Contrary to popular belief, cats are trainable. Training cats is not only easier than it sounds, but it’s fun for you and your cat. One of the most effective methods to train cats is called clicker training. If you’re curious about clicker training cats, here are some of the basics and some tips on getting started.
What Is Clicker Training?
Clicker training is a form of positive reinforcement based training. It’s also a type of marker training where the sound of a clicker is used to mark a behavior you want an animal to do more. It’s commonly used in dog training, but it can be used with other species, too. This includes cats!
How Does Clicker Training Work?
A cat is taught that the sound of the clicker means they always get a treat or something else they really like. You can use non-food based reinforcers as long as your cat is willing to work for it. For example, I trained Zoloft to go to a basket on cue using brushing as a reinforcer. He loved his glove brush so much that he would would do a lot to get some brushes.
Once your cat understands that connection, you mark a behavior you want your cat to more of using the clicker and give them the reinforcer. You repeat this a lot and over time, your cat will begin doing the behavior more and more. Eventually you can add a cue to ask them to do the behavior. If your cat is being reinforced, by definition the behavior will increase so you don’t need to add the cue right away.
The Clicker Is Not A Cue
One of the most common clicker training mistakes I see new trainers make is using the clicker wrong. The clicker is not used to tell your cat to do a behavior. It’s also not a great idea to use it to start a clicker training session.
Don’t get me wrong: the clicker can work for each of these. The clicker then either will only act as a cue for one single behavior or may not work as well to mark a behavior. You’re better off teaching your cat something else to signal the start of a training session.
Does Clicker Training Work For Cats?
Cats have a reputation for being untrainable, but really we’re just bad at training cats. People focus on using methods like squirt bottles that are not effective and can easily backfire on them when really you should be approaching it from a different perspective.
Clicker training works for cats because it teaches them that if they do a particular behavior, a consequence they enjoy happens. The clicker helps them know exactly what it is that led to the (often tasty) consequence. Cats are very willing to work for things they like and are excellent at picking up on patterns. Clicker training is a natural fit!
When Is Clicker Training Useful?
Clicker training can be used for all sorts of scenarios depending on your goals. I clicker train cats to help them take medications, be comfortable with nail trims, or just for fun. Whatever the ultimate goal, chances are there is a way to use clicker training to help with it.
Encouraging A Wanted Behavior
The most straightforward example of clicker training cats being useful is when you have a behavior you want your cat to do (regardless of how unusual of a behavior it is). You reinforce the specific behavior you want and then add a cue on after your cat is reliably doing the behavior. Some examples would be teaching your cat to sit when you say “sit” or high five when you present your hand.
Stopping An Unwanted Behavior
As odd as it may sound, you can also stop unwanted behaviors using clicker training. In fact, you don’t even need to tell them to stop the old behavior. Examples of ways you can use clicker training to stop a behavior include:
- If your cat runs out the door as soon as you open it, teach your cat to go sit somewhere on the other side of the room. You can make it automatic by training the sound of the door opening as the cue.
- Instead of biting you, train your cat to touch their nose to your finger. This behavior is incompatible with biting as their nose can’t be touching your finger and biting your hand at the same time.
- Teach your cat to sit on a cat tree instead of on your counters.
- Teach your cat a cue to get off of something.
- If your cat sometimes does a behavior you like and sometimes does one you don’t, you can use clicker training to reinforce the behavior you want your cat to be doing.
If this still doesn’t make sense, think about it like this: Can your cat be both sitting still in their cheese fortress (yes, you read that correctly) and running out the front door at the same time?
Those behaviors are physically impossible for your cat to do at the same time. By training your cat to do the behavior you’re okay with, they won’t be able to do the one you’re not okay with. They won’t even be able to do the other behavior and they’ll be really motivated to do the incompatible behavior!
Sounds way better than spraying them, right?
When Is Clicker Training Not A Great Solution?
Some situations are less likely to be solved with clicker training. For example, if your cat has territorial behavior and you try to use clicker training to solve it, you’re not addressing the underlying cause. The real solution is catifying your home.
Similarly, litter box training isn’t needed for most cats. Cats have an instinct to take a dump in a soft, sandy substrates. You are going to either not see success or put in WAY too much work to get your cat to use the litter box if you try using clicker training. The more likely problem is something medical (which it’s worth asking a veterinarian about), a problem with the litter box, using the wrong type of litter, stress, or any number of reasons that aren’t a lack of training.
All that said (because cats are complicated), if your cat is stressed, clicker training might help reduce their stress. You wouldn’t clicker train them to go to the litter box directly, but clicker training can be a great form of enrichment for your cat.
How Do I Clicker Train My Cat?
Getting started is easy. You just need a few supplies to teach a basic behavior: a clicker and reinforcers.
A word on clickers: not all clickers are a great idea for cats. Many are too loud and can spook cats. I use the Clicino Clicker Ring because it’s quiet enough that it won’t scare a cat. Because it’s a ring, it frees up a hand for training. If you want to go with a more basic clicker, a plastic clicker is a good choice.
Once you have your supplies, getting started is relatively easy. Pick out a behavior you want your cat to do and wait for them to do it. Click when they do it and give them the reinforcer. Wait for them to do the same behavior again and then click. Repeat this a lot and you’ll start seeing your cat do more and more!
More In Depth Advice
Of course, clicker training is actually a lot more involved than that quick, single paragraph explanation. If you want to get started, you can get a clicker training kit that includes a basic guide or I have a guide I made on my YouTube channel. Otherwise, you can get personalized lessons from me! I love clicker training cats and enjoy teaching people the magic of The Click. I do virtual clicker training sessions so we can meet wherever you’re located. Click the big green button below to learn more and schedule your first session.
