There was this moment of revelation I had back when I was first learning to make sense of our relationship as humans towards animals. Our animal training crew was doing a comedy bit with an orangutan named Chelsea in which she was sharing a cigar with the trainer; smoking, making silly faces, getting laughs. I was watching the orangutan’s eyes looking for expression, something that would tell me she was engaged with all of this, and I saw nothing there – her eyes showed apathy; they were bored. My mind went into flashback mode remembering what inspired me to want to work with animals in the first place. David Attenborough’s wonderful worlds of nature. For myself (and a zillion of us), this was the very first time we had seen any of these breathtaking beings running, swimming, and fighting; living their lives as a creature of nature, existing in this whole other world than the backyard we knew. Never in the history of these cherished times watching Attenborough with an animal did we ever see a primate with a cigar in its mouth. Yet, I was completely entertained, glued to my seat. The joy was in the wonder of it all.

I had wanted to be him; to be inspired by him and thus to do what I could to be of benefit to the animal kingdom. To edify and educate people. How did my life get so off track?

The work I do now is built upon the thought that training animals is still an awesome thing to have learned and should be an invaluable asset to their psychological well-being. The great evolution with zoological parks was when they switched the mindset from ‘animals to be peered at in cages’ into ‘what things can we learn about this animal that will help us make the best behaviorally stimulating enclosures we possibly can?’

Now to our furry feline friends. What things can we do that will help us make the best behaviorally stimulating life for our cats that we possibly can? Train your cats.

I love training cats. My cats sit, and high five, stand up on their hind legs, and they even come when I call! No way. Yes, way. A cat can learn to come when you call. While admittedly all of this is a cool thing to show guests, my reasoning for doing it is about making their day to day world more physically and mentally stimulating. I mainly use “clicker training”, the most common way trainers train everything from dolphins and primates, to dogs and cats, and even birds.

First then: Why even train a cat?

1)     Nearly every behavioral issue a cat owner complains about can be aided or completely removed by clicker training. A cat who is fearful of guests, noises, large rooms, or other animals, will gain confidence and learn to turn their fearful focus into a more positive experience. A cat with destructive behaviors like clawing up furniture will have much needed mental and physical stimulation and redirect that need to claw onto an object you would prefer.

2)     It is very useful when your cat must encounter new environments such as moving to a new home, a vet visit, or learning to go into a carrier.

3)     It is a great way to bond with a shy or new cat. It is not uncommon for an owner of a shy cat to believe that’s just how most cats act. Cats are “aloof”, “indifferent”, and “independent”. The truth is most cats would much rather have a life filled with interesting things to do with the humans in their world. They will begin to look at training sessions as a way to gain attention from these humans and look to the human as a source of comfort rather than ambivalence.

4)     They enjoy it! When awake, a cat’s brain is alert and looking for something to engage with. That’s why owners so often find issues with the behavior problems with their cats!

 Second: How does clicker training work?

 1)     What is a clicker!? A clicker is actually a kids toy often given as party favors. It was adopted for use in animal training - it is super convenient and easy to find.  Note that ANYthing that makes a click can be used, even a ball point pen, as long as it can be heard and is easy to manage during a training session. It is okay to use your voice to make a “click” but the use of the voice has to be carefully controlled. You can only use that sound when you are training, otherwise it can become confusing and lead to a cat not learning what to do when you ask.

2)     Clicker training is based on operant conditioning which is, basically, a behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated. With regards to your cat and clicker training, your cat is more likely to repeat a behavior you are encouraging if there is a positive reward attached to it. It works by creating the behavior (sit), letting the cat know that is the behavior you want (click), and then immediately giving a reward (treat). You are “shaping a behavior”.

 Thirdly: What are the steps?

 1)     Learn what food treat is best loved by your cat. If there are more than one, even better. Mix it up when you train to keep them interested. And keep them bite size. You want the cat to eat it quick and be ready to go again.

2)     You will need a space where there are no other animals or distractions. You will also want a motivated cat so do sessions when they are hungry and alert.

3)     Now, you are going to train your cat to make the connection that the click sound is a means to get that treat. Doing this is simple. Make the click and toss a treat in front of them. Click-treat. Click-treat.

4)     Keep the sessions to about five minutes. It is important that you end the session with a positive feeling. If you keep it going past the interest level of your cat, they are likely to remember the sessions as “boring” rather than exciting. As they say in show business, always leave them wanting more. And do them as many times during the day as you have time to give. It can be advantageous to do them in the AM and then again before you go to bed. This will benefit the cats desire to be active during those hours and especially help with a cat that wakes you up too early.

 Last: How to teach them to sit

 1)     One method is to hold the treat above their nose and at an angle that causes their head to tilt and their backside to move into a sit position. Say the word “sit”, click and give a treat at the moment they are sitting, or going to sit. Of course, this is easy to say in words. Work with it in a way that helps you and your cat learn.

2)     A second method is to wait throughout the day and notice when the cat is sitting, then “sit”-click-treat. This is fun because the cat can be surprised throughout the day when attention and a treat is given.

3)     Once you add the verbal cue “sit” and you feel the cat has a strong association with sit and treat, you can begin to remove the clicker sound and only use the word.

 Some things to note:

·        Never push the cat into a training session if they are not interested and train them when they are hungry. Always keep it a positive experience.

·        Be patient and keep your energy calm, positive, and present.

·        Keep the sessions short and frequent.

·        Use “intermittent reinforcement”. Once you have established click = treat, begin giving treats every other time the behavior is done. The cat will stay more interested because they won’t know which time the treat is coming.

·        Always end on a positive note! Be aware of your cat’s interest level and stop the session before they lose interest.

·        If the cat does something other than focusing on the behavior being trained, simply ignore it and redirect them back by moving yourself (and thus your cat) into a new position in the room and go right back to the training.

Once you and your cat get this down, the rest is just you, your cat, and your own creativity and awareness of what behaviors/tricks your cat would enjoy. I have found that fun behaviors to encourage with your cat are behaviors they do naturally. I have a cat that plops in front of me with a cute “I am a damsel from a 1940’s movie that has just been put into a hypnotic trance” posture. I can put that on a cued behavior by simply watching for her to do it, saying “sleep”, click, and then giving her a treat or positive attention.

Training is super fun. Its rewards move you closer to understanding your cat as an individual and as a feline. You can read everything there is to know about felines but it is only through personal discoveries that you will finally be able to look into your cat’s eyes and say, “Wow. Look how interesting and aware this beautiful being is!”