I've never been a cat person, but Calypso won me over as soon as she joined our household. In addition to being a furry, sometimes-cuddly, often-entertaining companion, I also saw a new opportunity to hone my training skills.
Most people don't think about training their cat. But the same ideas that I've used to train dogs, my pet rabbit, and even the raptors at the Museum apply to cats, too!
For Calypso's first behavior, I decided to start shaping a fist bump. First she learned to touch her paw to a container. Then, as you'll see at the end of the video, I started covering the container with my hand. Next I removed the container completely and she will now readily touch a paw to my fist. She learned all of that in just 2 or 3 short training sessions.
Some people like to say that cats are untrainable. But Calypso is just one example of how cats can be as brilliant as dogs when given the opportunity to learn.
Comments