Can you train cats as well as dogs can be trained?

Why can't cats be trained as good as dogs can be? For instance, my cat loves to claw the furniture, apart from repeating 'no' and lightly tapping her, she still does it again and again!

Long ago I realised that I'm unable to train any animal - which does answer your initial question.However, it is certainly possible for cats to be trained as WELL as dogs can be trained.

Cats can be easily and humanely trained. Its' just a case of learning about the psychology of the cat. It is very different to that of the dog. This is why so many people find it hard to train their cats.First off, you must never ever use any form or punishment with your cat. Animals only really learn from reward and praise (just like humans) all punishment teaches is fear of more punishment.Do not even lightly tap your cat when she scratches your furniture or at any other times. Most humans are about 50 times bigger than a domestic cat, so what is a light tap to us is a painful and bruising blow to a small animal like a cat.Dont' use water sprays, coins in plastic bottles, shouting, yelling, throwing or anything that will frighten or hurt her.You need to get some legal places for your cat to scratch. Scratching is a normal and essential cat behaviour. Get some tall (4 ft high) sturdy scratching posts, some scratch boards made of corrugated cardboard and set them up (at least one in each room) around the house. Rub them with catnip or the herb valerian (which cats adore)Then get your praise on! Praise her gently and kindly every single time she goes near the scratchposts or boards. Even offer her a little treat.You can show her how to use them by mimicking the scratching movements on the posts yourself. You can gently take her paws (very gently) and make little scratching motions with them on the posts. Each time you do it, praise her, use her name, tell her she's a good cat, use a soft tone of voice.You must always set up animals for success when you train them. This means giving her every opportunity possible to behave the way you want her to. It also means being consistent in how you train her. It's easy to confuse animals and this messes up training big time.There are some great clicker training books and dvds on the market. Clicker training is a very easy way for an inexperienced animal owner to learn how to train their animal. It's a training method that relies on instant reward for the behaviours that you want the animal to do. You see the cat near the post, you click the clicker and instantly give her a tiny piece of kibble. She uses the post to scratch, click and reward - there's a little bit more to it than that, you will find info on clicker training easily, but that is the general idea behind it. I think clicker training is a really good way to learn about how an animal learns. It will also give you a feeling of success, which is important too. It can be very frustrating to be trying to change an animal's behaviour and getting nowhere.Training your cat humanely will also really improve your bond with your cat.Cats need to scratch, they scratch to exercise their back, shoulder, neck and leg muscles, they scratch to scent mark too (scent glands inbetween each toe) they scratch to remove the old claw sheaths so the new claws are exposed, they scratch to relieve stress and sometimes they just scratch because it feels good.Be patient, learn the training techniques, take your time, a little training and a little success each day is good. Cats are intelligent and love to learn. They also love your attention, so she will soon learn that if she scratches in the legal places, she gets your praise and reward.Don't make the training sessions more than a few minutes each time, several very short sessions a day spread out are better than long ones. Always finish on a good note too, better to finish early when she scratches on the post than finish later when she's bored and scratching the floor to get out of the room.If she's an indoor only cat, then she won't have the opportunity to walk about on surfaces that wear down her claw tips, so you can learn (ask a vet tech to teach you) how to trim the very tiny tips off her claws yourself.You can also offer her different types of textured surfaces to scratch on. Some cats have a preference - sisal rope, logs, plain wood, canvas, corrugated cardboard, plain card - all are good to try, you will soon learn what she likes best.Please whatever anyone suggests, don't even think about getting her declawed. It will cripple her for life and leave her with many psychological and physical problems.Best of luck

you can train a cat as well as a dog but you have to start while there young the same as you would with a dog. My mate has 6 cats and when they are told no or a a they stop what there doing and then rub off him as if to say there sorry... maybe you need to be a little more stern with her or him...

With positive methods you can train any animal! Look into clicker training, it's brilliant fun for you and all your pets! Both my dogs and both my rabbits are clicker trained and there are some wonderfully trained cats and rabbits on youtube.

That's funny, because my 4.5 month old kitten Olivia actually is trained- to walk, come, sit, and we're working on "down" now. She knows that she only gets treats when she does these things, and she takes longer to teach than my dogs have, but she's still learning it all :)Oh, and she fetches and chases her tail too- she's very much like a dog!

Cats can easily be trained to use a scratching post.You need a tall strong one because cats need to stretch up and dig in their claws to exercise their leg, shoulder, stomach and back muscles. Scratching isn't misbehaving, it's natural to a cat and you only need to teach yours where it's acceptable to scratch.Repeating no and tapping her is wrong as is any punishment at all, all that will do is make her nervous of you.All you need to do is every time she goes to scratch where she shouldn't,lift her gently to her scratching post without saying a word. When she uses it praise her, using her name a lot and give her a treat.Cats are very intelligent and she will soon learn to please you. If she hasn't had a scratching post before you might need to show her how to use it, by dragging your own nails down while she watches and then gently lift her front paws up so she has a go herself. If your cat is only young she may be bored.Has she got some catnip toys to play with ? With a little bit of time and patience you can stop her scratching the furniture, but if you need more help, here's how to do it, by an expert:http://clawsforever.ning.com/group/anniesbible/forum/topics/scratching-posts-and-training

You can trains cats, if the cat feels like it. Unlike a dog, which is a pack animal and expects to be disciplined by the pack leader if it steps out of line, cats are independent and can only be trained by persuasion. Never discipline her when she does wrong, but rather praise her and give her plenty of attention when she does it right. Then she learns to associate "good things" with doing what you want. Punishment doesn't work. Like kattaddorra says, you could demonstrate a scratching post to her, she'll watch with interest - perhaps because she thinks you've gone crackers - and may well give it a go herself. Then you can give her fulsome praise. She'll get the idea that she gets this praise when she uses the post, but not when she uses the furniture.