Cat Behavior Training
Learning cat behaviors before you start training them is an excellent idea for anyone who is going to train a cat.
A cat can jump and lands on its feet; this is a natural instinct for a cat. When a kitten is first born, the cushion in a kittens paws are not developed with the cushion to land on its feet. It takes about 7 weeks to develop the cushion in a cats paw for landing. A cats bone structure is unique to other animals as the bones are flexible. Cats have no collar bone, which enables them to be able to twist and bend their bones. A cat can jump from short distance without sustaining any injuries.
With this behavior, you will want to teach the cat to jump hoops, sticks, or off the scratching tree, but do not let a cat jump from extreme heights as this will cause injury to the cat.
Cats have a unique hearing ability; they are able to hear high tones and pitches, like opening a door or a can of food. Cats also have unique smelling abilities. The reason a cat will scratch or urinate on the floor , rub its self up against a door or furniture, is the cat is leaving their scent in that areas so they will be able to come back and know they were there, in other words marking its territory. In addition, if another cat or animal comes along in the area a cat will know this. Cats can also smell with their mouths. There is a gland call ‘Jacobson’s organ’, it is a sac in the cats upper mouth filled with blood, as the cat smells the scent and the slightly opens their mouth and upper lip, this allows the scent to be carried in and to the sac, which it will carry the scent goes to the cat brain. This mostly happens to male cats when a female has urinated.
These natural instincts and behaviors can give you some insight to help you train your cat. With behavior training you will want to make sure that you allow your cat the ability in some way to play out it natural instincts and behaviors.
Depression and anxiety could play a part with trying to train your cat. If a cat is separated from a recent owner, the cat can become depressed. If you think that your cat has depression or high anxiety, this would be a good time to take the cat to the vet. Vets can talk to you about some of the things that may be causing this and provide information to help the cat. There are also medications that a vet can prescribe for the cat to help with depression and anxiety.
Never hit a cat for a punishment the cat will learn to fear you, and fearing will be a behavior you will not be able to control or retrain. When they do something that is not right, ignore the problem or if you catch them right away you can associate a noise with that behavior that you do not like or just in a stern voice tell them “NO”.
If a behavior is becoming impossible you may have to resort to the baby proof home; all containers that have food in them have a lid on it. Make sure that the counters are clean and have nothing that a cat would want to play with.
The day that you get your cat or kitten, you will want to start training straight away. This will keep many unwanted behaviors away, and hopefully not let any new, bad behaviors to start.
Healthy cats need healthy relationships with their owner.