Cat Training
 

I wonder anyone of you train your cats, as in obedience and tricks. My Wilby, a local cat will respond "me..ow" to his name when called. He does a fantastic Recall (Come), Paw (Shakehands) and hop from stool to stool on command. :) It is totally possible to train other behaviours except I have many dogs to train and two African Grey as well and lack of time. :(

My Cat comes when I shake her treat bag
 

My fluffy Diva comes running whenever I shake her treat bag, and that's basically the only training I have given her so far :D

I am trying to get her to stay still on my lap.... she's not a lap cat but I am trying my darndest to make her one. Any suggestions??? :confused:

Hi purrfact,
If your cat is food motivated it would be possible to train just about any behaviour. Feed her her favourite treat slowly while on your lap on a daily basis. As with any training a few short sessions of say 3-5 minutes is better than long sessions. Over time she should be conditioned to like being on your lap. ;)

Clicker Train?
 

Hi purrfact do you Clicker Train? I noticed you mentioned treat bag :D

I don't train my cats, hehe. :) But I watched several documentaries on it (my bf was very interested). And we really liked the one which shows the making of the cat commercial for Whiskas in America. The trainer was very patient and taught many things thru the show. She said that most cats are food motivated and they can learn many tricks.

She showed how to teach using food and the clicker. That's how they shot the commercial. Very cool. :D

Yes, they make it look so easy. Cats used to be thought as untrainable or extremely difficult because they have this laid back attitude.

i think in order to 'train' your cat you have to understand some basic behavior. why cats do this or why they do that.. contrary to popular belief scratching is not merely to sharpen their claws. there are a few good books on the market which tell stories of 'misbehaving' cats in story form(so its not boring)

hiss and tell- pam johnson bennett
is my cat crazy-john c wright and judi wright lashnits
and the cat who cried for help-dr nicholas dodman dvm

these books are easily available at kino/borders

heartkiel,
Care to share a few interesting snippets from these books. :p