How to Teach Your Cat to High Five
Cats are incredibly intelligent creatures with a natural curiosity that makes them endlessly fascinating. Whether we realize it or not, our feline friends can be trained to perform a wide range of tricks that are both fun and impressive. Teaching your cat to high-five is just one such trick, but it’s a great one to start with because cats enjoy using their paws.
In this post, we’ll guide you through a simple process that will help you teach your cat to high-five like a pro.
Start with Treats
Entice your cat with treats. Typically, cats are not going to do something for free. Practice this trick when your cat has not eaten or is hungry. You can also make your cat want to do the trick, for example, if your cat likes playing with the toy mouse, make him activate the toy and bring out the treats as a reward for doing the trick. This way, he wants to do the trick to get his toy mouse going.
Familiarize Your Cat with Touch
Begin by touching your feline friend’s paw gently. Gradually build up the touch so that your cat becomes comfortable with the idea. If your cat tolerates the touch, reward it with a treat. Once your cat is comfortable with the paw touch, move on to the next step.
Making the Connection
Hold your hand above your cat’s paw and wait for him to respond. Be patient because it might take a few trials before he eventually lifts his paw. Once he does so, give him a treat and lots of praise.
Practice and Consistency
Always practice with your cat consistently. This will help your cat pick up on the trick faster, and the more you do it, the easier it will become. You can teach your cat using commands like “High Five” or tapping his paw before raising it. Once your feline gets the hang of it, try raising your hand in different positions to keep the trick exciting.
Keep It Short
Do not overdo the training session. Short sessions can be 5 to 10 minutes, and you should not spend more than two sessions a day. Once you’ve ended the session and have successfully taught your cat to high-five, don’t forget to reward him with lots of praise and a treat.
Conclusion
Training your cat to high-five is a simple and fun trick that can become second nature with some patience and persistence. Just remember to use positive reinforcement and keep the training sessions brief. Remember that different cats have different personalities and respond to different methods of teaching. Do not give up; if your cat is not responding, try new methods of teaching.
Eventually, with practice and consistency, your feline friend will be doing high fives like a pro. Have fun!
