Training cats

Yes, it can be done but results can be mixed.

I have always trained my cats to come when called even if they are roaming the neighborhood out of sight.  I call and if I don't hear them (they meow to let me know they are coming)  I close the door and then come back in a few minutes to let them inside.   My current cats have learned to stay inside until I let them out in the morning.   If they are outside when I get home from work they don't get their morning treat.

The holy grail is training a cat to use the toilet instead of a litter box or continually having to open the door to let them out.  The only reason I even know it is possible  is my mom had a friend who did this

I have also tried to train my cats to share. The male cat understands now that he is not allowed to push the smaller female cat away from the bowl of wet food.  Now he uses his paw to pull the bowl of wet food away from her... is that progress?

Thank you for starting this topic.

I have been meaning to get around to starting one.

So now we have Tiny Kitty.  She comes when I call her name.

She is an outside cat who spends most of the day inside.  I refuse to have a litter box.  This is working so far.  She tells us when she wants to go out.

I am her favorite when it comes time for meals, otherwise, she likes dear hubby.

Because she is so small she can get behind the Entertainment Center aka TV and unplug the cords making it a big pain to plug the cords back in.

I guess she weighs about 3 lbs. or less and different vets put her age at 3 mos to 6 or 7 months.  I think she is 4 months old.

What I have learned is she knew the word "No" early on maybe from her previous home.  That word only works in the hallway to our bedroom.

One place she loves is on the table.  No matter how many times I tell her "No" she still gets on the table.

The only way to train her is by using a bit of water. When I see her on the table I am usually at the sink doing dishes so I flick her with a bit of water and she scats.

I would love to know if anyone has found a way to train a cat not to get on tables or counters without using water.

Big Smile here Anne...
Can you train a cat not to jump on a tall horizontal surface?
Well, you can train them that they are NOT supposed to be there...
Water pistol works best but simply saying NO while pushing them off will let them know this is "bad".

However, this is a cat.
They are in charge (in their mind) and they will do whatever they want to...
Jumping on tables, pushing off any object that interferes with their important kitty business.
Jumping down After you have entered the room looking at you like YEAH I was there what are you going to do about it?
Sleeping on the plant stand after pushing your plant off to the floor...

This is very like Herding cats.
Not too many have had luck with that either.



 

That kitty looks so innocent are you sure that is who knocked that plat off that table?

And this:

Thomas said, "Jumping down After you have entered the room looking at you like YEAH I was there what are you going to do about it?

Life in the big city ... I mean cat world.

I've noticed that my cats learn some lessons better if I follow up with about 30 seconds of lecturing on why they shouldn't do what they were doing. I know that can't understand my words (mostly) but they seem to absorb the intent better than a fast NO then dropping the subject. I think they dislike being lectured to, and who doesn't? I'll follow them around lecturing if they walk off and I know they don't like that much, and 30 seconds seems to be the right amount for both of us before it gets weird(er).

My cats know what "catnip party" means and I always reward them with catnip laid out on the floor for them to roll in. I have catnip in the garden for them to enjoy but the party is still a big hit.

My cats usually come when I call them but I have never been able to master the kitty toilet thing. I keep thinking about them almost learning to hit the water but not quite.

I am not a fan of claiming I train my cats to do anything. I teach them to do some things, change my own behavior if it would be more effective, and try to work with their nature.

One thing I use is I speak in cat to them. I don't spray them with water, I FFSSSSTTTTT! loudly at them. That's a word cats understand, that's how a mom cat teaches her kittens.

I lived on a busy road, I hated cats getting killed on it, so my dad would help me. I'd take kittens up to near the road, then dad would come by in his loud diesel truck, I'd hold them down, and he'd rev the engine LOUD, then I'd let them go. They'd dive back to the house to get away from the noise. I lost no more cats to the road after we started doing that. That's words cats understand too "This is a horrible bad scary place, don't go there."

Cats who are not supposed to be on surfaces: Cover the surfaces with something noisy like empty tin cans, cover them with newspaper so it looks innocent. Jumping up on that a few times will make them disinclined to trust surfaces.  Also try slamming down a flyswatter by them if they jump up.  They will associate the noise with jumping up. They also won't jump where they can't see their landing point (or guess it.) I had shelves that fascinated them, that I kept china on. I put clear plastic curtains over them, so I could see my pretty china, but they weren't sure it was a safe jump, no more cats in my china.

I teach kittens that the tub is the best place to play. Later, if they hunt something and bring it in, they are most likely to take it to the tub to play with. The first time you find an exploded mourning dove in your bed, you'll be really glad the other 5 doves you have had to clean up were in a constrained space you can wash easily.

I traveled in a van with cats, I "put a combination lock on them" to make them safer. I didn't teach them "here kitty kitty" they had a song, and they were called by name. I tested it, and a couple of times when it mattered, I could send someone else to go call them with the song and by name, and they'd come, even to an unknown person. They knew "alright, let's go!" meant get in the van, and the unknown person could, once they had come to them, say that and the cats would get in that person's car.

A suggestion for a cat who wants to be up on things is to make them a place they CAN be up on. Cats like to be up. They can see everything from there. This is your place, the kitchen counter is not.

I once lived in a very tiny apartment with a VERY tiny bathroom, and no place to put a litter box, so I taught both of my kittens to use the toilet. It wasn't difficult, and they took to it well, but it was a little plastic tray thing that you sat under the regular toilet seat, and had a clear bottom. You put just enough kitty litter into it so they couldn't see the water, but it was wobbly, if they stepped into it, which taught them how to balance on the toilet seat. Once they got used to jumping up there and balancing on the seat, you gradually put less and less litter into it, and eventually remove the contraption, altogether. I think the whole process took maybe a week - 10 days, and then I never had to buy/haul/ scoop/ change litter, again. It was pretty awesome!

We have had the cat 3 months more/or less.

Dear hubby has decided that if the cat wants on the table she will be on the table.  I said that at least she doesn't get on the counters, to which he replied only when you leave food on them.

The cat has her own routine.  She asks to go out when she wants to and asks to come in when she wants to.

She sits where she wants to, usually on someone's lap.

That's life.

Hi Anne;
Your cat has trained her human slaves quickly and well!

Thomas, right on.  She is a smart kitty.

She even has an outside routine.  She sits on the porch, then later she sits on a homer bucket with a lid, then she moves to a chair and I assume later the tree.  Same routine every night.

thomas rubino wrote:Hi Anne;
Your cat has trained her human slaves quickly and well!

Perhaps the title of this thread means Training Cats, as in cats who train us :D

I believe the saying goes, "Dogs have owners: cats have staff. "

The difference between dogs and cats is like night and day.

Anne Miller wrote:Thank you for starting this topic.

I would love to know if anyone has found a way to train a cat not to get on tables or counters without using water.

Cats like height.
If you can give them a place to go up higher than your table (that’s more desirable to cats), while at the same time making your table uncomfortable for them to go on, you’ll solve your problem.

There are awesome “cat condos” and carpeted wall shelves /“wall parcours for cats” setups online to peruse, where cats can be challenged to go from shelf to shelf, up and down, with small stretches and jumps in between. Even bending around rooms on all 4 walls. It’s very cool.  These are awesome for cats and very stimulating.
Cats love to be challenged mentally and physically. Part of their nature.

They are easy to make too. You do have to put something strong like carpeting or something on the shelves for them to grip, however.

At the same time, putting electric mats on your table or anywhere you definitely don’t want cats to go, works well. It doesn’t hurt, it’s low voltage, but it is “shocking”. And they see it as a consequence of nature/the world, not a consequence from you, since you often won’t even be there, or even “notice them”, when they attempt to jump on.