Cats are very smart, many owners notice that the animal listens and listens. Thoughts about training creep in on their own, but some people mistakenly believe that cats do not respond to it. You can start classes with a pet already from 7-8 months of life. At this age, the kitten is already able to adequately respond to the speech of the owner. The main thing is to take into account the particular perception of the cat.
Abilities and memory features
Pets are distinguished by a subtle psyche and extreme emotionality. It is this feature that allows cats to become attached to family members. It is important to note that such an animal does not perceive man as the undisputed leader. It is necessary to focus attention during the training not on the suppression of the cat, but on the delivery of positive emotions to it.
Cat memory stores only the most important information. The animal will soon forget the guest who visited your house only once. For a long time, memories of the pain that man caused will persist. Feline memory is good, but extremely selective. The animal is able to remember forever where the tray is located, with what sound the refrigerator opens with food, as the packaging of tasty food rustles. Such things are of great importance for the cat, and therefore simply can not be forgotten.
All smells, sounds and events that are not useful will be forgotten soon.
During the training you need to fix the memories of the teams with something important. To do this, you can use the praise, affection, snacks and other positive things. Scientific experiments have proven that short-term memory in cats contains information for the last 12-16 hours. For comparison, the dogs have only the last 5 minutes, or even less. Long-term memory in cats is even more developed, so they are amenable to training no worse than other animals.
The cat is most susceptible at the age of 2-7 weeks. It is during this period that kittens are taught to people, toilets, bowls of food, and similar things. Further, contact with something new can be painful for the animal. Of course, an adult cat can also get used to the people and the toilet, but it will take more time. Therefore, it is better to train it at an early age.
Felinologists have proven that memory, sensitivity and decision making skills develop and form in cats up to two or three years old. A young animal learns with curiosity and assimilates information during the observation. By this principle, you can teach a cat to go to the toilet on the toilet. It is enough to demonstrate this procedure several times.
Adult cats can solve logic puzzles. In favor of this fact are jumping animals, which are always adjusted, and allow you to clearly overcome the desired distance. At first glance, this is easy; in fact, for an action you need to analyze the distance, select the desired trajectory and calculate the force. Kittens learn such jumping in childhood, this skill is non-inborn.
During life, cats, like humans, deteriorate memory. After 7-8 years, the animal not only remembers something new, but also struggles with the information that is already in memory.
Attempts to train at this age will not bring results. Moreover, the mass of the negative is provided to both the pet and the owner.
Many people notice that cats perceive speech well and remember words.Pets memorize important phrases of the host, followed by something pleasant or meaningful. And also animals understand when they are scolded. Two weeks is enough for the cat to begin to understand the speech even in another language. The words of all family members, both children and adults, are equally perceived. This feature is connected with the fact that the pet does not respond to the words themselves, but to the emotional message, the energy of the phrase. In other words, The cat's brain analyzes the size and length of the sound wave.
So cats and remember the team, and do it faster than dogs. The latter require about 7 repetitions, and the cats only 3. If certain rules are observed, it will be easier to train the cat than the smartest and most intelligent dog.
Are all breeds trainable?
Kitten teaches mom from the first day of life. In this case, even then it can be seen that some animals quickly seize the new experience, others modernize it, and still others hesitate for a long time before making a decision. It will be easy to train a cat if it is active, curious and contact in itself. But there are rocks that are easiest to train.
- Abyssinian cat has a playful disposition. She quickly delves into the rules of the house owner. Animals love to interact with people. It will be easy to train in a game form.
- Cornish Rex - a small, curly and curious beast. Training, training and physical activity will benefit. The animal loves to go after the owner on the trail, the poem perceives any communication positively.
- Burmese needs constant attention and caress. A cat of this breed is active, perfectly amenable to training. Animals enjoy when they demonstrate their skills to people.
- Scottish lop-eared already from birth can stand on its hind legs. The breed is distinguished by intelligence, activity and ingenuity. Mostly cats love to learn tricks, not just teams.
- British Shorthair the nature is similar to the previous breed. The agile, talkative and very sociable cat loves praise and increased attention to his person.
- Thai the breed loves attention and physical affection. Always selects the most beloved master of the family and is ready to obey him in everything. Cats remain active and inquisitive even in adulthood. A great example of the fact that you can train not only kittens.
- Bengal cat literally needs nurturing. Otherwise, the activity and playfulness turns into naughty. They are able to imitate the owners. With one's own example, you can teach a cat to turn off the lights, open a door or tap with water.
- Singapore breed different curiosity. Cats are always on the move, they love to jump, run and overcome obstacles. The pet is always open to the new, so willingly learns tricks and commands.
- Turkish van - rare and ancient breed. These cats love to swim and play with toys. They are distinguished by great affection for the owner and are always ready to show their love. He likes to jump on people, sit on their hands. They convey their mood with voice and movements. High sociability makes the breed as suitable for training.
If your pet is a representative of a more phlegmatic breed, do not be in a hurry to get upset. Many Persian cats with pleasure learn commands and perform various tricks.
The effectiveness of training depends on your tolerance and the right approach to the animal.
rules
Choose the right moment to start training. The animal should be in a good mood, after eating it is worth waiting for at least 2 hours. Training at home will be successful, if you remember the important nuances.
- Behave patiently. You should not try to learn several teams at once in a short time. Start learning from 5 minutes every 2-3 days. If the cat behaves sluggishly, then stop training.
- Learning should be done by that family member whom the cat itself perceives as the owner. Do not hurt the animal, so as not to lose confidence. Otherwise, the cat will no longer obey, in general.
- Encourage small pieces of soft, tasty, fragrant food.
- Correctly pick up the voice intonation. Behave as calmly as possible, without a shadow of aggression.
- Do not scold or punish for failure. Remember that cats are not accustomed to obey, they can only be friends.
If a cat or cat shows indifference or fatigue, then immediately stop training. Do not show your strength and power, this approach will ensure a loss.
Do not force to perform actions that do not like a pet.
What is necessary?
Be patient so as not to cause your animal to experience discomfort due to excessive pressure. It is important that the cat trusted you. Only the person from the family that the pet is ready to obey should train. If the animal is offended and no longer trust, then the training will have to be postponed for a long period. Prepare a treat for the animal. Use something small and tasty. You can use pieces of meat, cheese, liver. The cat should only get excited, but not eat. Dry food is not suitable, the pet will be able to eat quickly only soft food.
Let us treat it from your hand, do not throw it on the floor. So the cat will be able to trace the connection between your actions and calculate the pattern. Give commands in an even voice. Intonation each time must be the same.
If necessary, introduce the animal in advance with the necessary equipment for tricks.
Teams and Tricks
To deal with a kitten need 5-10 minutes a day for a successful result. If you decide to teach an adult cat, then repeat the workout in 2-3 days, and closely monitor its mood. There are several teams for beginners.
- "To me". Podzovit cat named, having prepared a delicacy. When the cat is close, say the command. At the end, be sure to caress and treat the animal. In one lesson, repeat the command 3-5 times. Enough 5-6 workouts to the cat resorted to the team without additional incentive in the form of snacks.
- "Bring". In the process of learning, use your favorite cat toy. During the game, drop the item and say the command. Show a hand in the outstretched hand. If the cat comes to you without a toy, hide the treat and repeat the request. Treat only when the cat brings the right thing.
- "Ask". The goal is for the animal to stand on its hind legs and ask for goodness. To start, podzovit cat to a flat vertical surface, so it was something to rely on. Raise your hand with treat high and say the command. Give a snack as soon as the cat is on its hind legs. Increase the height of your hand gradually if necessary.
- "Beside". The team is very similar to Ko Me. Walk with your cat around the room or around the house, periodically tell her to be around. Call up and repeat the command, let's treat.
- "Sit". The study team is not subject to all cats. Meal alone does not help, you need to gently press near the tail, as if sitting down the animal. First, go to the cat and go down to its level. Show the snack in an open hand. Invite the cat to crouch nearby, for this, pat it on the floor or furniture. At the same time, pronounce the command. As soon as the animal sits, caress and give treats.
- "Lie down." A skill that is useful especially when visiting a doctor. Go to the cat when she will sit. Show the animal a treat, and lower the open hand to the floor, as if hinting that you need to go down. Say the command and help the cat to lie down. If the animal itself does not understand what is required of it, then it is necessary to gently bend the front legs. Once the command is completed, give the treat.
- "Stop". Begin training at the time when the cat goes straight to you. Stop the animal with your hand, as if to put a barrier. Say the command and wait for a full stop. Immediately give a piece of food.If the cat ignores the barrier, then keep trying. It is important to make it clear that without stopping there will be no goodies. After a few workouts, say the command, but do not hinder the movement.
Teaching teams is relatively quick and easy. It is much more interesting to teach the cat interesting tricks. Consider the step-by-step learning of the Give A Paw trick.
- First tell the cat to sit down. For successful training, this team must be already learned.
- Say the command "Give a paw", and do the action yourself, instead of a cat. So the animal will understand how to satisfy the request.
- Give a treat.
- Continue training until the cat remembers exactly what action it needs to perform.
Teaching a cat to jump over an obstacle is quite simple. First, pick a low barrier and put a dainty behind it. Direct the cat to the obstacle and do not give a treat until it jumps. You can show by example that the barrier must be overcome, for example, step over it.
Jumping through a hoop can be taught quite simply.
- Call the cat, show the hoop. Put the ring between you and the pet.
- Show the treat through the hoop and say the command “Up.”
- If the cat is trying to circumvent the object, then move it synchronously. Give a treat when the animal jumps through the ring.
Cats that stand on their hind legs look quite interesting, and this can also be taught. Podzovit pet and raise your hand with treats higher. Say the command "Stand", and give a snack as soon as the pet fulfills the request.
In order for the cat to stand on its hind legs for a long time, offer it a few pieces of food. Complicate the training team "Circling" and the corresponding circular motion of the hand.
The most difficult trick is the die team. It will take a lot of time for training, and, perhaps, an active pet simply will not be able to lie still, be prepared for this. Conduct training in stages.
- During games, lightly push the cat and say the command "Die." As a result, the animal must lie down or fall.
- Hold your hand, as if not giving up.
- Release and say the command “Live”.
- Give a treat.
To learn how to teach a cat to give a paw, see the following video.