Training a kitten or cat is something that is very important to do, especially if you wish to maintain some order in your home. Cat training can mean training your cat how to use the litter box, not to scratch your leather furniture, where to go for food, to stay inside the home and not try to go out every time you do, how to play with a certain cat toy and how to use different cat furniture. To train your cat, consider some of the guidelines below.
1) Emulation. Just like children, cats can also learn by copying behavior. You may need to act like your cat’s “brother” so your cat ends up doing whatever it is that you are doing. You may need to do a certain process repeatedly, before you cat understands what you are trying to get him to do.
2) Start as soon as possible. It is good to begin training your cat when your cat is just a kitten. They say that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, and this same rule applies to cats, too – in the literal sense. It is more difficult to teach cats that are years old new things, since these cats are set in their ways, so if possible, begin the training while your cat is very young.
3) Work with their nature. Cats are animals that are able to decide for themselves. They can also be very independent, and their level of independence grows as they grow older. Because of this, in training your cat, it will be important to get him to trust you. It will be important to be patient with your cat, and getting mad at your cat and screaming at him will not help in any way.
4) Catnip. They say catnip is irresistible to cats. Likewise, catnip spray should attract your cat to the new cat litter tray you’ve purchased for your cat, or any other cat furniture that you wish for your cat to learn how to use.
5) Show disapproval. If your cat has been spraying a specific area of your home, it is because he has been marking his territory. You can “tell” your cat that you disapprove of this behavior by laying some strips of aluminum foil on the area.
6) Reward. Conditioning is a process that involves giving rewards whenever something is done right. Even in psychology, those that are rewarded are more likely to do something or not do something – whatever it takes to get the reward. The reward could be catnip, a snack, or something that you happen to know your cat simply loves.
7) Association. Just as with teaching children, the process of teaching a cat can leave the person doing the disciplining or teaching looking like the “bad guy”, and so in teaching your cat, you may want to ensure that your own name is not associated with any ‘slaps on the wrist’, so to speak.