Thread: Training?

My old cat Bit ( now deceased) used to always come to a strange whistle I did between my teeth and I mean always came as if she was sometimes made to against her will - it was quite funny. I didnt teach her she just did it but I did notice as a kitten she always looked up when I made that noise and I just kept doing it

I was wondering whether a particular sound ( a certain whisle or whoop) might be better than a word and if you can find a sound that attracts their attention in the first instance whether it might be easier then to entice them to you with a treat and so on

I am certainly no expert - just my thoughts!

Happened to me yesterday with the 2yr old babies.Hubby left back gate ajar,only for a couple of seconds he assures me but he was nowhere to be seen when I realised.
I have always kept a favourite noisey toy & a glitter "tickling stick",with its end cut off,painful,close to hand but where the cats can't see them normally. Occasionly I get them out indoors & just rattle the toy,rustle the tickling stick & walk away from them calling " come on ,clever puss's" when they follow we have a play. Luckily the brighter of the two who can not resist tickling sticks came straight away but it was a little while before his brother decided playing would be more fun than escaping,the old heart was getting close to panic mode I can tell you but it did work. My older boy who has got out in the past just yowled to be rescued anyway,think that is more likely as they get older because they seem to like the safety of their own territory.
I know it is instinctive to chase but I assume cats would react in the same way as dogs,chasing is fun,turn & run away calling makes the animal look & see you moving away from it so hopefully comes after you instead.
Makes you feel pig sick though doesn't it,after I got babes back in it was a strong shakey cup of coffee to try & calm the nerves but will now be doing extra tickling stick training just in case,don't think hubby will do that in a hurry again though,leave it to everyones imagination as to what was said.....Think moderator would ban me from the list if printed !

If I can't see Simba in the garden I call his name and rattle his treat box - it works really well as he always runs back and bolts back through the cat flap - usually form behind a plant in the garden where I couldn't see him. Another thing is that he has learnt the noise of the fork on the ceramic dishes when I feed the dogs - this is the time he has his wet food - so now if I bang a spoon on the bowl he comes running too

Thanks for the ideas... I think I might put the treats in a tin and rattle it.... I think that would work better than a word.

Its great if you have a cat that will respond to food,two of mine would not be interested,one is the older one who got out & Shimba the babe that took a little while to make up his mind to come back yesterday.With Shimba you have to persuade him eating is a good idea & only on the very rare occasion will he have a treat.Makes worming with those two straight down the hatch not disguised in food dish...!

I'd thought I'd let you all know how I went...

I picked up some treats the other day (the cats love them ... they're fish) and put them in a jar.
The first 2 times I gave Gryfn and Charlie any I rattled the jar and the lid of the jar.
The third time they were out in the cat run and I wanted them to come inside as it was getting dark so I got the jar and rattled in and Gryfn came running straight away.
so now as soon as I rattle the jar, Gryfn comes running so I think it's been a good idea.

Charlie is still learning but... show's the intelligence of the maine coon...

shhh.... don't tell dh....

We are using the treat jar rattle with Hector and Roxy just in the house at the moment, It's the best way to get them out of that fun place known as under mum and dad's bed! So we hope that we can roll it out when they start to go into the garden with us.

My boyfriend has had great success in getting Chester to come when called. Chester learnt this in 2 days. There are so many great strategies to train your cat for many things (coming when called, waiting on a seat to be fed, even walking on a leash). Here is a link to the training book

Getting Started<br>Clicker Training for Cats

Thanks for that... I will ahve to look into it.