How do I train a cat?

Question

I have a 4 month old kitten and I want to train her basic stuff like come and to not do certain things. How do I do that?

Answer 1

Cats come when they want, mine come when i use a can opener, because when I would drain off the water from tuna I would let them have some. As to train not to do some things there are a multitude of ways.
1. Catch them in the act and spray them with water. (cats don't like water).
2. To keep off tables or counters, blow up balloons and tape them to the tops and then when the cat jumps onto these surfaces they will cause these to pop and this will scare them (they will be unhurt) and they will jump off.
3. Litter training should already be done.
Good Luck . Cats think that we are their servants and they are the gods. (In Egypt, cats were raised to the status of gods, and they haven't forgotten this).

Answer 2

Most cats are independent to a certain extent. But they do like attention and they respond to touching and petting.

She will come if you reward her, and if you develop a way to call her, but when she bonds with you she will probably come without being called.

I assume the certain things you don't want her to do involve urination and defecation. Female cats are a little easier to train in this way than males, but cats like to hide the product of their elimination. Most will box train fairly easily because they can bury it. If your kitten is at least partly an outdoor cat it will be somewhat easier, but the best way to train an animal as young as this is by rewarding good behavior.

There is a very nice book called "Whale Done," that describes in detail the reward system used to train killer whales. Best rule of thumb, don't try to punish cats. They don't respond well to punishment. (Dogs usually do.) And never withhold food from an animal.

Answer 3

I never used a water spray bottle...doesn't work....I simply snap my fingers and say NO and at the same time make them stop doing what they are doing...for example, if they got on the table, i would gently push them off while snapping my fingers and saying NO sternly....sometimes i clap loudly, which is a noise they don't like....also, i pet them and use a soothing voice when they are being good so they know the difference between a good voice and a bad one...that is all i did and i have to say i have some of the best trained cats i have ever had (my family has others which are not trained well)

Answer 4

Don't know if I can offer specific ideas, but...I have a 10-month-old kitten who I've trained to fetch his ball. What's really funny is that now if I ignore him and he wants to play, he'll bring me the ball just like a dog would.

Guess the first thing would be to make sure your kitten has a consistently used name that she will recognize when you call her. My cat knows his name and will come if I call him. Use a consistent phrase for discipline; mine knows "NO!" and "get down", because he tends to get into high places where I don't want him, like the kitchen sink and the top of the refrigerator.

They're smarter than we think...be sure to praise your kitty if she does something you want, or offer a reward. Also remember that cats tend to have a mind of their own...so it might take a little while for her to get the gist of your training.

Answer 5

Umm..... Cats can't be trained. lol No sorry I don't know what you can do. I know I trained my cat to run from me at certain times, or at least to shut up. Before I had saved up enough money to have her fixed, and she would go into heat and she would meow constantly. I filled an empty pill bottle half way with pennies, and when she would become too vocal I'd shake the jar. And it would scare her and she would go meow somewhere where I was not!!!! This might sound mean, but hey it worked!!!

Answer 6

Be a good owner; act like your cat can trust you. That means that you need to be consistent.

My cat listens very well. Part of that is her personality, I think. She really likes people and affection, and will act in ways that will get her the affection she likes.

To get her to come to me (which is what I mostly want from her), I just always gave her affection and/or treats when she obeyed. Now she will listen no matter where she is in the house. If she comes to me and I have to do something she dislikes (like clip her nails) she gets extra reinforcement in the form of treats.

To keep her from doing things she shouldn't do, I invested in water pistols. They have better aim, easier to hide around the house, cheap, and they make a little sound that the cat associates with a punishment. My cat used to like to get on the table; I used to shoot a water pistol at her, which confused her into coming to me for comfort. Eventually, all I had to to was hold out my finger like a gun and make a "pssst, psst" sound and she would stop doing whatever it was I didn't want her to do.

You can also give simple commands. My cat understands "no," "quiet," "squish" (while on a lap), "come," and "down."

Answer 7

I will assume that you're not talking about doing tricks and stuff. Yes, cats can be trained (like in the movies and in commericals) but it takes an incredible amount of time, patience, and experience. To train your kitten to be a well-behaved cat all you need is lots of love, affection and patience. Kittens are, to put it bluntly, a pain in the a**! They are adorable and fun, but are trouble with a capital "T". It's part of their development to explore, be curious, get into trouble, be naughty, climb up the curtains, un-make the bed, knock every priceless knicknack you own onto the floor, etc.

If your kitten was still with it's mother and littermates, the entire lot of them would be clamoring all over her playing and making total nuisances of themselves. A mother cat does one of two things...she either walks away or she gives them a swat of the paw. And if they get really obnoxious, she will bite them on the scruff of the neck. Miraculously, they instantly become little limp angels when mama goes for the neck. It's really important that you be your kitten's surrogate mother. At first, you want to ignore. If she bites your hand (because she thinks it's a toy), don't pull your hand away. That just makes it like a game to her. Instead, have your hand just play dead...that immediately stops all the fun. If she continues...get up and walk away from her. You do this consistently and she will get the hint. If not, you need to grab the scruff of her neck firmly (do not lift her without supporting her from behind though!) and get her to calm down. Firmly say, "NO!" And when she's calm, you can let her go. Do this consistently in her youth and she will be a well-behaved adult cat.

Another important part of your kitten's development is playtime. Since she has no littermates to play with you have to make time to play with her. Get an interactive toy and let her release all that pent up energy playing. Play with her till she's lying on her side panting in exhaustion! Watch how much calmer she is for the rest of the day after all that play! She'll be snoozing in no time! She will begin to look forward to playtime with you and you will experience a very special bonding moment. :-)

All cats learn their names, but it's really up to them to decide whether or not to respond to it. There will be times when they will just yawn at you and go back to their nap or whatever else they're doing. But if everytime you call their name you offer love, kisses, toys, fun, cuddle-time, petting, and other types of affection, they will more often than not, come when you call them. Good luck

Answer 8

Spray her with a spray bottle every time she misbehaves and when she does good, reward her with a big hug or treat. Cats most of the time are not able to learn as much as dogs but you can teach them basics. Teach her name by saying it a lot and when ever you call her, say her name and not a nickname. If you say it a lot for the first few monthes of training, she will know it like a pro!

good luck!

Answer 9

Cat's really aren't into tricks. If you start her at this age, you can leash train her (with some patience). Some cats will learn tricks, but they aren't like dogs. They have personalities. They'll only participate when they feel like it, on their own terms. Treats are the only way you can even TRY to get them to do tricks, but some cats just won't. If you got a cat to "train" them, you've gotten the wrong animal.

Answer 10

See cats are those type of animals which are very sincere.They cannot be treatd like dogs,if you treat it like a dog it will leave you,i have been with cats for about 7 years,and i had many cats and kittens,i treatd one of it like a dog and one day when i came back from school,bringing with me some food for it,sadly it was gone.Then i knew i really treated it very harshly.So please do not treate it very badly,but you can treate it kindly.So the secret weapon is to start treating it from now bcoz the great ADVANTAGE is it is still small.It will be of course difficult in the beginning,but later you will find great results.Trust me.Teach it to do stuff in a very SWEET WAY.Bye.