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Can Cats Be Trained ?


Do you follow "Americas Got Talent", if yes, then you would have seen the act where these fluffy little cats come on stage and start doing tricks.




You havent seen it?

Then you can google it, or you can search on YouTube, all you have to do is search "Cats on AGT" and then you get the video, apparently its trending because people are in awe that cats can do tricks and learn just like dogs ....




If you are a cat parent and you are watching this video along with your kitty and wondering the same question everybody in the world is wondering...can my cat also do this?

  
Well there is no correct answer to your question....

If you ask some animal trainers, their answer will go something like "If training your cat to sit, stay and heel and do tricks is your goal, perhaps you should get a dog. " 


But what about the cats doing tricks on that show?

Well thats a good question, well we dont have any sure fireways to teach your cat to be the next big thing on the Internet, but we an give you a couple of pointers,

Lets break it down, in order to teach something to a cat or in order to train your cats, you will first need to know how cats learn,

They don't understand english, they can't read books or attend lectures. They learn by experience. If the experience is good, they will try to repeat it. If the experience is unpleasant, your cat will try to avoid it in the future. Cats enjoy raking the furniture with their claws, so they continue to do it. But it's quite a shock when they stick their nose in a candle flame, so they won't do that again.

The key to training a cat and understanding cat behavior is to make sure that whatever you want your cat to do is exceedingly rewarding and pleasurable. Whatever you don't want your cat to indulge in must never be rewarding or fun, in fact, it must be unpleasant.

So lets see a couple of ways you can do that,

1)Stop all reprimands and punishment.

Concentrate on making your relationship fun, rewarding, playful and interesting. Sometimes this change alone will solve your cat training problems. Cats are known to become overly active and destructive when bored. Daily play sessions and relaxing massages help your cat calm down. Cats that feel neglected will often stop using their litter box. If you schedule regular sessions to give your cat undivided attention and to play games with him, even litter box problems can disappear almost overnight.


2)Set up your cat to succeed.

In performing those behaviors you want him/her to learn so she can be rewarded. The most effective method of cat training is through rewards. This will give you the opportunity to reward and praise him/her for good behavior.

3)Set up the cat's environment.

Let's take a look at furniture scratching as an example. While making your cat's scratching post fun, rewarding and exciting, the training process also requires you to make the furniture unattractive as a clawing item. Instead of you telling the cat to avoid the furniture, let the furniture itself tell the cat to stay away. It's up to you to find something your cat does not like.


Maybe you are into training your cat to jump through a hoop, maybe you just want him to stop climbing the drapes. Whatever the case, remember that cats learn best through the use of rewards, praise and positive reinforcement.



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Thanks
PetStepin' Team

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