LEARN A NEW SKILL TOGETHER
A good way to bond with your cat is to try something new together, such as learning some new tricks or starting a new hobby together.
It will depend on your cat’s age and willingness to learn, as well as his natural inclination towards rewards. Some prefer to be rewarded with treats, whereas others prefer playtime.
Clicker training will not only give you and your cat some quality time together learning new skills, but will also help your cat keep active and healthy. If it’s not something you’ve already started with your cat, Blue Cross has this advice on how to begin clicker training with your cat:
Find a quiet area where you and your pet can concentrate.With your pet beside you, click once and then immediately give them a treat. Repeat this a few times until your pet becomes alert to the sound of the click and looks to you for a treat.
One of the easiest things to start with is to teach them to touch an obvious target, like a mat on the floor, a ball on a stick, or your hand.
As your pet approaches the target, click and treat.
You don’t have to wait until they touch it because you’re shaping their behaviour and rewarding small steps towards the end goal.
When your pet actually touches the target, click immediately and reward them with extra treats so they know they’ve hit the jackpot.
Soon your pet will see a target and go straight to it and at this point you can start to add a word that indicates what you want your pet to do. For instance, if your pet is about to touch the target, say “Touch”, wait for them to touch the target, and then click and treat.
Repeat this over the next few days until the cue alone prompts your pet to go and touch the target.Then, you can progress to only clicking and treating the target touches that you have asked for on cue.
Once your pet only touches the target when you ask them to, you can start phasing out the click, which also means phasing out the treats.
But it’s important that you still make sure they know they’ve done well.