Why you should train your cat – and how to do it

The pandemic led to a surge in first-time pet owners and people adopting puppies and kittens. While even inexperienced owners expect that a new puppy will need some training, people rarely think that this applies to kittens as well.

But like dogs, cats need support to adjust to living with us. Simple forms of training can be good for their well being.

Compared to dogs, cats share different historical relationships with humans. Cats have never been selectively bred to increase their ability to cooperate and communicate with us, or to perform working roles such as herding, hunting or guarding. But research shows that they can recognize and respond to our subtle social cues and can be trained to act similarly to dogs.

However, it’s unlikely that we would need a cat to “walk well” on a lead or to settle in quietly in a pub. And cats generally require less support than dogs to master toilet training – providing the right litter tray is usually sufficient.

But we are missing a trick if we think about training pets to make our lives easier. I and Daniel Cummings, an associate of animal charity Cats Protection, would argue that there are many potential benefits to the cat, too. At a rehabilitation shelter, for example, training can be a useful tool to increase a cat’s exploratory behavior, positive response to people, and perhaps to increase their chances of adoption.

At home, we can use simple techniques to help cats feel comfortable in a cat carrier, getting used to car travel, as well as being prepared and receiving basic health checks and treatments. This type of training can help cats better deal with trips to the vet.

Cats are not born with an innate affinity for humans and should be exposed to gentle, warm handling by the age of two weeks so they learn that we are friends rather than enemies. There is limited evidence that younger cats are more attentive to our social cues, which may mean they are more responsive to training. Kittens should also be played with using cat stick or fishing rod toys so that they learn not to attack our hands or feet.

Punishments such as yelling, rough handling or using water spray can create tension and compromise the quality of the owner-cat relationship. Always use positive reinforcement (such as treats and praise). Not only is this the most effective way to train a pet, but it is also better for their well-being.

Reward-based techniques can be a great way to teach a cat to enter a carrier on its own or sit calmly while we provide our flea treatments. Some very friendly food motivated cats can be taught to give a high five, or sit or spin.

But cats are often less motivated than dogs to pay attention to us, or what we’re asking, especially in situations where they don’t feel comfortable. These factors may explain the higher drop-out rates in studies that involved training cats to participate in human social cues.

It is important that we make sure the cat is somewhere they feel comfortable when we do any training with them. Always make sure the cat has the option of taking a walk or ending the session when they want to and try to give them a break if they feel uncomfortable. Signs to watch for include: cat turning its head away, nose licking, head trembling, a raised paw, sudden bouts of self-grooming, hunched or tense look, a twitching or thumping tail and Curved or flattened ears.

Here’s how to make your cat enter a carrier and settle in five easy steps:

Teach him to sit on a blanket in a place where your cat already feels safe. Do this by luring the cat to a blanket using food.

Reward the cat for staying on the blanket with more treats, petting or verbal praise, depending on what your cat likes most. Give them treats at nose height to encourage them to sit in a sitting position, then treats at ground height to encourage the cat to crouch and then eventually lie down on a blanket.

Once your cat has mastered step one, put the blanket under a carrier with the lid removed. Repeat the same tempting and beneficial move.

When your cat is comfortably resting on the blanket in the carrier, place the lid on top of the carrier (without the door attached) and repeat the lure and reward process.

After your cat has happily entered the carrier and settled in, keep the door on the carrier but keep it open to begin with, so that he doesn’t suddenly feel trapped inside. Let them out of the carrier when they want to and use treats to encourage them to come back in. In small movements, start closing the door slightly, then open it again, each time giving the cat a treat. Slowly extend it until the door is completely closed (at first only for a few seconds) while the cat is still comfortable. Feed the cat through the closed door.

Work toward staying in the cat’s carrier by closing the door for longer periods of time, adding a few extra seconds each time. Keep rewarding the cat by popping treats through the sides of the carrier or through the door, gradually increasing the time between each treat delivery. Each training session should last no more than a few minutes in total, and some cats may prefer only one session a day. This last step can take many sessions and several days or weeks to complete.