GoGoKitty’s Cat Secrets

Many people don’t understand the reasons why the cat temperament is different to the dog temperament. Some people think that a cat can be trained in a similar way to a dog, This is not the case.

By it's very nature cats prefer solitude, and such was the way before they were domesticated. Apart from lions, cats in general do not live or hunt in large groups. It is in a dogs nature to be a part of a group or a pack. If you have a dog in the family, then the dog will regard the family as a pack, and it will have some sort of position within that pack.

The cat temperament differs in the fact that it will not regard you or members of your family as a pack, but individuals similar to itself, living under the same conditions. Dogs hate being alone as it is in their nature to interact with the pack. Cats don't mind being left alone as it is in their nature to be loners. If your cat has been the recipient of lots of love and attention from a young age, it can get destructive and have behavioural problems, if that attention and love is removed. However these types of cats problems will not last, and as soon as you start to give your cat more attention, it should revert to its original habits.

On the face of it you may think that a cat does not really need you, however try to remember that close bonds are very important to cats, and this is not always reflected in the way that they may behave. Though a cat will not give itself up completely to its owner like a dog would, that bond with it's owner is important to the cat.

Another difference between the cat temperament and the temperament of a dog is that a dog will burst with happiness at the slightest bit of attention. Brush it, make eye contact, or just call its name, and the dog will be jumping hoops. The cat does not require help from you to be groomed, it can do this on its own.

Your cat requires varying types of attention, unlike a dog which goes gooey eyed with joy when you just look at it. Cats like contact and a cat wants you to talk to it. Clearly it can't understand the words that you say, but it will notice the tone of your words. Try to use a soothing tone and your cat will respond to you. You can learn a great deal about the cat temperament by the body language your pet uses in different circumstances. Look at its behaviours when it is happy or content, or when it is angry or upset. Start to read the signs as to what your cat is thinking and you will a step closer to understanding the cat temperament.

Many cat owners are probably not aware that cat pet training can actually work. You can train cats to do lots of things but there are certain things that will be very challenging.

If you want your cat to fetch you your morning paper, fetch a stick that you have thrown or rollover and play dead, then don't buy a cat, get yourself a dog.

The differences in cat training and dog training are vast. Cats are independent animals, however they will respond to treats and rewards, basically they will want to know what is in it for them if they do something for you. Fling a stick for your cat, and it will think "yeah right"? If it's important to you, well you fetch it".

Using punishment to train a cat will not work either; all it will do is alienate the cat from coming anywhere near you. Train your cat by putting something on offer when it does something good. I'm not talking about rewarding your cat when it does something wrong, but rewarding it when it does something right.

Punishing your cat when it misbehaves is the wrong approach, you will get further by ignoring what it has done and depriving your cat of any attention, each time it misbehaves. Contrary to popular believe, cats do want attention, regardless of how aloof they may come across. Cats are clever creatures and need interesting things to do to stop them becoming bored. When your cat misbehaves and you don’t supply any attention or stimulus, it will register this in its brain, and your cats problems with behaviour can increase.

However cat pet training will work when you give your cat rewards, attention, and stimulus. You give the cat this every time you see it doing something right. Give your cat lots of attention and a treat if it uses it's litter tray. If it begins to use a scratching post instead of your furniture, you should go overboard with praise and attention. The cat will learn that it will get what it wants when it does things that please you, and will do those things more often.

From when your cat is a kitten, make sure that you spend plenty of time with it and offer it plenty of attention, so that it becomes normal for you to act in this way with your cat. Your cat will soon learn that it gets treats and praise by doing certain things, and gets nothing by doing other things.

Cat pet training does work, it’s just a question of doing the right things, and knowing how your cat’s mind works, realise this and cat training becomes easier.