Train Your Cat With Clicker Training
Clicker training is sometimes called "positive training" or "positive reinforcement training". No matter what name you call it, it is the method professional animal trainers use to teach cats to perform certain behaviors for television, movies and sometimes live performance. When you train your cat with clicker training, you want to pair the sound of the clicker with a special treat your cat really wants.
Is Your Cat Open To Suggestions?
Unlike dogs or horses, not all cats will tolerate clicker training or just about any other training method. When you want to train your cat, you really need to get to know your cat. What is the cat's likes and dislikes? Is there a special toy or treat that just knocks him out? That is the treat you would reserve just for sessions when you train your cat.
Is your cat neutered? Usually, neutering makes the cat see a point to training, while an unneutered cat will be too preoccupied with finding a mate to pay any attention to you. If your cat is really elderly (over fifteen) this is not a good time to begin to train your cat. Training might prove to be too stressful. Generally, kittens and young cats under five are more open to training in order to relieve their boredom.
The Clicker
The clicker is a tiny plastic and metal device that acts as a noisemaker and nothing else. You should ideally click and then treat the cat within two seconds of the click. They need to get that association between the clicking noise and the appearance of a treat (or toy, or affection).
When you train your cat, go for only a few sessions of a few minutes long interspersed throughout the day. Don't wake your cat from a sound sleep in order to start a training session. They hate this. Work with your cat's schedule, not against it. Make training your cat flexible and on the cat's time, not yours.
A good first "trick" is to get the cat to walk over to a mat and stand on it. Lay down the mat and watch the cat. Put a treat on the mat. Whenever the cat approaches the mat, click and treat. Let the cat figure it out. Yes, this will take a while. Remember to use toys and affection and not just food, as many cats do not have that big of an appetite. Give a great amount of praise (a "jackpot") when the cat stands on the mat.
