Forbidden Territories for Cats

It is important to teach cats that there are things that are not permitted, like climbing on some of the furniture, on the dinner table or the marble of the kitchen, or to play with electricity cables. Ways to attain this are many: to shout "!no¡", to agitate a newspaper, or to retrieve the cat smoothly from the scene.

The real important thing is that everybody at home respects the same rules or we will only confuse the cat.

The policies about which places are permitted and which not. But don't fill the cat's life with prohibitions.

In general, they all like couches as much as humans do, and you can think of ways of avoiding hairs from piling on them, like, for example, putting on it a cushion or and old blanket, remember that it is possible for your cat to show preferences for determine places because they are secure and they offer a good panoramic sight to the exterior.

Cat doors
Cats that are not used to cat doors must learn how to do it. First, teach them to look from the inside and from the outside, and to see how the door lid rocks with a simple touch from the paw. Then encourage him to go through the opening while the door lid is up, and each time he does, give him a reward and talk to him with soothing words. Repeat this operation several times and each time gradually lower the door lid a bit until the cat can do it by itself.

At this moment, the training can turn into a game: tie a paper ball to a string and put it through the cat door. Encourage the cat to catch it and, when he is about to do it, pull from it to make the cat go through the door lid. Repeat this as many times as necessary.

To learn to enter
It is advisable to teach cats that don't have cat doors to make a kind of signal when wanting to go inside, as for example, to give small thumps on the kitchen window.

Some learn these behaviors without help, and there are those that even find a way to open door knobs. But there are others that have to learn by imitation, observing first what and how to do it and being rewarded after doing it well.

To walk with a leash
There are cities in which cats have to be tied for going outside on the streets, which makes it necessary to teach them how to walk with a leash on.

Some breeds, as the Siamese, tolerate it quite well, but most of them, even if they get used to it, tend to stand everywhere to sell it all.

A good moment to take the cat for a walk with a leash is just before feeding him, for when returning they will feel rewarded for a job well done.

The ideal is to use a light harness with elastic parts. To begin the training, first let the leash drag down on the ground. Then, tense it and introduce in the cat the idea of being controlled, during short periods at first and then gradually during longer time.

It's advisable that first you take walks through calm places, as parks, and when the cat gets used to walking with a leash on, try with other places where there are people and car traffic. However, don't ever expect that a cat will walk as obedient as dogs do.