Sequoia had jumped into my greenhouse jungle, knocking over plants, for the tenth time that day when I decided it was time to try clicker training. He’s a Siamese rescue, just over a year old, with the cutest dark brown smudge face and bright, blue eyes that are always thinking. If I don’t provide puzzles and games constantly, he’ll find his own. His games usually end with me grabbing a broom to sweep up the damages.
I’d heard of clicker training from cat behaviorists who claimed it could help cats with behavior issues and cats that are bored.
I bought an inexpensive clicker from Chewy and some of his favorite Blue Buffalo cat treats. Then, I went to Youtube to learn how to start. The first step was to “charge” the clicker. Rats, I thought, my clicker isn’t electric. Did I buy an inferior product? Turns out, “charge” the clicker only means create an association between the click noise and a treat. This was Sequoia’s favorite day of training. I ran around my apartment with treats yelling “come here, Sequoia!” and rewarding him with a click and a treat when he found me. It was the best game of hide and seek we’ve ever played.
In my clearly-biased opinion, Sequoia is a very smart cat. He seemed to really enjoy the puzzle of figuring out what behavior unlocked the magical click from the clicker and the treat that went with it. I taught him how to jump through a hoop, how to respond to basic commands like “come here,” and “give paw.”
The first step to train him to jump through a hoop was to lead him through a juggling hoop with a treat in the guiding hand. Okay, technically, the first step was to procure a juggling hoop. But everyone has one of those in the back of their closets, right? Once he walked through the hoop at floor level I gave him a click, a treat and lots of praise. We did this for a few minutes, and then I raised the hoop in the air. I used the treat in my other hand to gesture how I wanted him to jump through. He thought about it for a moment, and after a few attempts to just walk under the hoop, he jumped! I was so excited I had to open a new bag of Blue Buffalo.
Clicker training has been a special bonding experience for us both. It’s helped feed Sequoia’s appetite to learn (and his appetite for treats). Cats are always at risk of boredom, especially if they are alone while their pet parent is at work. Clicker training also helps us communicate better. We’re both more aware of each other’s body language as we teach each other. I don’t have to tell Sequoia to get out of the greenhouse as much now that we do clicker training puzzles together. But, when I do say “get down” and snap and point, he actually listens. Usually.
Hailey Talks To Cats 