We love our pet cats. They are a sweet pet and great to have in your home. One thing that makes any pet sweeter, is when they are well trained. We strongly recommend that you use one of three training techniques to train up your pet cat.

Clicker Training

Clicker training is popular with dog owners because it is very effective. Luckily, it is gaining ground with cat owners as well, because it is a solid way to train your cat and modify behaviors. 

The clicker is combined with giving treats. Simply offering treats can confuse your cat, or make it think it is simply the most awesome kitty ever and should be fed accordingly. 

Select your desired behavior. For example, sitting down. There are many ways to get your cat to sit, but a gentle, guiding hand followed by click, then treat, can help reinforce the behavior. 

Try two training periods a day, each lasting about 20-minutes. You will probably need to build to 20-minutes, as some cats, especially young cats, can have a short attention span. This also works best with food-motivated felines. 

Food Association

If you’ve had dogs or cats in your life, you know that the rustling of the food bag gets their attention. 

Use that to your advantage. 

If you want to teach your cat to come running when called, use a command – Their name, “come,” or anything short and sweet –  followed by a rustling of the bag. 

This can be combined with clicker training. 

If you want to tain your cat to come in even when you don’t have their food bag, any container filled with something that will rattle can be substituted. Just be sure to reward them with a treat every time, especially in the beginning. 

As with all training, consistency and repetition will help with this method. Again, shoot for 2 sessions per day, working up to a 15 – 20 minute training period. 

This training can save your cat’s life, so give it the time it deserves. 

Leash Training

Teaching your cat to walk with a harness and leash is not as difficult as you may think. 

First, select a harness that attaches and “pulls” from the back, not the neck. While dogs can walk on collars because the pulling sensation can trigger them to move forward, cats do not respond well to being led by the neck. 

Introduce the harness to your cat. Let them smell it. Leave it in their play or sleeping area for a few days, allowing them to get used to the idea of the harness itself. 

Then work on putting the harness on. Again, go slowly. Get it hooked up, praise your cat, offer treats, then remove it after a few minutes. 

Repeat the process, leaving it on longer each time. 

After a week or so of this, attach the leash and let your cat play freely in the house (under supervision). After a few free-form sessions, try walking with them in your home. This helps them get used to the idea of walking near you with the harness and leash. 

Next is the big transition to outside. Take this slowly. Remember, inside cats will be bombarded with a lot of new info once they go outdoors. Don’t force the issue. Just stand with them at first. You may need to begin with nothing more than a few steps. Slow and steady will be best for most cats. 

After some time, as your cat feels comfortable, start to walk greater distances. Over time, they’ll adapt to the leash. Some will love it, others will always be skeptical. But, walking is great exercise, both mental and physical, for the indoor cat.