Is There an Easy Way to Train a Cat?

The short answer to this question is yes, but it may not be easy in the way you’re imagining it to be.

Here are some effective tips that will help you easily train your cat, whether you have a few minutes every day or an hour once per week to dedicate to training your pet.

Just remember, training cats can take time and patience, so don’t get discouraged if things don’t go exactly as planned!

Cats can be trained

Training cats can seem like it's impossible. Unlike dogs, training cats requires more creativity and patience.

Chasing a cat just makes them run away, trying to herd them will just make them think you're playing games, and they'll always find something they consider more important than the task at hand. But there are plenty of ways to train your cat without it feeling like work for you or your pet.

First, reward your cat with food or treats whenever they do what you want them to do (this is called positive reinforcement). If that doesn't work, try negative reinforcement by making their favorite toy inaccessible when they disobey.

Never hit or yell at your pet as this won't help in any way! Cats are tricky creatures but with some patience and creativity, you should be able to teach yours anything you want!

Early training is easier

A lot of what makes cats trainable is with their early education. As kittens, they are much more likely to learn and listen. This is because the brain's window of lifelong plasticity closes between ages two and six months old, leaving cats much less likely to learn how to do things after this point.

Cats can't be trained when they're older than twelve months either. It takes patience, but the more your cat stays near you and follows your every move from day one, the easier it will be in the long run.

It may take as little as ten days for a kitten who's raised at home with their mother, littermates, and human family members to start associating meows with food coming soon or toys they want played with—after just a few minutes!

Positive reinforcement works best

If you want to train your cat, the best thing you can do is use positive reinforcement. Cats don't respond well to negative discipline; they won't understand what they did wrong and then they'll just become afraid of you.

Negative reinforcements such as punishing your cat or scaring it away from a certain place won't help with training them and could actually have the opposite effect if used on a regular basis.

When you reward your cat for something that it does correctly, it will start associating good things with what it's doing, whether that's using its litter box correctly or getting into its carrier.

This will make life so much easier for both of you in the long run because training your cat is essentially teaching it how to behave properly.

Patience is key

While it's not always easy, patience is key in training a cat. Training takes time and effort on both the human and animal's part; therefore, it can't be rushed. It's important to get your cat used to their new surroundings before you train them.

When you're finished with training for the day, it is best if your cat feels satisfied from playing.

Some things that you should not do during training are force your cat into something they don't want to do, yell at them when they disobey, or give them food as a reward for obeying because this will teach them that one of the only times they can eat is when they're being obedient.

Picking your battles wisely

First and foremost, I'm not going to say that there is a way that will work for every cat and situation.

However, in general I recommend picking your battles wisely and looking at the other person's body language to see how they are feeling about the current interaction.

For example, if your cat is winding up with its claws extended towards you while you're trying to open the door, it's probably best not to push them any further.

Clicking sounds work well in certain situations, but it may seem intimidating if someone doesn't understand what it means. All in all, when training animals (or people!) there is always more than one technique that can be used so experiment and find out what works best for you!

Try a clicker!

Clickers are often used in animal training, but they can also be used as a reward for your pet. They make different noises when clicked, so cats may not always know what the noise means.

Clickers are convenient because you don't have to touch the cat, and the device is small enough that it doesn't have to stay on your hand at all times.

When clicker training your cat, be sure to provide rewards immediately after clicking, or else your cat will only associate clicker sounds with frustration or punishment.

Litter box behavior rules

Keep your litter box in one of the following places: A) Next to your cooking area, B) Near where the cat spends most of its time, C) In multiple areas throughout the house.

Clean the litter box daily and make sure it is always filled with clean litter or pine needles. One rule that can help ensure that cats do not forget about their boxes is keeping them away from any place they like to rest.

If you let cats decide on their own when they want to go to the bathroom, they might end up using your bed, sofa, or clothes as a makeshift litter box.