Learning cat behaviors before you start training them would be
an good idea for anyone that is going to train a cat's behavior.
A cat can jump and land on its feet as this is a natural
instinct for a cat. When a kitten is born the cushion in its
paws are not developed with the cushion to land on its feet. It
takes about 7 weeks to develop the cushion in a kittens 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 twist and bend their bones. A cat can jump a great distance
without sustaining any injuries.
With this behavior, you will want to teach the cat to jump
hoops, sticks, or off the scratching tree. Letting a cat jump
from extreme heights 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 those 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 called 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 happen to male cats when a female has urinated.
Knowing these natural instincts and behaviors can give you some
insight training your cat. With behavior training you will want
to make sure that you allow your cat the ability in some way to
play out its natural instincts and behaviors.
When training a cat for behaviors there are some things you need
to take into consideration. Aggression, especially in older
cats, can be caused from illness or other cats in the home. You
may want to contact your vet to have your cat checked out to see
if it's alright at this time to train a cat.
Depression and anxiety can play another part in trying to train
your cat. If a cat is separated by a recent owner the cat can
become depressed. Stress is not uncommon for a cat. If you think
that your cat has depression or high anxiety, this would be a
good time to take him to the vet. Vets can talk to you about
some of the things that may be causing this. There are also
medications that a vet can prescribe for the cat to help with
depression and anxiety.
Never hit a cat for punishment, he 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 unless you catch them in the act, you can associate a
noise with that behavior you don't like, or 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.
You will want to start training your cat or kitten almost
immediately after you get them. This will stop many unwanted
behaviors and hopefully not let any new bad behaviors to start.
Healthy cats need healthy relationships with their owners. Good
Luck!
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