Comments on: How To Clicker Train Your Cat: Easy Positive Training Basics

By: Stephanie Mantilla

Stephanie Mantilla — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:32:52 +0000

Hi Lindsay,
Another way to get a behavior from your cat is called “capturing.” This is a more passive method of training but is great for when you’ve exhausted other options. When you’re at home with your cat, you’d have your clicker on you at all times. It isn’t an active training session. Instead, you’ll watch your cat throughout the day and when you see them lying down, you’ll click and give them a treat. Eventually, you should be able to pick up signals your cat gives when they’re about the lie-down. You’d then add the hand or verbal cue right before they lie down and then click/treat. Your cat should start offering this behavior more frequently once they realize they’re getting treats for laying down.

By: Stephanie Mantilla

Stephanie Mantilla — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:22:56 +0000

In reply to Julie.

Hi Julie,
Thanks for all of your great questions! Initially, it’s recommended to click and treat until your cat gets really good at what you’re asking them to do. Once it becomes a habit, you can ease off on the clicking and treating. Instead, using verbal praise or physical affection (petting) may be reward enough for your cat if they enjoy those. If you see your cat slipping back into their old ways, you can start clicking and treating again until the preferred behavior is strong again.

Other behaviors that are more difficult like leg weaving or jumping through a hoop may always need to have a click and treat paired with it. It mainly depends on your cat and their personality and preferences after they’ve learned the behavior.

If you want to ease off the treats slowly, you can start pairing a few well-known behaviors together before clicking and giving a treat. For example, ask for a sit, paw, and follow before clicking and treating. This should only be done with known behaviors and not ones your cat is still in the process of learning.

Hope this helps!
Stephanie

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 20:59:52 +0000

Hi Stephanie, I’ve bought your book and I’ve really enjoyed reading it. I’m looking forward to clicker training our two kittens. I am unsure what to do in the long term though, with regards to clicking and rewarding, once a skill or behaviour has been learned. For example if I use clicker training to encourage the kittens to use the scratching post instead of furniture, once the clicker training has been successful and they are using the scratching post consistently, do I still need to click and reward them with a treat every single time I see them use the scratching post, forever? And for other skills, such as sleeping in bed with me or lying on my lap…..once the behaviour is learned, do we need to click and reward every single time they do it, forever? Does it make a difference (in terms of whether we click and reward) if they do it of their own accord or if we say the cue and give the instruction?
Also if we say the cue for any ‘tricks’ such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘come’ etc (after the behaviour has already been learned) do we have to click and reward every single time? Sorry, I’m a bit confused so I just wanted to check! Many thanks.

By: Lindsay Fitzgerald

Lindsay Fitzgerald — Wed, 11 May 2022 22:26:23 +0000

Hi Stephanie,

My cat and I are enjoying clicker training together thanks to your book! Do you have any other suggestions if my cat won’t lie down? I’ve covering a treat with my hand or holding a treat and lowering it to the ground to get her to lie down and she just keeps walking around in circles or stopping looking altogether and looking confused.

By: Stephanie Mantilla

Stephanie Mantilla — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 16:34:49 +0000

In reply to Sandi.

Hi Sandi,
Yes, I cover training cats to stay off our counters and other problem behaviors like scratching furniture.
-Stephanie

By: Sandi

Sandi — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:46:42 +0000

I am having difficulty training my cats to stay off the kitchen counters. Does your book address how to click train cats to stop bad behavior?

By: Stephanie Mantilla

Stephanie Mantilla — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 18:35:21 +0000

In reply to Svetlana.

Hi Svetlana,
Since both of your cats are younger, this sounds like normal kitten/young cat behavior. The cat who gets annoyed will eventually let the playful cat know when they’ve had enough. I wouldn’t necessarily try to train this behavior away since play is important. You could work up to training both cats together so that they’re both near one another on a station/mat but not biting the other one. That could help their relationship dynamics.

By: Svetlana

Svetlana — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 04:14:19 +0000

Hello! I am reading your book and very excited to start the training soon!
I have a question of a better way to teach a cat not biting the other cat? Is it the same concept as teaching him not to bite your hands? They are of the same age (a year and a half) and love each other, but one of them wants to play with the other all the time, jumps on her and often bites, not strongly, but that annoys her a lot.

Thanks in advance!

By: Kat

Kat — Wed, 12 May 2021 23:44:50 +0000

This was a great read thank you!
Lots of information, I feel ready to welcome my new kitten into our home 🙂

By: Stephanie Mantilla

Stephanie Mantilla — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 13:29:42 +0000

In reply to Li Cheng.

Hi Li,
Yes, that’s correct. You’d need to make sure the treats are behind you or out of sight so that your cat doesn’t fixate on the treats instead of paying attention to you.