Clicker Training for Cats

The cat, with her aloof and independent nature, doesn't strike many people--including those who share their homes with felines--as a very trainable creature. Clicker training, however, has revolutionized the world of animal training in general and has proven effective in training even the cat.

Clicker training involves marking desirable behavior with a "click" to communicate to the cat what he is doing right at the exact time he is doing it. The click is always followed by a treat to reinforce the behavior.

While other tools, such as vocal commands, lights and whistles, are sometimes used to "mark" behavior in animal training, the click has proven to be very effective in training cats.

  1. The Clicker

    • The clicker is a plastic box with a piece of steel inside. When you press on the clicker it makes a click-click sound. The deal you make with your pet when you begin clicker training is that anytime you click, you always follow it with a treat. You can provide a treat without a click, but never a click without a treat.

    Charging the Clicker

    • Clicker training your cat begins by "charging the clicker." This means that you teach the cat that the click is a positive sound, associated with a treat. For several training sessions you do nothing more than click and treat, click and treat, click and treat.

    Vocal Commands

    • You can use clicker training to teach your cat the same vocal commands that dogs learn in basic obedience. These include sit, down and come. Clicker training involves "marking" the behavior with a click and a treat when the cat begins to move toward doing the desired behavior, and building on each step until the cat has learned the command.

    Training Session

    • Clicker training focuses on positive reinforcement, and the training sessions should always be fun periods of interaction for your cat.

      Correct behavior should always be rewarded. The cat should never be punished or scolded for not completing a behavior. Incorrect or inconsistent behavior should simply be ignored.

      While clicker training works for cats, cats are different than dogs. Training sessions with your cat should be very short. If they last more than two or three minutes, the cat will likely become bored.

    Essential Skills

    • According to Animal Behavior Consultant Jennifer Shryock, clicker training can be used to teach cats and kittens essential skills for interacting with people and for their own safety. These skills include accepting handling from people, retracting their claws when playing with people, touching and following a target (such as a toy) and going into a carrier on cue. The training can be so specific as to teach the cat to go into her carrier if the fire alarm goes off.