Training Cats

Training cats is worth the effort, but in order to teach them you need to understand how they think.

Cat Training 101

"Sit Kitty".

"Kitty stay".

"Good cat".

Sound a little ridiculous? You bet it does. Training cats just isn't the same as training dogs. Your cat isn't interested in pleasing you, he's interested in pleasing himself and no amount of muscling him into position or repeating verbal commands is going to make a bit of positive difference in his behavior. To train a cat with any measure of success, you need to learn to think like one.

Training cats involves anticipating some of their instinctive behaviors and providing them with the proper places to carry them out. Let's look at some of a cat's most common activities and find some workable solutions.

Scratching

Cats need to scratch in order to condition their claws and muscles. Although they have no special malice in their hearts for your favorite furniture, they will work their magic on your sofa and chairs if they are the most suitable materials in the room.

Since you know your cat is going to scratch anyway, why not head him off at the pass a provide him with a proper scratching post made of materials that will entice him to shred to his heart's delight?

Place the post in the same area as your furniture so it becomes an obvious alternative. Now rub it with some catnip to make it twice as inviting, then spray your furniture with citrus spray to make it smell repellant to your feline.

Chances are it'll work like a charm, but if it doesn't you can try temporarily placing some nylon netting over your furniture. Cats like to scratch, but hate getting their nails caught so this usually discourages the toughest customers.

Of course, you can consider having your cat declawed, but not every owner feels this is a good option.

Nuisance Meowing

Is this scenario familiar to you?

It's five o'clock in the morning and the sun has barely started to rise. Suddenly, a plaintive yowling jars you from your peaceful oblivion. Kitty is begging to be fed. You wearily pull back the bed covers and head for the kitchen to open a can of your feline's favorite food. Problem solved, right? Wrong!

By giving in to your cat's vocal demands, you are reinforcing exactly the type of behavior you want to avoid. Cats love rewards and will quickly learn to repeat the behaviors that win them.

The remedy? Anticipate your cat's needs.

• Place dry food and freshwater in his bowls before you retire for the night.
• Make sure the litter box has been scooped so your pet has a nice clean place to do his business.
• Make afternoon playtime a regular occurrence so your cat gets into a routine your can live with.

If this fails, you can try keeping a water bottle handy so you can give Kitty a quick squirt when the symphony begins. This doesn't harm your cat, but it should abruptly disrupt the unwanted behavior and probably send your feline off to find something else to do.

Urine Spraying

Training cats to stop urine spraying is a tough one. Keeping the litter box accessible and clean is a step in the right direction, but that alone won't do the trick.

Cats spray urine to mark their territory, and leave their sexual calling card. To put an end to this obnoxious problem, the surest path is to have your cat spayed or neutered. This has the added benefit of making sure your pet doesn't become involved in an unwanted breeding.

Conclusion

Training cats takes a little ingenuity and a lot of determination, but in most instances it can be done. Does your cat display any other annoying behaviors? Let our cat experts advise you on ways to remedy the situation.

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