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Teaching your cat tricks is an enjoyable and rewarding way to encourage certain behavior or even fix a problem behavior with your cat. Teaching your cat tricks improves your relationship with your feline friend. Here are some tips I learned while working with my kitty.

Remember to be patient. Your cat is an individual, with his own abilities and preferences, just like you. He will pick up some tricks quickly, but may struggle with others. Make adjustments for his personality, and do not lose your temper if training does not go exactly as you planned.

If you are leaving food out at all times for him to eat when he feels like it, stop. Enforcing a feeding schedule has two main benefits: it increases the reward-value of food treats used for training, and also introduces some routine into your cat’s life, which most cats actually desire.

If you are using food treats, make sure your training sessions are just before mealtimes. Your cat’s natural desire for food at his regular mealtime will sharpen his focus and increase his desire to obey you, so he can get a treat.

Take baby steps. When training your cat, do not jump right into the harder tricks. Making sure he has a solid grasp of the basics will make learning the harder tricks that much easier.

Remember, cats have quite short attention spans and become bored very quickly. Try to keep your lessons short and interesting, and always end your lessons on a positive note.

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Cat training in 10 minutes…sounds mysterious…it is everyone’s dream yet it seems to be no one’s reality. This is because cat training in ten minutes just doesn’t exist. A cat like a human requires consistency, patience, and rehearsal to fully grasp the concepts behind necessary training. The behaviors of cats can be fun and playful, but at the same time-destructive and menacing. Unwanted scratches in the furniture, broken ornaments, ruined stockings…we all know the drill. The mystery reason behind why cats misbehave is the key to knowing how to stop it. So do you know the answer to the mystery?

While cat training in ten minutes or even twenty minutes may not exist, these tips will put you one step closer to your training dream. It is a well known fact that cats find trouble when they are bored. Sometimes they’re just looking for attention and other times they’re looking for something to spend their time with. your job is to make sure that their curiosity needs are met. The solution to this pesky problem is by giving your cat the behavior he desires. By spending more time with your cat, he will be less likely to destroy the house. It is important that you don’t spend time with your cat immediately following bad behavior because this will lead to an association between bad behavior and more attention. This association will in turn only lead to more bad behavior.

Secondly, cats are naturally nocturnal: This means they are most comfortable being active at nighttime. Activities are more exciting by the light of the moon, but at the same time he can find more trouble when he is not under your watchful eye. The way to fix this is simple. By giving your cat activities during the day, his exhaustion will kick in right as the sun will be going down so he will not be in the mood for any troublesome games. These activities could include so good “one-on-one” time. Playing with a mouse toy or a ball or yarn are great ways to tire him out because those involve physical activity. Also, just doing your own activities during the day that spark his interest will keep him from sleeping the days away. He won’t want to miss out on whatever you are doing! These simple tricks of outsmarting your kitty are great ways to train them. Again, this isn’t “cat training in 10 minutes”, but in the long run it will be more efficient and productive. These training tips for good cat care will ensure happy and peaceful life between you and your feline friend.

Some of the cat training tips: The Basics of Cat Training -Cats can be trained to do a number of things. So, whether you want them to stop bringing mice back to your front door, to use their litter tray correctly, or even to just use the toilet instead, cats can be taught how to behave; you just need to know the basics. Training a cat is obviously very different to training a dog. With a dog you teach them things such as “stay”, “fetch”, and “heel”. However, with a cat you are generally just training them to change their behavior slightly. You do not want them to do anything spectacular (though some trainers have been able to teach their cats to perform); you mainly just want to teach them how to behave in a more appropriate manner. Generally you need to understand your cat before you begin to train them and usually you should find that the following applies:

Cats Will Continue to Misbehave as Long as There is Reward-Firstly you need to understand that your cat does not know right from wrong. They do things because it is a joy for them to do them. An example would be scratching their claws on the sofa. They continue to do it because it feels good when they do it. They will only not do something if it is unpleasant to do. So this means that if you want to train your cat, you have to make the preferred behavior rewarding and any behavior you want to put a stop to, will need to be a negative experience.

Knowing When to Reprimand the Cat-A very common mistake which many cat owners make when it comes to disciplining their cat, is reprimanding them once the crime has already been committed. More often than not we are not with our cats when they actual misbehave and so we try to reprimand them by showing them the problem. The trouble with this is that the cat has absolutely no idea what you are reprimanding them for and so the punishment is not doing any good.

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One of the biggest problems cat owners face, is how to litter train their kitten. Fortunately, cats are clean and fastidious creatures and they can be trained to use the litter box very quickly. In fact, if you own mama cat, she will handle potty training for you. Otherwise, you will have to play that role. Assuming you do everything correctly, you should be able to train your kitten to use the litter box within two weeks. Just follow the list of do’s and don’ts below:

• Don’t put kitty’s litter box next to its bed or food. You want a clear separation in kitty’s mind: bed for sleeping, food bowl for eating, and litter box for doing its business. Besides, would you want to eat and sleep in your toilet? The same goes for your kitten.
• Use a spray to attract kitty to its litter box. There are some commercial sprays which can attract cats to a certain spot to defecate and urinate. You can use this spray, for greater convenience.
• Use a “pet behave spray” to prevent kitty from defecating or urinating in corners and other undesirable places. This spray basically produces smells which are unpleasant to your kitten. For example, if your kitten frequently urinates or defecates in the corner behind your settee, then you should spray that area regularly. Kitty will then avoid that area.
• Don’t use litter which clumps together (for kittens). A common recommendation for litter training cats is to use a litter which easily clumps together. While this is very convenient for adult cats, this cannot be recommended for kittens. Litters like these are usually treated to a chemical which to kittens may be sensitive. It is safer to use a different kind of litter. Check with your vet for advice on a suitable type of litter.
• When kitty hunches up or crouches, this is a common sign that it is about to do its business. Quickly put your kitten in its litter box and scratch its front paws in it. Eventually, this will help to associate the idea that kitty should do its business here.
• Put kitty in litter tray when it wakes up, and after eating. Many cats and kittens tend to pee and shit around these times. If you put your kitten in its litter box during these times, you will have fewer messes to clean up.
• Whenever kitty defecates/urinates elsewhere, clean up the poop and place it and kitty in the litter box. Don’t rub your kitten’s nose in the poop. Just sprinkle some litter over the poop or pee and clean it up. Then put this mess together with kitty in the litter box. The intention is simply to associate the action of shitting and peeing with the litter box. Kitty will probably not understand at first, so you need to be patient and do it over and over again.
• Feed kitty on a regular schedule. Part of litter training your kitten is to create fixed habits which are convenient to you. Regular feeding will help lead to regular shitting and peeing. This definitely makes your life easier.
• Clean the litter box regularly. Scoop away the poo after your kitten defecates. Replace the litter every week. If the litter is dirty and messy, your kitten will refuse to use the litter box. This is very bad for you.
• Don’t move the litter box around. This is part of forming good habits in your kitten. Keep the litter box in the same place. This makes it easier to associate the litter box with the act of elimination. Don’t confuse your kitten by changing the location of the litter box everyday.

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Litter training is a simple solution to the alternative which is running over and letting them out of the house whenever they need to relieve themselves. Then, you have to hope you are home during these times. Yes, a litter trained cat is much easier to live with.

However, litter trays can be messy to clean and they can also start to smell too. For that reason, many owners often look into different ways of housetraining their cat. One method which seems to be popular with some owners is toilet training. Here you will find the top five ways to toilet train your cat. It may sound silly, but toilet training might actually be the best thing that you ever teach your cat!

1. Litter train with Newspaper

Before you can toilet train your cat, they first need to be litter trained. Ideally you should provide them with a solid box and newspaper to cover up their business. You should not use actual kitty litter as this will not flush down the toilet when it comes time to toilet train the cat. So using newspaper is the best idea.

2. Gradually Move the Litter Tray

Since cats are creatures of habit it is not a good idea to move their box quickly. They may lose where it is or refuse to use it at all. So, you will have to move the box in stages. Think of the box as if it were walking to the toilet. Everyday scoot the box a little closer to the toilet. (Or whenever you notice your cat is comfortable to where you moved it previously.)

3. Lowering The Sides Of The Litterbox

There is quite a difference between the toilet and the litter tray and your cat will definitely be able to tell the difference! So you need to start trimming down the sides of the litter tray. If you are using a strong cardboard box then this shouldn’t be too difficult. However you should obviously be careful if you are using a plastic tray!

Remember as you move the box lower the edges. Do this gradually so that kitty doesn’t notice you disrupting their everyday routine.

4. Place the Tray in the Toilet

Now that you have done all the past three steps and the box has gradually made it’s way to the toilet. You are now ready to put the box into the toilet. You will do this by tying the box inside of the toilet. Make sure when you tie the box inside the toilet that it is tied tight. If it were to fall in while your cat was using it, it will scare them and they may never come to use it again. Now it’s time for a little patience. Leave the box in the toilet until you notice your cat has become completely comfortable with the new situation. When your cat has adjusted then, move on to step five.

5. Cut a Hole in the Tray

The last step is simple. Just cut a hole in the bottom of the box. This is so kitty gets use to the water at the bottom of the toilet, and whatever kitty does will fall into the toilet. After kitty adjusts to this you can remove the box all together, and your cat will be toilet trained, and you a happy cat owner.

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Is your cat’s bad behavior driving you up the wall? Many people are under the impression that cats are too independent to be trained. This is not true. Any animal can be trained. You just need to condition its reactions in a consistent and predictable manner. Animal behaviorists call this Pavlovian Conditioning. Although the most famous of the experiments revolved around dogs, subsequent scientists have successfully shown this effect even in human children. In other words, this effect is the basis of all successful animal training methods, from dogs to rats to lions.

Now, conditioning and punishment do not mean the same thing. You do not need to hurt your cat when it misbehaves, you just need to clearly demonstrate that its behavior is unacceptable. So, how do you do that? All you need are a number of spray water bottles filled with cold water, placed in convenient locations around your house. Anytime you see your cat doing something wrong, you immediately spray its body with cold water. This method gets your cats attention and annoys it but does not hurt it. You are not punishing your cat. You are interrupting it in the middle of its misbehavior. Do this consistently and immediately and you will eventually break your cat of its bad habits. An obvious limitation of this method is that if you are not around when kitty misbehaves, it will not work.

Here is a method of deterrence which works even when you are not at home. If your cat eats or scratches your houseplants, you can try putting mothballs in them. Cats are sensitive to the strong smell, and this will keep your cat away from your plants. You can also use the same trick to keep your cat from urinating and defecating in inappropriate locations.

Another problem which you may face as a cat owner is having your cat scratch your furniture or carpet. First, you need to know that your cat is only doing what comes naturally and you should not stop it from scratching. The scratching is meant to maintain its claws in good condition and also to stretch and tone its muscles. If you punish it for scratching, you will confuse it and this will lead to further bad behavior. What you want to do is minimize the damage it can do. Just trim its claws. If you do not know how, get a veterinarian to trim them for you. Ask your vet to teach you. You also want to redirect your cat’s attention from your carpet or furniture to another target. If your cat likes to scratch vertical surfaces, then get it a vertical scratching post. Ditto for horizontal surfaces.

Try these tips for stopping your cat’s bad behavior. You do not have to be cruel and punish kitty. Just take some suitable preventative measures to interrupt or prevent its bad behavior. Be consistent, be firm and patient in keeping the bad behavior from turning into bad habits.

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