Unfortunately, most of the time the failure is blamed on the cat. Which is an odd thing to do for the purportedly more intelligent of the two beings.
Especially since cat training, when approached properly, is both easy and fun.
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Yes, cats are motivated by food. But not in necessarily in the ways we are thinking. We should use both food, and food behavior, to create cues in the cat’s mind.
Once we have cues, we can negotiate behavior.
We create cues by associating a repeatable effect (a sound, a gesture, even an expression,) with something the cat wants. Cats always want to know the details, about what and when, before we have their focused attention.
Here’s how I used the the game show, Jeopardy, to to create a set of cues. The distinctive theme song, repeated in its various forms, creates a pattern.
What do we use it for? Anything we want. Most of the time, we use it to discuss dinner. Well, actually, the cats use it to discuss dinner.
Our cats not only love dinner, they love discussing, all through Jeopardy, such subjects as what dinner they will have and who will serve it. This is because we have long used the Final Jeopardy tune to signal weekday dinnertime.
Then the cats, recognizing the different times similar music was played, began asking during the opening theme. Jeopardy just started! we would protest, or That’s only a commercial break.
The cats plan their strategy, express an interest in poultry or seafood when asked, bump shoulders as they share the joy, and even develop some interest in the show itself, picking up when the little humans on the screen might do something the cat knows will lead to that song again.
Having cues allows our three cats to keep their anticipation in check, and enjoy contemplating a future event. Instead of being lured away or annoyed during a show we generally watch, we now gather the cats with us, and we all enjoy the countdown to the end of the show.
Any repeating event that is part of our routine can be used in this manner. When we integrate our cats into our own care routine, our cat chores are reliably handled, and what is more, cats can see the patten that makes them reliable.
This makes cats feel they can trust us to provide for them, which is something they like very much. This can enlist our cat’s cooperation without much effort on our part. Our cats feel such knowledge can be its own reward.
And they are right.
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There’s more to raising and training a cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See my CAT TRAINING TIPS.
