Whether it’s a matter of life or death, or you simply want to have a closer relationship with your cat, training is a great way to spend some productive quality time together. Here are some ways to create the strongest bond and the most trust between you and your cat.
Reward Your Cat's Good Behavior With Treats
Positive reinforcement has long been the most tried and true method of getting your cat to behave like you want it to. Start simple and work your way toward more complex maneuvers or behaviors, and when your cat successfully accomplishes the task at hand, you pay up with a treat. Everybody loves treats, and that includes cats. In order to move forward from training to normal or regular behavior, simply give out fewer treats with each training session until your cat is exhibiting the behavior you want to see without the positive reinforcement of getting the treat.
Deter Your Cat’s Bad Behavior – Not The Preferred Method
The debate over the effectiveness of negative reinforcement has been waged long and hard, and the tug-o-war seems to continue without much avail. The most common form of this type of training, as it applies to your cat, is the much reviled spray bottle. While it may indeed prevent your cat from carrying on in its immediate course of action, you’re very likely not deterring it over the long haul. Rather, you’re more likely breeding anxiety and distrust in your cat, which will result in continued, even enhanced bad behavior, and certainly won’t solve any of your troubles. Think of it this way: how would you like to be sprayed in the face with a sharp and unexpected stream of water?
How To Maintain Proper Training Techniques
At the end of the day, you’re going to have to basically perform little mini behavioral experiments on your cat in order to find what really works best and what doesn’t work at all. Every cat is slightly different in its personality and cooperativeness, and you, as the owner, are going to have to do a little work to find out just where your cat falls on the spectrum of angel cat to demon cat. We kindly recommend the treat over the spray bottle, but there are always exceptions to the rule, and you’re going to know your own cat best. We’ll leave you with that and we hope it’s of some help to you. Until next time, cat enthusiasts!
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