Can Cats Be Trained?

We often hear about dog training, how easy it is to teach them commands like “come here”, “get the ball”, “let’s go”, “sit down”, “lie down” or “to bed”. So much so that we can even succeed without the help of experts! Yet, the same thing has never been heard of cats. What do you think? Is it possible to train a cat?

The differences between cats and dogs are many. It is said that dogs are among the smartest animals in existence and that is why it is easier to teach them to obey our orders. But what about the felines? They too can be taught to perform elementary rules in the home environment.

Unlike the dog, the cat tends to be independent and therefore do what they prefer, if they do not have a leader to guide them. Animals act by instinct, and therefore need someone to tell them what to do and how to behave.

Find out if it is possible to train a cat and how to do it

The answer is yes, and we explain how to do it.

Check out what his bad habits are

Before we can eradicate misconduct, we must learn to recognize it, in order to understand the origins of the problem and know how to fight it at the root. In cats, the most common conduct problems are:

• Do the toilet outside the litter box
• Mark furniture or other objects in the house with urine and nails
• Scratching yourself or other family members while they play
• Having aggressive behaviors towards their masters or other people
• Behaving aggressively towards other cats or other pets in the house

• Stress and anxiety
• Fear of objects or people

Once we have learned the most common misconduct, we will be ready to intervene and train our cat.

Correct his conduct

As we have seen, there are things that cats shouldn’t do, or rather unnatural attitudes that should be changed. To do this, we must avoid punishment, whether it is verbal or physical. Neither should ever be used on a living being.

Punishments and punishments do not lead anywhere, on the contrary, they risk having the opposite effect to the desired one. The cat will be afraid of us  and will neither want to play with us nor with other family members. Furthermore, there is also the possibility that it will develop aggressive behavior as a result.

While punishments may appear to be beneficial, in reality their effect is only short-term. As a result, even though it is normal to get angry when the animal does something wrong, breathe deeply and count to ten until you are relaxed so that you do not say or do anything that you may later regret.

Correct from a distance

What does it mean? You have to make the animal link unwanted textures, smells, tastes or sounds to the wrong action, so that it learns not to repeat it. How to do?

1. Materials. Aluminum foil, duct tape, plastic rugs, or any other material that you think your cat doesn’t like. You can put some on top of the places in the house where you don’t want your pet to go.
2. Odors. If there are surfaces or places in your home that your cat cannot access, put some cotton grass soaked in lemongrass, room fragrances, aloe, eucalyptus, or any other scent that you think your cat doesn’t like.
3. Flavors. Citrus fruit, bitter apple, hot sauces, chilli or any other flavor that you know is not to his liking. You can rub it in all places and surfaces where you don’t want your cat to go.
4. Sounds. A whistle, for example, to warn your cat that it can’t go up there, a bell or any other noise it finds annoying is an excellent idea for training your cat.

In addition to the strategies just seen, always remember this information:

• If he misbehaves during a gaming session, ignore him for a while.
• Don’t change his habits.
• Organize daily play sessions for him.
• Use artificial pheromones that you can buy at specialty stores to reduce your anxiety and stress levels.