Training Your Cat to Sit When You Ask it To (Part One)
Firstly, you will need to draw the cat’s attention to the treat hand. Tell the cat to sit, raise the treat hand so his head lifts and gently push his rear end downwards toward a sitting position.
You will probably find he resists, but don’t be too forceful. Apply gentle pressure for a couple of seconds at most and then stop. Do this a few times and you should find that he comes to expect it and resists a little less. The moment you feel him resisting less you should click and reward this desired behaviour.
If he keeps resisting as much as ever and doesn’t seem to be getting the idea at all over the course of a few attempts have a break. Give him a reward and make a fuss of him, and stop for at least half an hour – maybe even leave it until tomorrow.
Should the cat actually sit at any time during this stage it may still be pure coincidence, or the cat may be starting to understand. Either way, make the clicking noise and give him a treat.
When you have completed the above steps, so the cat is less resistant when pushing his rear end down, and you are confident that he is starting to get the rules of this game, you can move on to the next step which will be in our next article in October.