How to Train a Cat, for Beginners

Why do we think of cats as impossible to train? Maybe it’s because they have a reputation for independence. But cats can be taught to do many things and training them is fun and easy. The key is to help your cat teach herself, through positive reinforcement and the use of a clicker device.

All kinds of cats can be trained, from tiny kittens to senior cats. All kinds of people can learn to train, whether it’s their first time living with a cat, or they’ve had cats their whole lives. It just takes attention, patience, and a little skill.

A cat
A clicker
Treats
Time and patience

The obvious reason for training a pet is to shape behavior as desired. Training can mean living with your cat is less stressful: a cat who sits patiently when it wants food is more pleasant to feed than a cat who yowls and swats at the bowl and your hand. It can mean your cat is safer: a cat well trained to recall is easier to catch if it escapes outside or hides somewhere hard to reach.

But training is also fun for you and the cat. Training helps keep your cat busy and thinking. It provides physical exercise. It improves your bond with your cat because you’re learning how to communicate, how to watch her body language cues and how she thinks.

The clicker is useful because it distinctively marks the exact moment your cat performs the desired behavior. It says “That’s it! You get paid for that.”

You can get your clicker inexpensively online or from most large pet stores. They vary slightly in shape and color, but all are essentially the same. Pick one you think you can hold comfortably. A wrist strap is handy.

If you can’t find a clicker, you can use a jam jar lid, with a raised bump in the middle designed to bounce back when the jar is unsealed. By quickly pressing the bump, you can produce a quiet clicking or popping sound.

Tip: If working a clicker and handing out treats is difficult for you to do at the same time, try putting the clicker on the floor with your toe over it. Press down with your toe to click it.

It’s critical to watch your cat carefully and click as exactly as you can when the behavior is completed. If you’re working on “sit”, watch for your cat’s rump to rest on the ground. If you click too late, you frustrate the cat and risk attaching a random behavior (head turning, say) performed after the sit; clicking too early can result in a cat certain she should be paid for hovering her rump over the floor.

Choose a treat that your cat is excited about. Save it for clicker training. Each treat only needs to be a taste, for example a lentil-sized bit of hot dog or cheese. If your cat loves wet food, try putting some in a syringe and pushing the plunger to dispense a tiny bit at a time, or put it on a spoon and let her lick some.

Once they get the idea, many cats will work for bits of their daily meals.

If your cat has a health condition or dietary restriction, check with your vet to make sure your treat is okay.

Troubleshooting:

My cat doesn’t pay attention to the little treats. Use a large chunk of something strong-smelling to get her attention. Let her nibble a bit off at a time. Once she gets the idea, switch to the little treats. Try training at about the time that she expects a meal.

My cat is distracted. Try practicing in a small room without distraction, like the bathroom. Make sure your training sessions are very short.

Choose a time you and your cat normally interact. Maybe this is in the morning while you have coffee; maybe it’s when you get home from work and your cat is excited to see you.

Tip: Just before your cat’s usual mealtime means she’s hungry and ready to be motivated by food.

Try to avoid distractions for the cat, like children wanting to play or other curious pets. Try not to have distractions for you, like the TV or a phone with constant incoming texts. And try not to talk during your training sessions. It’s okay to occasionally get your cat’s attention with a kissing or clicking noise but do it too often and she will stop responding to it.

The core of positive clicker training is that your cat figures out what behavior is being rewarded. She’s an active partner. Be quiet as you observe her, and resist the urge to help, coax or encourage. Don’t try to physically push or pull her into place.

In particular, resist the urge to verbally cue (saying “sit”, for instance) while she’s still figuring out what you want her to do. Once she’s enthusiastically repeating the task without hesitation, then start saying the verbal cue each time she does it.

Tip: First you teach her “This is the behavior I’m looking for”. Then you teach her “This is what that behavior is called.”

If your cat loses interest, quietly put away the treats and clicker. It’s better to end the training session before your cat is ready to stop than to prolong it and bore or frustrate her. Your average session should be under five minutes long and quite possibly under three, but you can do multiple sessions per day if you like.

You can start with any of the following behaviors:

• Both “sit” and “come” are suitable for teaching a cat what the clicker means and how to figure out what you want.

• “Gentle” is a basic understanding of socializing that a cat should have, and sets reasonable limits telling her you’re in charge of your interaction.

Let the cat know you have a delicious treat. Give her a nibble or two, if it helps get her excited.

Now, offer the treat, but don’t give it to her. Wait patiently and quietly and watch your cat as she tries to figure out why you’re not giving her the food. Eventually most cats will sit down to think about why you’re being so stingy. Immediately click! Toss the treat onto the floor near your cat so she must get up to eat it.

Show her another treat. Wait patiently again. You’ll be able to see her thinking, and the second she sits down again, click and toss the treat. The idea is that she must get up after each sit, so she can sit back down again.

It doesn’t take most cats long to figure out. Soon she will run to get the treat you just threw, whirl around, and immediately plop down again in a sit. She’s “offering” the behavior! Now, label it with “sit” (or “setzen sie sich” or “potato”, it doesn’t make a difference to the cat).

Troubleshooting:

My cat doesn’t sit. She runs in circles or tries to climb me. Try to watch her when she’s not paying attention to you. When you see her sit down on her own, click and treat. If you have more than one cat, see if watching your more cooperative cat gives your “problem child” the idea.

When your cat is a few feet away from you, show her you have a treat. (It’s okay to get her attention with whatever works right now, maybe her name or a kissy noise.) Let her come over to you, and when she’s within easy arm’s reach, click. Toss the treat a few feet away. She will step over to retrieve and eat it, and when she finishes, you can get her attention again and offer another treat.

Once she starts offering this behavior by running back to you eagerly, you can toss the treat farther and farther, or start trying to hide before you call her. Call her at random times from a different room or the other side of the house.

If you have another person to help, take turns calling her and clicking. Move further and further apart; let her learn to snatch up her treat from one human and then whirl around to run to the other human. This is good exercise for her and a great way to involve children in training.

Troubleshooting:

My cat doesn’t come back to me. She may be full or done with training for now. Try practicing when she expects a meal so she’s hungry. Never call her when you’re about to do something she dislikes. Go get her instead.

My cat is deaf and won’t hear me calling. Use a toe tap or a knock on the floor to call her instead. A flash of a pocket flashlight makes a good visual cue. Accept that if you call when she’s asleep, she just may not “hear” you.

Ideally, domestic cats are taught manners like bite inhibition by their parents and littermates. A kitten who is too rough is a kitten whose siblings will squeak loudly and stop playing. Mama cats will gently swat a kitten who gets on their nerves. Cats are fully capable of learning how to play nicely with humans, but sometimes you need to teach them with conscious intent.

Obviously, the best time to teach a cat “gentle” is when they’re young, but that doesn’t mean you should put up with a rough, rude adult cat. You can start maintaining appropriate boundaries with a cat of any age.

Teaching “gentle” is different from sit or come in that the reward your cat gets is your continued attention. When you’re interacting with your cat and she play bites or scratches roughly enough to hurt you, say “Ow” calmly but sharply. Remove your hand or get up and move her promptly off your lap. Don’t say anything else. Pay attention to something else for a moment.

Don’t scold or hit your cat; don’t spray her with water. Cats don’t understand punishment.

Resume interaction with your cat. Praise her lavishly. If she gets rough again, repeat saying “ow” and withdrawing your attention. This time, go do something else for 10 or 15 minutes. You’re removing your attention in a neutral but firm way. Later when you interact with her again, do it just as usual.

Some cats get rough to communicate that you’re overstimulating or irritating them. In this case, as well as praising her and paying attention when she signals less roughly (for instance, pushing you away with her claws retracted instead of scratching, or getting up to leave instead of biting), your job is also to watch her closely to determine what her body language looks like before she crosses the behavioral line.

She is trying to tell you something, and if you don’t want her to do it by scratching or nipping, you’re going to have to listen to other signals. Learn what behavior on your part is likely to overstimulate her and avoid it.

Congratulations!

You’ve learned how to train your cat. With thoughtfulness and imagination, you can teach her almost anything you like. Try teaching her to run through a cardboard tunnel, jump onto and off a chair on cue, or even “wave bye-bye”. Or focus on manners and teach her to “leave it” when you drop food, “stay”, or go to her own established spot on cue.

There are lots of training tips and ideas specifically for cats online, or you can adapt training instructions for dogs as long as you pay attention to how your cat learns and modify as needed. Check your library or bookstore for texts on clicker training. Try joining a Facebook group focused on clicker training or training cats.

You might notice that the more you train your cat, the better she gets at learning. Enjoy your new hobby and your improved communication with your cat!