5 Ways to Successfully Train Your Cat

When learning how to train your cat, it’s important to start off with small steps and find methodologies and commands that uniquely work for them. Since cats are highly intelligent and independent animals, they may seem disinterested in learning your commands, but remember to stay consistent and not grow discouraged – because cats can indeed be trained! In fact, training your cat can help them be more social and become less anxious. It’s important to be patient with your cat throughout the training process.

Here are 5 ways to successfully train your cat:

Keep each lesson short

Cats have a short attention span so pay attention to their mood and level of interest and adapt your training sessions accordingly. Since cats will do as they please, it’s important to keep your training sessions short, but frequent. This will guarantee that you and your cat are getting the most effective results from your sessions. It is highly important that you remain patient with your cat because they have a mind of their own, but persistence is key!

Don’t limit training to one area

Once your cat has successfully learned a new command, practice it in different parts of your home. Some types of training may require going to different areas of your home so it’s important to expose your cat to these locations. For example, you just taught your cat not to scratch the couch in the living room, but you also have a couch in your bedroom. Teaching your cat these commands in both the living room and bedroom is beneficial to ensure that your cat understands the command in its entirety.

Use a reward system

It’s a great idea to use incentives such as rewards to promote good behavior. Examples of rewards include positive praise and yummy treats. Once your cat performs the desired behavior, use one of the rewards to signal that they are doing a good job. This will incentivize your cat to keep performing the desired behavior because they associate it with a reward.

Involve others

Involving others in the training process can help your cat become more familiar with their new commands. It’s typically recommended to involve family members or other house visitors who spend a lot of time with your cat. It’s important to involve others in this process because everyone involved can contribute to the cat’s success, and make that success more consistent!

Start early

Starting training sessions early on, even from when they’re a kitten, can help your cat learn commands as they get older. During these early years, you can help train your cat by giving them the opportunity to socialize with other animals and people, while also making sure they are comfortable being held and groomed. 

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