This is an excellent tool to help introduce cats to one another! Pattern games are a simple set of exercises that provide a predictable and secure structure for animals in order to help them normalize changes in their environment (potential “triggers” for reactive cats). Patterns are safe, predictable, repetitive, voluntary and normalizing! Pattern games were created by Leslie McDevitt for use with reactive dogs, there is nothing stopping us for using these tools with our cats!
positive reinforcement training
Target Training as a Solution to Counter Surfing Behavior
This video will illustrate how to use targeting as a means of controlling unwanted behaviors such as getting on the kitchen counters during meal prep. This same technique could be used to resolve a myriad of other nuisance behaviors.
See my other video How to Teach Your Cat to Target a Mat and a Stool to learn the basics!
Train Your Cat to Target Using Their Nose
In this video viewers will learn how to teach their cat to touch a target with their nose. This can later be a useful gesturing tool to get the cat to follow the target to where you would like them to go such as in to their cat carrier! This is a basic foundation behavior for beginners just getting started training their cats. And, as always, we end with a little medication training.
Sunday morning clicker training fun at our house (complete with bloopers)!
This is just a cute and hilarious video of our cats performing their tricks. You’ll see them do well and then we roll into complete chaos. Just fun and inspirational. Training increases confidence and is a great way to have fun with your cats and build a bond! Give it a try!
Tabby Tunes – Hitch and Finn Play Piano
Training can be so much fun and so incredibly cute! Once you teach the basics it’s easy to build upon that and train all kinds of cool tricks, like playing a children’s piano! Training can be for purpose and for enrichment. Remember it is just as important to exercise their brains as well as their physical body.
Finn demonstrates “recall,” a life saving behavior to train!
Cats can be trained, yes it is true! One of the most important behaviors you could teach is recall or “come when called”. This could save your cats life if they ever got outside unexpectedly or were about to dart towards danger. It can also help you find them in the home when you cannot locate their secret hiding place. Please, do not underestimate your cats ability to train and learn!
