Think Cats Can’t Learn Tricks? Think Again!

Posted by Mike on May 2, 2009 under 1. Info Collection |

Think Cats Can’t Learn Tricks? Think Again!: “

The Spring, 2009 issue of UC Davis Magazine featured an article that may be of interest to readers of the Vet Blog.

Sit, Kitty! Stay!

Playing fetch — it’s not just for dogs anymore.

Sit, roll over, shake hands — and this coming from an animal that takes 20-hour naps? At the UC Davis Companion Animal Behavior Service, you can learn how to train your cat just like a person would train a dog.

‘Some people have a notion that cats are aloof or unfriendly,’ said Melissa Bain, assistant professor of veterinary medicine and epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, ‘but they’re not!’ Bain, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, has trained her own cats at home for the past 10 years. ‘It’s not mainstream, and most people haven’t done it, but that doesn’t mean they can’t,’ Bain said.

She said in the past, she’s seen cats play fetch, roll over, get in a box and shake hands, to name a few tricks. This is opposed to the usual tricks cats perform on a daily basis — eat, sleep and shed fur. And while animal trainers in Hollywood have been training cats for decades, this is a fairly new phenomenon for the common cat.

According to Bain, it’s important to use positive reinforcement when training cats, like rewarding them with treats, instead of punishing them, which makes them much less likely to want to participate in the training process. She also uses ‘clicking training’ to help her cat recognize what she wants him to do. ‘It’s not magic — the clicker is a tool, and it can’t be used as punishment unless you throw it at them,’ she said.

When I was a child I made a concerted attempt to train my cat to perform tricks. I can’t remember what tricks I wanted to teach her, but I do know that my attempts at cat training failed miserably. Obviously Dr. Bain has better credentials than I!

Photo: Lily gives five.

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(Via Vet Blog: Information and Advice from Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM.)