Teaching your cat to come when called is bottom line probably the most important thing you can teach your cat.  The reason for this is because if your house is on fire and your cat comes when it is called you can call them, grab them, and carry them out of the house.  Also if you have an indoor cat that somehow makes its way outside and maybe gets lost being able to call your cat back home will save you a lot of time looking for him or her.

When teaching a cat to come I have a few simple tools I like to use.  The first of which is freeze dried chicken treats.  This has worked best for my cats however you are free to use any treat that really motivates your cat.  The next thing you need is a clicker. A clicker emits a very certain noise that allows the cat to realize the exact moment that they are being rewarded for, making the training process simpler.  When training your cat use a specific hand motion that your cat will recognize and respond too.  When you call your cat, make it consistent and say the exact same thing every time, while calling use your hand motion and hold the food while doing this.  Once your cat comes and touches your hand click the clicker and allow your cat to have the treat.  When your cat is finished eating the treat once they walk away from you do it again.  Once you do this a couple times with the treat in your hand do it without the treat, but still do the hand command.

This is an easy way to get your cat to come.  DO this at least once a week to keep your cat well trained and you will have a cat that comes when it is called.

Filed under: Cat Behaviors

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!