Training kittens. When and how do I start?

[janneb]

We have a fifteen week old kitten and he is absolutely adorable and the best cuddlebug. I am home with him all day most of the week.
He is smart, but has a very obstinate personality. I think he just has so much energy and curiosity that obedience comes hard for him (and he's phased by nothing!! Clapping, stern "no"s, water bottles? Not startled one bit)
I thought it might be good to engage his mind constructively by training him to do tricks. It's also my hope that through more structured training he might learn he wants to obey us. A lot of people think cats won't learn tricks,and we never tried with our cats growing up, but I've heard it's possible.
Is it ever too young to start? What does clicker training look like? What are some beginner tricks I could work on with him?
Right now I am just training him to get used to his harness for vet visits, it's going well.

 

[Willowy]

Obedience is not a thing for cats, really . They think for themselves. The best you can do is convince him that what you want is also what he wants---that it was his idea in the first place! :lol3:

You can find some good videos about clicker training on Youtube. Most are about dogs but I'm sure there are a few about cats, although the basic principles are the same no matter what kind of animal you're trying to train. There's also a book called "Naughty No More" that talks about clicker training for basic house manners (not tricks).

 

[cinqchats]

You can start whenever you like. If they can clicker train chickens, you can clicker train a kitten! Have you seen the Acrocats? They're a troop of cat performers who have all been clicker trained. They'll play guitars, jump through hoops, push little shopping carts...all sorts of stuff. The only limit to training your cat is how many treats you have and your imagination.

 

[louann jude]

You can defiantly train your cat. I have gotten Lil Bit to sit for a treat. She will also kiss me if I smack my lips. I want to teach her to fetch. I have yet to find a toy she likes other than a laser pointer. One day she will though. 

 

[nessakhoo]

I feel you. My girl has been trained but if the treats or commands are not out she's running somewhere or doing something to get her food. She's like eat sleep meow (running here running there) eat sleep

 

[MoochNNoodles]

One of my mothers cats used to raise his paw for a treat when he was young. He learned that from watching the dogs though. He also used to sit with his paw in the air next to the cabinet the treats were kept in. And yes he had all house humans and some guests trained to get him treats when he'd do that! :lol3:

 

[janneb]

I love how different cats are with the habits they adopt, and how intelligent they are, too. Thanks for believing in their ability to learn!
We've began the training (I rented a book specifically for clicker training cats and the librarians laughed at me).
So far, Boba has learned to touch the target and to stand on a mat. These ate the beginner tricks which can be used for other commands. I haven't added word commands yet nor have I figured out what to use these tricks for, but I am thrilled he is figuring them out!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That's great!  Please keep us updated!  I'm curious what he will get up to as he grows!

 

[janneb]

I will keep you updated! I'm sure one that I will try to attempt is "get down." He's not the best jumper yet, but I know he'll be getting on the counters soon.

 

[janneb]

This morning I started adding word commands in, but I am ok with it going slow and with repeating the same things every day before we advance. Last week we took Boba on a 6hr car ride to go visit family. He made himself at home at both our parents houses for almost 6 days. He did so good and we found out he loves being around ppl, all ppl.
However, now that we're back in our one room apartment, he seems to be going stir crazy and biting and attacking our feet more. It doesn't help that I've had to pick up shifts for a while at work, so I am gone more hours of the week. He was pretty wild this morning (greeted me by punching me in the mouth with his back foot)and woke us up before our alarm just bc he was sick of being alone.
Anyway, after we had our clicker training session he seemed to calm down just a tad. I am hopeful that it is a good exercise for him. I just wish we could figure out how to stop his constant biting.