Are cats trainable?

 In order to successfully train your kitten, you must understand his thinking and behavior.

Cats don’t look like dogs at all. Dogs are pack animals and seek to please their leader (you). Your kitten is more inclined to please himself!

There is no reason why you should not be able to train your kitten – it just takes a little patience and understanding. And it is necessary to do so. How will you groom or take care of your pet’s health if you don’t accustom it to human hands? Or do you really want your kitten to boldly walk around the kitchen cabinets?

Basic Principles: The first thing you need to remember is that cats don’t understand punishment. Encouraging good behavior is much more effective. Sounds funny? Remember the golden rule: respect, reinforcement and reward.

Let’s talk about respect. It is very important that you behave in a friendly manner towards your pet. Did you know, for example, that cats really don’t like being stared at? Or the fact that they can not stand sudden sounds and movements?

Reinforcement means constant repetition. If your kitten does something you don’t approve of (like jumping on kitchen cabinets), always say “no” calmly and firmly. If he does something good, always praise him.

Now for the reward. As a reward, you can use praise or a treat. Both are good incentives for your kitten.

Most cats don’t like being handled, and the sooner you get your kitten used to human hands, the better.

Many people unwittingly instill bad habits in their cats. They take the kitten in their arms, and when it starts to break free, they immediately release it. So the kitten gets used to the fact that if he resists, he will be released.

It is better to do things differently: take the kitten in your arms and ignore his attempts to escape, hold him gently but firmly. When the kitten calms down, praise him and let him go.

scratching

Is it possible to teach a kitten not to scratch? No. This is one of the manifestations of territoriality and, in addition, a good exercise for the muscles. Does this mean that your furniture should turn into a pile of garbage? Not at all. You just need to teach the kitten to direct its efforts in a different direction (to scratch something else).

Buy a scratching post for your kitten (rough surfaces are especially attractive, so you can choose a scratching post wrapped with some kind of rope). Play with the kitten near her, and when he pays attention to her and decides to sharpen his claws on her, praise him or treat him with a treat.

If your kitten does scratch the furniture, he will also mark it, so to discourage him from spoiling your property further, wash the furniture with an odor-repellent product. Some owners temporarily cover the furniture with plastic wrap – cats do not tend to scratch slippery surfaces.

How to stop a kitten from biting

Biting during play is a natural behavior for cats. If your kitten bites your hand while playing, stop playing immediately. Do whatever you want, but don’t pull your hand away. This will only make the game even more fun! Toys and balls are more suitable as prey.

Clicker training

Clicker training is a modern, humane and scientifically based way to train animals. You use all the same principles that we discussed earlier, but good behavior is marked with a “click”. Learn more about clicker training.