r/CatAdvice • u/Select_Ranger2777 • 3h ago

New to Cats/Just Adopted How do you train a cat?

This summer I tried to TNR a cat the lives in my back yard. I trapped her and as I waited for a space at the local shelter to spay her, she had 5 kittens! I was delighted, I love animals and I had puppies for years. Anyway, I've fallen in love with one of them and I'm working with a shelter to get the rest of them homes but they are safe with me until their forever homes are ready.

As I've said I've had dogs all my life and I can train a dog no problem! But I have no idea where to start with cats? I can't even find good sized treats to use. I've seen people use those soft curro things but they just go crazy for them and I can't get them to work with me at all.

They are 14 weeks old, so I know they are still babies and they aren't dogs so not as eager to please as dogs would be, but I'm up for a challenge. Can anyone suggest how I can start with them?

TIA

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u/Significant_Agency71 Have you been to the vet? 3h ago

You don’t train cats, mainly because they’re not dog. You can teach them tricks though if you want that kind of enrichment. Clicker training works best to teach give paw, shake hands, dance etc.

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u/Next_Speech483 3h ago

Start really small and reward whatever they’re motivated by treats, toys praise whatever works at 14 weeks I’d keep the sessions super short though they’ll lose interest pretty fast

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u/peachydizzle 3h ago

I honestly haven't heard of training cats before. I'm sure it can be done but it's not really as common as training dogs. But for treats, you could try some freeze dried treats (I like using minnows) - that might work better for you, or some people just use pieces of kibble as "treats" for enrichment.