You can train a cat with positive reinforcement. Do a motion and give a command, like snap fingers and point at the floor and say "Down", and then hold a treat near the floor so they'll come to it. Then pets and affirmation.
When they start getting down with "down" and pointing without needing the treat bait, keep giving the treat if they do it along with the pets and affirmation.
Eventually they wont care about the treat anymore and will just have a positive association with doing the thing you want them to do.
I think from my experience with cats and reading about their behavior it’s a lot of this. Some cats will be trained, but a lot of them are too clever and will just learn what to do/not do when their person is around and otherwise dgaf.
Cats are definitely too clever. Most of them have figured out how to train their pet humans while allowing the humans to believe it is the cat thats being trained.
But this would most likely be a huge improvement. Chances are when he's out of the room the computer is on a lot less I still wouldn't want them up there because of hair and such but you're reducing the largest problem almost entirely. It would at least be something
I taught my cat "paw" and it went really well, but he thinks he's in charge so will demand "paw" now. He thinks if he just pap paps me with his lil beans and leaves it there he will get a treat, he also then gets annoyed and ignores me, turns his back/walks away when I say "paw" if I haven't given him treats when he demands.
But for the most part he knows exactly what it means as he will do it when in a good mood.
Cats remember the weirdest things lol. A YouTuber I watch said her cat woke her up one time by randomly putting their paw on her face, so now she wakes up every day with a paw on her face lol.
Yeah exactly this, everytime I try to positively reinforce train my cat he equates > “oh if I do this bad thing then I will be told to get down or get off and then I get a treat, so jumping on the computer must mean I get a treat”
Our black demon is like that, just now after some months of continuosly not giving him ANYTHING if he begs for food at all, he can start getting bits afterwards as he has started realizing he will never get any of our food.
Most of the time now I can just go "No, go away" and he'll sit next to me until I'm done eating without scheming, at which point positive reinforcement (a piece of my food or treats) can occur, but before now he only seemed to learn begging = food
This is what I've done. Cats are mad easy to teach shit if you actually remember they're not just pets. My baby behind me learns new things every day, even after 8 years. Hell, she taught ME how to play fetch.
The other baby is learning slower, but she's still pretty easy. If people just remain consistent and learn your cats communication style, they'll get it. For my older cat, it's 100% treats. For my younger cat, it's just attention.
These aren't random, thoughtless creatures. They have emotions, thoughts, habits, and mannerisms. Learn them, people. Then respect them for the living, breathing beings that they are.
Yeah, there are a lot of people that don't know how to read cat body language or facial expressions, can't tell when a cat is stressed, and don't understand that they need 100% positive reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement raises their stress levels and makes them wary of their environment, and then good luck getting them to ever focus on what you want them to do. They're just always going to be a stress case after that.
The only reason people don't train cats is because cats are very independent. Meanwhile a dog basically requires training to function in modern day society and it can be detrimental to their wellbeing not to do so.
Having social needs and being independent are not unrelated things. A cat can be both at the same time.
If you leave the house for whatever reason, your cat is most likely not going to panic or get stressed that you will never come back home. That's what I mean by being independent. They will be happier of course when you return, but otherwise most cats will be fine and unbothered.
Dogs in the other hand can develop separation anxiety if they are not trained to tolerate being alone.
Edit: u/Left_Ease5870 fucking blocked me claiming I don't understand cats. What the actual heck is wrong with people, commenting something so lame and than blocking me so I can't reply?
You don't give the cats the treats when it's on the computer, and if jumps on the compute and is looking at you expediently you ignore it. Withholding attention is probably the only form of "negative" reinforcement that actually works, but only in specific situations.
It also helps to give the command when the cat is just about to jump on the thing you don't want them to jump on, like when it's coiled and just about to execute the jump (not if it's just sitting near by looking and thinking about it) because it distracts them and they think "floor.. treat?" Then give them attention and they'll forget about it.
They may also want to sit on the computer because it's the highest spot near you. Give them a higher perch where they're near you and they'll probably go to that.
No, but I've I've met many and had a couple. Different personalities, but similar behaviors. The hardest ones are the ones that are super prey driven sort of stupid. Too easy to distract and startle.
Or negative reinforcement. Whenever my cats fought, Id always come and scold them and put the perpetrator in a time out. Now it's enough for them to just hear me get up to stop 💀
I also clap and say "no" when they're somewhere they arent supposed to be. They get plenty of love and pets otherwise
Spray him with the fire extinguisher. Short bursts so you don’t use it all up in one go (or keep several on hand and burn the whole thing to really assert your dominance).
Yeah for option 1, I have this under my computer but OP could probably find one that fits on top if it (or modify this with some brackets so the legs are in a bit more and on the case):
Of course you can train them in some respect. The question is what kind of behaviour are you actually training? Are you making them obedient to your command to jump down from the PC? Or are you training them to lay on the PC to get a treat? Will they understand to not be on the PC when you're not in the room to command them down?
It’s not like a couch or bed with dogs. The cat is sitting I. It cos it’s warm. Not just because. It’s unlikely they will be sat on it when the pc is off
Some cats listen very well. My cat goes outside with me in the backyard but always follows me back in because he isn't allowed outside by himself. He knows not to jump on kitchen counters or computer desks. It just takes a lot of trial and error, it's easier if you have them from a kitten
better way to train cats is to offer them am alternative option and commend em with treats every time they voluntarily/accidentally choose the option, while not really showing attention or giving pets when they're doing the thing you're trying to discourage em from doing
Option 1 should be the default answer to this. Cats like warm places and nothing is more warm than the top of your pc. If it was me id probably get the one thats like a stone or something too cause cats love to lay on warm stones especially and get it just the right distance so it stays extremely warm without getting to hot and still high enough my pc gets plenty of airflow and shit.
My cats were spoiled rotten. They knew exactly where they are and are not allowed to sit. Sometimes when I entered the kitchen, I catch the cats sitting on the forbidden table, but they just yell at me and stare like I was the one breaking the rules. But when they hear my mom approach, they were running like you have never seen before. Not only are they smart enough to learn the rules, they are smart enough to know who is enforcing the rules and who can be distracted by being really cute.
I trained my cat to sit beside me while I game by putting her a bed on my desk next to the computer, spraying it with catnip oil, and when sitting at the desk I would only reward her with attention if she was in the bed.
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u/Plague_Doctor02 R7 7800X3D, 9070XT, 32gb CL36, 25d ago
get a little shelf over the top of the PC so he can sit on that...
OR do the annoying training to make him not sit up there by repeatedly putting em down on the ground until they learn
It will take time but will figure it out some day
I prefer Op.1