Do you have a cat you think could stand to learn a thing or two? Our feline friends tend to be a little more stubborn than their canine counterparts when it comes to obeying commands and learning tricks. Still, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done! Here are PETS’ top five tips to helping teach your cat some new skills:
- Keep it achievable. Your cat may never learn how to bring in the newspaper for you, like some of the dogs you see out there, but it could very well learn to sit, lie down, drop, ring a bell, high five — lots of the things you can teach your dog, you can teach your cat, too! Just make sure you start with some very basic commands and go from there.
- Focus on one task at a time. Some cats are not as interested in pleasing their owners as dogs are, so when it comes time to train them, focus on one trick at a time. Don’t practise several and risk leaving them confused.
- Never ever punish or force a cat to do something it doesn’t want to do. It is important to always work with your cat and make sure they’re comfortable with the training session.
- Focus on rewards. Whenever your cat does something you ask it to, make sure you reward it right away. We like using a product such as Trouble & Trix Cat Treats, released this month. These fabulous morsels are designed to please even the fussiest of cats and are made with real chicken and salmon meat, ensuring your cat is getting a reward that is not only tasty, but healthy, too.
- Keep training sessions timely. Just before a meal is a good time to train, when your cat may be more motivated to work for a reward. Also, make sure you keep the training session short – if your cat gets tired, it will not want to learn.
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