are sections of the yard we don't want them to go today, I say "no" when they walk over there, even if yesterday it was OK.
Plant trained - been taught about good plants and bad plants. E.g. they will not go near any houseplants regardless, as it's not theirs. They have their own grass garden plots, and they know theirs is theirs and ours is ours.
Communication training:
Cats, like dogs, can and should be taught to understand basic spoken commands. At 1 yr old, she will follow spoken and sign commands: Home, No, Come, Stay, Jump.
All talk to Mom and Dad esp. if not feeling well, e.g., bad tummy - she gets us, leads us to where she will hunker down behind the litter box, looks mournful, and meows softly.
Doesn't like what we put out for her? she'll paw it and walk away, and if the food is questionable she'll turn the food bowl over. We never inhibit/always respect these actions - as in one case of a bag of a brandname kibble, smelled it very carefully and detected rancid fish oil odor. Rancid oils are, of course, huge cause of livers going off.
We never "force" them to finish any food if they don't want, they get to say what agrees with them or not. Always gets offered one other choice.
When she needs "special foods" e.g., their kyodophilus a probiotics, gnaws the bottle cap.
When there is trouble outside the house (stranger, animal or human) finds a way to get our attention.
Special skills: Jumps 4 foot high full 360 rolls. Retreives Da Bird and drags it (bird and wand) by mouth all the way to the top of a shrub tree.
Next lessons:
Using a toilet if litter boxes not available... never understood why cats are underestimated in this regard, i.e., has to be one or the other.
(They never attempt to go in the back yard, they always head inside for the litter box).
Traveling - stowed in a bike basket - without freaking out...
Swimming... cats can naturally swim... just as a precaution and to make them less afraid of water in general.
Stroller training ... training cats to be stowed and strolled around in public places.
All our training, even with failings, always end with treats. Cats prefer love to treats anyway. A happy approving loving voice and words about them are better than treats. They understand every word, every tone. Needless to say: Never yell or hit your pet, it breaks their heart.
Wish: --Intelligent books about cat training. Cats - like dogs and children - need to be taught boundaries esp. as our world gets more complicated and crowded.
--Cat accessories not originally designed for dogs, e.g., life vests, rain coats, climbing harnesses. That common sense prevails and not weird extremes. --Cats need access to real fresh air, direct sunlight, daily exercise - wish for a basic feline companion animal bill of rights.
