 Purred: Sun Aug 26, '07 1:22pm PST |
 | |  | | Our first cat learned 'sit' from watching the dog learn how to do tricks, and we realized that teaching cats how to do tricks is really no different.
The most important thing is to capitalize on what they want most. Three of my cats will do anything for a treat, so that's normally what I use. I usually break the treats up however, because they don't need that much and treats can be expensive. One of my cats will just do anything to be "teacher's pet", so she learns much quicker than the others just because she has a high drive to outperform her sisters. Another of my cats loves getting petted, and she will happily to tricks just to get a head scratch. Some cats respond well to play sessions, where they get a session with their favorite toy in exchange for performing a trick.
The process is no different than teaching a dog. Just repetition, and sometimes you have to use your hand to make them sit or cajole them a little with the treat (as in sitting up). I make them sit every time they get treats, so they all sit pretty fast.
I don't separate them if we have a practice session, as I've noticed they learn off one another. This probably depends on how well your cats get along. Maggie wants to show off, and will try to 'beat' her sisters. Sage is a follower, and will copy the other cats' movements. She also has a bit of "I'm not gonna do it if they aren't..." attitude.
Sometimes it can backfire a little. Sage learned how to sit, and then would follow me around performing 'sit' and then poke me until I gave her a treat. Over and over and over... I had to ignore her a little bit until she learned that there were times to learn tricks and times to not.
One trick that I think is more instinctual is 'fetch'. I've never had much luck teaching it to cats who don't do it right off the bat. Once a cat starts bringing a toy back to you, then you can teach them to "drop" like a dog, or bring it to a special spot. We had a cat in the past who was brilliant at fetch, but we've never been able to teach it to the others.
Last, sometimes you have a cat who isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch. That would be our Bart. He is now doing 'sit', but it took us three years to teach him, and we still sometimes get a blank look. He also doesn't really care about food, petting, or playing, so getting him motivated is a problem. We don't push him too hard, and we give him love anyway.
(Ishy - mommy to Maggie, Sage, and Tilly) |  |  | |  |
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Ask a Cat Lady: Why Does My Cat Love Knocking Things Down?
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