Training your cat

Before training, it's a good opinion to have your cat examined by your vet to make sure there are no hidden health problems that could be aggravated by any training activity.

You can reinforce tricks your cat has mastered, but do not confuse him or her by teaching more than one new behavior at a time of training.

Cats must be rewarded every time they perform a new task in a correct way. Once it's learned, only offer the reward every so often. You can use your cat's favorite food or toy as a reward, or something different, like a special flavor or treat. Manufactured cat treats are the healthiest choice.

Teach your kitty to associate a food reward with a sound: a bell, or a clicker for example. Once the association between the noise and the reward is learned, always hit the bell or clicker at the exact moment your cat performs the desired behavior.

Remember you are trying to reinforce the spoken command. Always precede a command with name of your cat. After your cat has performed the behavior correctly and is rewarded, continue repeating the command in a positive way: for example, 'Sit, good, sit'.This will help a lot...

Training tips

1.  Train your kitty before mealtimes, as a food reward won't be so enticing on a full stomach. At the same time, don't 'starve' cats to make them eager to learn; a hungry cat will quickly become an annoyed one and it will have bad effects on her..

2.    When you start training, eliminate any distracting noise from the TV or radio  as it will make the process almost impossible.

3. Keep sessions short, ending them before your cat gets bored or tired of your methods. Fifteen minutes is ideal and keeps your 'student' fresh and active.

4.  Don't vary the training sessions - make sure the trainer, commands, signals and rewards are always the same.Don't confuse your cat.

5.    Try to spend a minimum of 10-15 minutes every day and stick with it. Training your cat once a month won't get the results.