How To Teach A Cat Tricks: With Treats & Tips!

Want to learn how to teach a cat tricks? We all know that we can teach our dogs tricks, but did you know that you can teach your cat to do tricks as well. Well you can and this article will teach you how. Also, make sure you check out the recommended cat training products at the end of this post.

How To Teach A Cat Tricks with Treats:

Before you start the training session, there are a few things you need to know.  Always train your cat before he eats.  The reason for this is that you will be giving food treats to your cat as a reward and if he has already eaten, he will lose interest in earning the treat.

Be sure to choose your cats favorite treat as a reward.  If your cat doesn’t like the treat he is being given, he won’t give a lot of effort with the training.

• (Tip: Try giving your cat one of our Homemade Tuna Bite Cat Treats! Or these Sardine Flax Seed Cat Treats are another great rewards option).

Training Success Tips:

Train your cat in a quiet place.  You don’t want any distractions during the training session.

Be sure to keep the training sessions short.  Your cat doesn’t have a long attention span and will get bored or tired if you try teaching him tricks for too long.  Try to keep your training sessions within 10-15 minutes.

Be consistent.  Use the same trainer, same signals and same treats.

What Tricks Can I Teach My Cat?

The Touch Here Trick–

The goal of this trick is for your cat to touch an object with the command “touch.”

Supplies needed: You will need a table for the cat, an object such as a book and a reward.

1. The first step here is for your cat to sit on the table. Place your object at the edge of the table in between you and your cat.
2. Hold the reward in front of your cat.  The object should be in between the cat and the food.
3. As your cat reaches for the food, if he steps on the object, tell him “touch, good touch.”
4. If your cat does not touch the object, try to move the reward around so he will bat at it.
5. Keep repeating until your cat touches or steps on the object several times in a row.

The Sit Command Trick-

The goal here is for your cat to sit on command.

Supplies needed: You will need a table for the cat, a positive signal such as the word “yes,” and a reward.

1. Place your cat on the edge of the table and gently pat him so he is happy.
2. Show your cat the treat and then give him the command “Boo Boo (your cat’s name), sit” and move the treat back and over his head.
3. He will then tip his head back and will automatically sit to keep his balance.
4. When he sits, say ‘sit, good sit.”  Then give him his treat.
5. If your cat does not sit on his own, you can gently press down on his hindquarters.  Then tell him “sit, good sit.”  It may take several tries depending on how stubborn your cat is.

Remember, it’s also important to make sure your cat has enough items in their environment adding enrichment to their daily lives. This helps to ensure they aren’t becoming bored and having enough healthy stimulation throughout the day. Which will definitely help them to be able to focus more when it is time for them to focus during their training time with you.

Check out this awesome video showing how to teach a cat tricks. This is a glimpse of the things that you can teach your cat to do.

Recommended Cat Training Supplies:

• Pet Training Clicker
• Teach Your Cat Tricks Book and Toy Kit
• Set of 20 Cat Toys
• Cat Clicker Training: How to Clicker Train Cats The Easy Way
• Clicker Training for Cats Book
• Karen Pryor, Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats Kit
• Cat Training in 10 Minutes
• Naughty No More
• Trick Training for Cats: Smart Fun with the Clicker
• Clicker Training for Clever Cats: Learning Can Be Fun!
• The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat

Now that you’ve learned how to teach a cat tricks, you can try mastering even more tricks later on down the road. Does your cat do any tricks?

See also:

• How to Prevent Excessive Cat Shedding All Year Long
• Environmental Enrichment for Cats
• Low Sodium Cat Food: List of Brands and Guide

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