Any cat owner will tell you that their cat is the king or queen of the house. There’s no wonder why the Egyptians worshipped cats. In fact, killing a cat in ancient Egypt was enough to warrant a death sentence for that person. Cats are majestic, their graceful, agile, clean and they do pretty much what they want to do; all qualities you’d expect in a king or queen, or any royalty for that matter.

All that being said, how on earth can you train you cat to be a good pet? How can you train your cat to listen to you, to come when its called, to use its litter box and to stay off your furniture? It takes work and it takes dedication, but you can train your cat. You just have to show it lots of love and lots of positive reinforcement if you expect your training efforts to succeed.

Get Your Cat To Listen

Never hit your cat. No matter if your cat is on your furniture, if it’s scratching your good couch, if it’s urinating on the counter, or whatever else it’s doing that’s driving you up a wall. Hitting an animal is never ok. All that’s required if your cat is doing something you don’t like, is to make a loud noise. Clap your hands and yell no. Or, get a jar and fill it with change, then rattle it next to the cat when it’s doing something undesirable.

The most famous way of training your cat, however, is to use a squirt bottle. You can get them at any hair supply store or even your local grocery store and they work wonders for training your cat. When your cat’s bad, just squirt it. Cats hate water and they will usually come to know that the behavior they’re engaging in is undesirable and they’ll stop it over time.

Will Your Cat Come When Called?

Cats are independent. Many men consider cats to be like women. When you pursue them, they don’t want you. When you ignore them, that’s when they want attention. Cats, like women, are strange creatures. However, just like women, cats are not easily understood. Using positive reinforcement will get a cat to come. Try treats to lure your cat while you call its name. Cats love treats and they’re great ways to train your cat. If that doesn’t work, try using toys to lure your cat. Some cats just won’t come to you unless they want to; that’s a fact of life that you’re probably going to have to live with, but you can try.

Use The Litter Box

Show your cat where the litter box is, gently scratch it paws in the litter and there, your cat’s litter trained. That’s the easiest time you’ll ever have training your cat.

Staying Off The Furniture

If your cat won’t stay off your good couch, or your counters, you can use the squirt bottle, which again works wonders, or you can try the loud noises. Again, don’t hit your cat. You can also try a device they sell at many pet stores that makes a vibration whenever it gets on a piece of furniture you don’t want it to be on. It doesn’t hurt the cat and it’s a great cat training tool.

One of the most commonly noticed characteristics in a cat is its independent nature and anybody that has owned or currently owns a cat will vouch for the fact that the cat has a mind of its own, which begs the question as to whether it is really possible to train a cat or not. Owners of cats generally encounter very moody behavior in their pets and many owners even doubt whether it is indeed possible to train a cat and the reason for this is that they are very arrogant creatures.

Lack Of Understanding

It is also very usual to come across pet cats that don’t obey instructions though the reason for this is nothing more than lack of understanding what is expected of them rather than a mindset of disobeying. Thus, it would pay to follow certain guidelines that can help you train a cat because, if you do it right, you will be able to succeed while if you do things in the wrong way, chances are that all your labor will be in vain.

When it comes to training a cat you need to understand that you must be very patient as well as have enough time to devote to the training process. What’s more, learning to train a cat is different from how you would train your dog. The best way to get results is using positive reinforcement and to also avoid scolding your cat because that can accentuate the misbehavior rather than curtail it.

The fact of the matter is that a cat can easily learn what it is taught as long as you start to train a cat when it is still young, because that will improve the chances of success. To begin with, before you train a cat you need to teach the cat to come when it is called and the simplest way of getting it to learn this command is to hold a treat and then call its name. Best results are also achieved when the cat is in a good mood and there is no noise to distract attention.

Another important aspect to training a cat is using a harness and leash and to also teach it not to panic or struggle when wearing the harness or leash. You can also toilet train your cat by giving it a litter box in which to eliminate and you should also ensure placing the litter box where it is warm as well as dry because cats like such places.

These are very basic tips that a cat owner should become acquainted with and also use in order to train a cat, which in the end should turn your wayward pet cat into a more disciplined pet.