Training helps keep your moggies mind active, just like humans our minds needs to be challenged.
By training your cat it ensures they get plenty of exercise so fantastic if your cat is a little overweight.
It reminds your them who's boss and will help diminish any dominant behaviour.
Anxious cats find training relaxing as it soothed by the repetition of tasks.
It teaches your cat good social skills and promotes interaction.
Methods of Feline Training
Target Training
This is when you get their attention when calling a command. For example if you wanted your kitty to stand on it's back legs while you issue the command to stand hold a stick above your their head and they will naturally go to grab it. Once they stand on their back legs, reward them with affection or a small treat.
Clicker Training
This uses the idea of operant conditioning, this is where the cat consciously associates a particular behaviour with an outcome. This type of training gets it's name due the small device that emits a click when the correct action is being performed by the animal. For example if you were training them to sit on command, the second your cats bum hit the floor you would press the clicker and immediately reward them with a small treat. After enough repetition you can will realise they their own behaviours can acquire them treats. So when they hear the click, they will sit because they know that if they do, there's a treat heading their way.
This type of training has the huge advantage of allowing the trainer to know the exact behaviour that being reinforced, with Target Training the reward may not come immediately after the behaviour so the kitty might associate another behaviour with the treat.
Tips for Feline Training
If you leave your cats food out all day so they choose to eat, restrict them to scheduled meal times just like humans, other wise they will have no incentive - We're not saying starve them, just ensure they're hungry like we are just before a mealtime!
Try training just before meal times this will increase their responsiveness and heighten their senses.
Take it one step at a time when training and be patient, remember if neither of you are enjoy it stop and throw a ball for them instead.
Cats have a short attention span so lessons need to be very short, interesting and fun, otherwise you might just get a look of disdain.
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