Thanks to these tips, your cat training will be a success
Do you want your cat to stop redecorating your apartment or grooming the flowers? With a little training, it's no problem. We'll show you how to successfully teach your cat manners and cool tricks.
How to build up cat training properly
Before you can start with cool tricks, there are a few important basics:
The principle of classical conditioning
Have you ever noticed that your cat knows exactly what it sounds like when you open her food can or pour dry food into her bowl? She probably comes running and purrs like crazy. No wonder! She has learned that these specific sounds are a sign of food. She has been conditioned to it. You can use the same principle for cat training.
Marker word or clicker
Of course, you can't open a can of cat food every time your cat is supposed to give you her paw. That's why it can be helpful to establish another marker, meaning a word or sound that confirms your cat. You can read how to properly establish a marker in our →article on clicker training.
Find the right motivation
It's not surprising that your cat won't lift a paw just because you politely ask her to. Unlike dogs, they often have no “will to please”, that is, no natural desire to please humans. They tend to do their own thing, but with the right reward, they can be motivated.
Popular rewards for cats include, for example:
Play
Petting
Food
Take a look at our →snacks section. Maybe you'll find something tasty for your feline friend. Our →cream snacks with chicken, tuna, or krill are especially popular.
The tastiest reward for your kitty
Take a break after 10 to 15 treats
Did you know that most cats have an attention span of about 20 seconds? So keep your cat training short and sweet. Depending on your cat's willingness to learn and motivation, you should take a short break after about 10 to 15 pieces of food. After a while, you'll get to know your kitty better and know what training duration she likes.
Tips for teaching tricks
Once the basics are covered, you can start teaching tricks. We've described four popular commands or tricks for you in more detail:
How to teach your cat to come when called
Do you want your cat to come when you call her? This can be especially useful if she's still outside in the garden in the evening and you want to bring her inside before bed.
Here's how:
1. Grab a piece of food and give it to your cat. Repeat this 2-3 times.
2. On the fourth repetition say your cat's name and the command, e.g. “Come”. Then immediately give her the piece of food. Repeat this a few times.
3. Next, move your hand a few centimeters away, say your cat's name and the command. As soon as she moves towards you, click the clicker, say your marker word or praise her simply with “Well done”. Then give her a piece of food right away.
4. If that worked well, repeat this step and gradually increase the distance each time.
5. If your cat reliably comes on command, you can slowly start to give food treats less often. Instead, you can reward her with a pet or a few kind words.
Teaching your cat “Sit”
A good trick for beginners is the command “Sit”. Here’s how to teach your cat to sit in front of you:
1. Place your cat on an elevated surface or sit cross-legged in front of her, so she is roughly at chest height with you.
2. Hold a piece of food between your thumb and index finger in front of her face. Your cat may touch it, but not snatch it from your fingers.
3. Now slowly lift your hand with the food up and back past your cat’s nose and forehead. She will follow the food with her nose in the air. Her balance will shift backward until she sits down on her own.
4. Click or say your marker word as soon as your cat sits down. Then immediately give her the piece of food.
5. Repeat this a few times. On the third or fourth repetition you can say the command “Sit”, shortly before she sits down. When she sits, click and reward her right away.
6. Once your cat has internalized the command well, you can try it out in different places.
Little tip: Small pieces of food like our →Softies are especially good for this exercise.
Teaching your cat to “give paw”
After “Sit”, “give paw” is another popular trick for cat training. Little spoiler: If you also want to teach her the “High Five” trick, this command is the prerequisite.
1. Sit cross-legged in front of your cat. Maybe she already knows “Sit”, then you can have her sit in front of you.
2. Place a flat hand on the floor between you and your cat. Reward any interest in the hand by clicking or using your marker word and giving a piece of food. The goal is for your cat to reliably sniff your hand for several training rounds.
3. In the next step, only reward a “paw tap” from your cat. She will quickly notice that she no longer gets a reward for sniffing and will try new things, like touching your hand with her paw. Click and reward the touch immediately and repeat this for a few rounds.
4. Once your cat has understood this well, delay the reward a little, so she only gets the piece of food after 2 to 3 seconds of touching. Then you can also start to raise your hand a little.
5. If that works well, you can start adding a command to it like “Paw”.
How can you teach a cat to do a High Five?
If your kitty can do “Sit” and “give paw” well, it's time for a cool “High Five”:
1. Lift your hand gradually higher and higher and slowly turn it into the high-five position.
2. Work your way forward step by step. Don't forget to click and reward.
3. If your cat is confused and doesn't know what to do, take a step back or improve the “give paw” command.
4. If the paw slap is working well, you can start to add a command like “High Five”.
How do I get my cat to stop doing something?
Cool tricks are all well and good—but you also want your kitty to stop grooming the plants or dancing on the dining table? With the right cat training, you can of course also teach your cat to stop certain behaviors. These tips will help:
Your cat understands “No” or “Stop that”
When training dogs, it's quite normal to teach things like “No” or “Leave it”. Good news: your cat can learn that too. As a so-called inhibition command you can use any word, such as “Nope” or “Stop that”, for example. The important thing is to always emphasize the chosen word in a similar way. Also very important is the right timing and offering alternatives.
How to establish an inhibition command:
1. You see your cat just about to start nibbling on the plant.
2. Before she does it, say clearly: “No” (or a word of your choice).
3. Now take your cat and put her, for example, on her scratching post. She is allowed to scratch here.
4. If she starts scratching there, praise her right away.
Corrections in cat training
All well and good. But what if your “No” just rolls off your cat's back? You should never use force. Instead, you can train with loud noises. Clap your hands, for example, together, or shake a small jar with nails inside. Your cat will associate the unwanted behavior with this and stop it. But don't forget to show her what she should do instead!
Blowing at your cat? Better not.
Did you know that blowing at your kitty imitates a hiss in cat language? However, it's usually better if your cat doesn't see directly that the correction comes from you. If you blow in her face, it's pretty obvious. If you clap your hands instead, your cat won't necessarily know that the loud noise came from you.
