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How to Teach a Cat Tricks

While you may have never seen a cat do tricks like roll over or sit, they can be taught to perform or not do certain behaviors. Dogs are eager to please their masters, but unfortunately, felines could care less. The main two methods for how to teach a cat tricks involve either positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

For your first trick, find a behavior that your cat already does. As an example, felines like to bat at objects, so you could teach your cat to bat at your hand as if giving a high five. Getting the cat to do something that he or she has never done before would be next to impossible.

Rewards such as bits of food or cat treats often will motivate felines. Experiment with different treats until you find one that your cat enjoys. Then, only give this food or treat to your cat during training sessions. Rewards such as extra playtime or praise will not motivate felines.

When you first begin training sessions, provide a treat whenever your pet does the desired behavior. When the cat has perfected the trick, shift to providing the treat occasionally so that a reward is not expected every time.

Felines are very sensitive to any display of negative emotions on your part. Be patient, and end the session if you become frustrated so that your pet does not learn to associate displeasure with training.

Negative reinforcement may be effective with some cats. The best method is squirting your animal with water when you see an undesirable behavior such as jumping on the counter. Yelling will only scare him or her, and no training will result. Felines also react negatively to harsh punishment, so physical force should never be used on your pet.

Cat training can be a hard process since they have their own ideas about what they will and will not do. You can learn how to teach a cat tricks or to not do certain behaviors such as hanging out on your kitchen counter.