Tips for Living Frisky

Your cat enjoys physical and mental stimulation - and they savour their time with you. They can be energised by learning new tricks, like "come" and "sit," and they will likely enjoy the opportunity to show-off to you (and earn delicious FRISKIES treats!). The ideas below can help make it easier for your cat to understand your commands, and keep them eager for your next training session.

Remember that not every cat has the same motivation for training, but most can be lured into it with a little encouragement and the right tasty morsel - FRISKIES can make a great motivator. And patience is important. You'll have more success if you work with one command at a time. Break more complicated behaviours, like running our "Cat-gility" course, into single steps and then string them together once they've all been learned.

1. Positive reinforcement - either food or praise - is the best motivator for your cat. Be sure to reward your cat immediately after they have performed the desired behaviour.
2. Cats can respond well to the clickers many professional animal trainers use. You can find them in many pet and crafts stores. Get your cat used to the device by clicking it and then giving a treat immediately after. Within a few sessions, your little student will begin to associate the clicking sound with a reward. This recognition can make it easier to provide positive reinforcement without having to provide a treat quite so immediately.
3. Train your cat just before a meal, to make a food reward most meaningful. But don't withhold food - an overly hungry cat can make a stubborn student.
4. Try using a spoon to hold your cat's food reward. It can help protect your fingers, and it can come in handy for tricks like sitting, where you hold food over or in front of your cat.
5. Conduct your training in a distraction-free environment. Turn off the TV and radio to keep attention focussed right on you.
6. Keep training sessions short - 10 -15 minutes - to keep your cat from getting bored before the training ends.
7. Remember that you're trying to reinforce a spoken command. After you've rewarded your cat for a successful performance, continue repeating the command in a positive way (e.g. "sit, good sit.")
8. Make sure your cat succeeds. If they are not succeeding then you're moving too quickly. Go back to the previous training until they are ready to move forward.
9. Teach just one new trick at a time. Trying to do more than that can confuse your cat.