can you clicker train cats in the same way as dogs?

[jenny]

hey guys,
now i know you can clicker train cats, but does it work in the same way as clicker training dogs?
and what potential does a cat have

[smudgley]

It is possible to clicker train a cat (apparently) & it has exactly the same principle as a dog, but I don't have any experience trying to clicker train a cat & would imagine they would not be so responsive by a long way. Mainly because it's all about the reward & how much they want it. We all know a labrador would virtually do anything for a treat! But a cat, well that's a different ball game. A cat wouldn't respond to / associate praise in the same way a dog would either.

That's my thoughts anyway.

[JemBob]

smudgley agreed

[jenny]

on one of my animal behaviour seminars i think they were talking briefly about why a cat socialisation class wouldnt be effective compared to a dog one cos cats are more independant.

but im sure i heard someone on the course say that if you control the food more, ie hand feed from a kitten, then its easier to clicker train them and get a closer bond, or something like they are more dependant then.
or something like that.. i wasnt really listening

[JemBob]

personally i wouldnt want to clicker train oscar he is perfect the way he is and we are close anyways and i got him at the age of 5 and only had him a year he is my little baby

[smudgley]

Originally Posted by jenny

on one of my animal behaviour seminars i think they were talking briefly about why a cat socialisation class wouldnt be effective compared to a dog one cos cats are more independant.

but im sure i heard someone on the course say that if you control the food more, ie hand feed from a kitten, then its easier to clicker train them and get a closer bond, or something like they are more dependant then.
or something like that.. i wasnt really listening

I'm sure that's right. But even if you only hand fed with the clicker (& no other food) I still don't think you'd get a cat to do what you wanted by association.

What seminars have you been to? Who was speaking/lecturing?

[jenny]

Originally Posted by smudgley

I'm sure that's right. But even if you only hand fed with the clicker (& no other food) I still don't think you'd get a cat to do what you wanted by association.

What seminars have you been to? Who was speaking/lecturing?

at the time i was mostly interested in the dog part, so havent remembered any of the cat behaviour, jus somethin i seem to think i may have remembered. lol.

the seminar was part of the COAPE courses, the lecturers were peter neville, sarah whitehead and val strong

[smudgley]

Originally Posted by jenny

at the time i was mostly interested in the dog part, so havent remembered any of the cat behaviour, jus somethin i seem to think i may have remembered. lol.

the seminar was part of the COAPE courses, the lecturers were peter neville, sarah whitehead and val strong

Excellent. I went on a COAPE course recently with Peter Neville.

[Snoof]

Sounds a little like an easy way to get a clingy cat, without having to work to understand the cat's individual personality (the bit about hand-feeding from kitten to get a closer bond).

I can see the point of trying to clicker-train cats to do certain things, but to use it to control the human-to-cat relationship seems a bit... cheap. I can see the point if you have a cat with problems - I'm still considering trying it with my boy. But just doing it because you want to steer your cat towards a certain type of "emotional" upmake... I don't know.

[jenny]

Originally Posted by smudgley

Excellent. I went on a COAPE course recently with Peter Neville.

which course did u do?
im doin the diploma course and still have 2 more weekend seminars to attend, one in april.
im a bit behind on my reading tho