Training a Cat and other Random Toughts of an Animal Communicator
It doesn’t take a pet psychic to train a cat!! Cats are very trainable and they enjoy it too. I’m always intrigued by the sayings: “Well, he’s a cat you know,” or “You can’t train a cat”. It’s just not true. It is a different kind of training no doubt.
I don’t think they respond to old school dog training and probably wouldn’t be interested in high level dressage – although one of my cats Buster Keaton does like to hop on with me when I ride Rollie my horse. Only for about 5 steps!!
Cats respond to structured play like I talk about in my book “Communication with all Life, Revelations of an Animal Communicator.” I do it successfully with the dogs and it works with the cats here too. Here is a little video I made: Training Cats!
In my household, we have lots of cat games we play. Make no mistake: communication, games and cat training all work hand in hand!! And yes, I’ve used food to associate with words. Obviously in the above video they associate lunch with lunch!
I don’t always have to have lunch ready for them – though it’s nice. 90% of the time they do get a big treat. If I’m handling a lot of things like getting ready for dinner or I have clients coming over, etc., I might be a little late on the treat delivery. Yet, they still come running because they like to be engaged.
Even if you work all day and leave the house early in the morning when it’s dark and come home when its dark, you can still have structured play that works like training and is engaging and fun. All you need is inventiveness, treats and a hallway!
I’ve included a wonderful article that was in the New York Times about cat training. The writer Stephanie Clifford had a rogue naughty cat. She invited Jackson Galaxy from the Animal Planet Show “My Cat From Hell” to help her.
In the article (and there are videos) she eventually leash trains her cat to go on walks. The article is great because it wasn’t an easy go at first for the writer, yet she stuck to the program and eventually she and her cat created a very enjoyable activity they can do together.
Stephanie Clifford really lays out the steps to training. And you can see what a wonderful character Jackson Galaxy is and why his methods are successful.
I have found in my years of work that all a naughty cat needs is a little structure. Please share your cat training experiences here in the comments!
Joan Ranquet, Animal Communicator and author of Communication with all Life, Revelations of an Animal Communicator (Hay House) is the founder of Communication with all Life University. Through private sessions, workshops, teleseminars and speaking events, Joan facilitates a deepening of the human/animal connection. Joan was chosen by MSN as one of the “Top 25 People Who Do What They Love”. Her healing CD, Animal Alchemy Energy Work for Animals and Their Humans, will be out in 2012. Her newest book, “Energy Healing for Animals, Techniques to Enhance the Health, Longevity & Happiness of the Animals We Love” will be also be out late 2012 (Sounds True). “Animal Communication 101, Simple Steps to Communicate with Animals” is out January 2012.
