A Trick to Teach Your Ragdoll Cat
Jun 13th, 2006 by Rob
Your Ragdoll cat can learn tricks just as easily as a dog. Here is a simple trick you can teach your Ragdoll cat called targeting. Targeting is a simple trick where your cat touches their nose to the end of a stick or pole. This is the same trick you have seen dolphins perform on television. This is a useful trick you can use to keep your cat sitting on the veterinarian’s exam table.
To train your cat targeting you will need a chopstick and some cat treats. Canned Tuna is an excellent training aid; most cats will do just about anything for tuna. The best time to train your Ragdoll cat is shortly before mealtime. Hunger is a strong motivating factor when training cats. You will need to purchase a training clicker from your pet supply store; this is simply a small noisemaker used to reinforce certain behaviors and actions.
To begin training your Ragdoll cat take a small amount of your cat treats or canned tuna and point the end of the chopstick at your cat’s nose for five seconds. When your cat acknowledges the target stick (chopstick) click the noisemaker and reward your Ragdoll cat with a treat or a taste of canned tuna. After you give your Ragdoll cat a reward hide the stick behind your back for a moment. Repeat this process of showing your cat the end of the chopstick and rewarding your cat when he or she acknowledges the target. When you present the chopstick for your cat do not show it to your Ragdoll for more than five seconds; when your Ragdoll acknowledges the chopstick use the clicker and reward with a treat.
You will want to continue training your cat in this manner until he or she shows interest in the target every time you present it. After your Ragdoll gets the hang of “targeting” you can try leading your cat with the stick. Be sure and click the noisemaker and reward your cat with a treat to reinforce the behavior.