Training For Cats

How to Train Your Cat to Come When Called

Contrary to popular belief, it is far from impossible to train a cat. In fact, it may be much easier than you think. If you would like to train your cat to come when his/her name is called, then you will have to adopt different techniques to those used when training a dog. Nevertheless, with a little patience and some persistence, you should be able to train your kitty to come to you on command.

There are, of course, many benefits to training your cat basic obedience, such as approaching you when called, which include: being able to call your cat in from outside in the evenings or ensuring that in an emergency, such as a house fire, you can quickly locate your cat and make sure that he/she is protected from danger.

So, if you would like to begin training your cat to come when called, the following tips will help you develop the correct techniques that will make cat obedience training much easier.

1. First, it is a good idea to use the cat's name as a command call. Obviously, this is essential if you are in a home with multiple pets, but it is wise even if your cat is the only animal in the home, because cats, like dogs, quickly recognize and respond to the sound of their own names.

2. In order to encourage your cat to approach you, it is crucial that you offer a pleasant experience, such as a tasty treat, favorite toy or praise. The reward method you choose will depend on your individual cat and what motivates him/her most effectively. However, it is wise to use food rewards in moderation, because otherwise you will end up with a very overweight cat.

3. It is advisable to ensure that you do not call your cat only on occasions when you have something unpleasant to offer, such as crating, medication or a trip to the vet. If these are the only circumstances in which you call your cat, you will soon find that he/she will no longer come to you. Of course, there will be times when it is necessary to do something that the cat finds unpleasant, but, on these occasions, you should offer a treat before the unpleasantness.

4. You may need to exercise quite a bit of patience, especially if you are trying to train a particularly willful adult cat. If your cat flatly refuses to come to you, then simply wait until he/she chooses to approach you, then say the cat's name and provide lots of praise. Hopefully, the cat will soon associate coming to you when its name is called, with pleasant treats and attention.

5. As you may already know, cats do not have the longest attention span in the animal kingdom, so you might have to be prepared to perform your training over weeks, trying to get your kitty to come to you just once a day. Obviously, the time you can devote to training will depend on your lifestyle and the individual character of your cat.

6. One of the most important things to remember is to remain consistent. In other words, if you have chosen to offer your cat a favorite toy as a reward, you must continue to use this toy. Moreover, if there are other people in the house, ensure that they use the same reward that you are using. Cats are savvy and if the reward is not forthcoming, they may decide that they are no longer willing to comply with your command.

As mentioned above, training a cat to come when called can be incredibly easy, but it is important to remain patient and consistent.

About the Author

Samantha Markham is a professional freelance writer based in the UK. She is proud to produce articles on behalf of remmeer.com, a high quality supplier of pet products. Visit remmeer.com for a wide range of cat & kitten gifts and cat handbag & tote styles by Laurel Burch.

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