to ask can you train a cat, has anyone ever tried and if not why not?

[PittTheMiddleOneNoOneMentions]

I was looking at these cute little kittens and thinking how young they looked.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2955143-So-who-got-a-new-kitten-recently-Lets-see-then

Cats seem quite bright generally and I was wondering why it is that you can't take a young one and train it like a dog?

Is it that Cat PR (" We are independent so you can fuck off if you think I'm going to do what you say) is so strong that no one ever tries?

Didn't they used to train lions for the circus? How come you can't get a cat to "sit" or "come for a walk"?

Disclaimer: I have never owned a cat as I expect is obvious!

It's definitely possible, but the problem is motivating the cat.
My cats are stubborn fuckers - I know they can definitely understand when I tell them to do/stop doing something, but I just get a haughty glare and the cold shoulder. On the other hand if it's in their best interests it's surprising how quickly they can figure things out. One of ours when he was small used to open the cupboard door, pull out and open a box of dried cat food and fish it out with his paw. Another would fetch balls of paper. Both grew out of it though and now rarely deign to move from the sofa unless hunting.

Dogs on the other hand are biddable and eager to please, in most cases, as well as being easy to motivate with food rewards.

We trained one of our prebious (passed on) cats to fetch and sit using clicker and treats.

One of our current cat hi fives and curled around the back of your chair..awww

Our Siamese cats have trained us really well. They are very intelligent but only do what they want to do and have loads of attitude (which I love).

Mine has me trained. He's 18 and he knows how to tell me what he wants...

My are both trained to; sit, shake a paw, roll over and come running (for food) at the ringing of a bell. But the stubborn little buggers will only do any of it when they want to.

(it's quite funny to see the synchronised rollovers)

Cats can play fetch if they are bright and inclined but many cats prefer lying on back paws in air

I'd say most cats train their owners. With a lot of skill.

i've trained my cat to come when he is called.

He has also been trained not to scratch furniture, jump on tables/worktops etc.

Haven't managed to train him to do anything else tho!

We taught our cat to walk on a lead, this May - he likes it but won't let us direct the walk (and he won't go out in the rain or on wet grass)

He prefers to follow lines/boundaries when walking and know when I say no I mean it, he still ignore it but he knows I mean it - I pick him up when he being obstinate

3 cats ago DH trained him to climb up DH on to his shoulder and sit there and then retrained him not to do it as I got pregnant and we thought he might do it while DH was holding the baby!

Good luck trying to train your cat. What you probably haven't realised is your cat is training you to respond to his/her every command

I wish I could train mine to not scratch the furniture. My sofas are a year old. They look 40!

Citrus spray on the sofa and catnip spray on the scratching post worked for us and we have leather sofas. Scratch post needs to be tall for a proper stretch ime.

My cat knocks on the door to be let in

Well who knew? Thanks for all the replies.
Maine Coons trainable cats!

Yes they're trainable, mine miaows and i get up and get him food
The others wait patiently

I wish I could train mine to not scratch the furniture. My sofas are a year old. They look 40!
Or feliway spray?
Or just accept it.
Nothing stops one of ours.

I suspect that people don't bother to train cats because they often get them as they're "low maintenance" in the first place.

We have "pavloved" our cats.

We have a seriously retro hand bell that we jingle at feeding times. They now come whenever we jingle the bell- great for getting them out of the loft etc!

We've also trained the half-bengal to "speak" when we make meowing noises at her; purely for hilarity reasons. This was achieved via Cheese Dreamies.

Unfortunately no amount of training has managed to get them to stop going on the bloody counters.

knows when I say no I mean it, he still ignores it but he knows I mean it

Favourite line ever!!

I have owned many cats, and attempted to train them all to some extent or other.

I've come to the conclusion that most understand, but whether or not they choose to play along depends very much on what is in it for them!

@Anecdoche you say you have scratching posts... do you have any of the cardboard horizontal scratchers? My cat loves those (and you sprinkle cat nip in them).

I put loads of those around the house in places he scratches so in my bedroom (because he wakes up then scratches) and by the sofa.

Every time remove from sofa, place on scratch pad.

I've come to the conclusion that most understand, but whether or not they choose to play along depends very much on what is in it for them!

Agree!

Why the fuck would you get a cat and expect it to be trainable? If I want a pet that has to be trained, I get a dog.
In my experience, cats know perfectly well what they are allowed to do and what they're not. They just choose to ignore it when it doesn't suit them.

You can train a cat on certain things (& it wont be many things either (if they like you and deignWANT to be trained. Forget it otherwise. Cats rule

We had a Norwegian Forest cat- he would play fetch like a dog (he'd return a thrown toy to you, so you'd throw it again).

Our Persian is somewhat trained. He answers to his name and will come when called. He has been trained to use scratch mats instead of furniture. But how much is that training and how much is the breed? Persians are very low maintenance and are not particularly naughty. So maybe I am deluding myself.