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A Guide To Cat Training

Cat Training & Kitten Training Tips For Feline Lovers

Cat Door Training

Are you tired of listening to the cat's meowing up a storm or scratching up the door to get in?

Let's look at some simple solutions to this problem. We can start by taking a look at some of the training aids that help train your cat to alert you when it wants to come in or go out.

Put a small bell on a string that hangs down from the door. This will allow the cat to play with the string and ring the bell. This is a good learning tool to help both you and the cat. Bells come in a variety of different sizes. A small one would be the prefect size for a cat to play with so they are able to ring the bell. Bells are very inexpensive and can be found and purchased in most stores. Craft stores have them and they are very inexpensive. String should hang down low enough so that the cat can reach it without jumping at it or having to use the door for support. You can put a small amount of catnip on the string or in the bell. This will attract them and give them an incentive to play with the bell. Get catnip in a spray. The smell will help attract them to the bell.

Teaching the cat to use the bell is another thing that you will have to do for them. This is so they learn how the bell works to play with. The sound from the bell will warn you that kitty is ready to come inside.

When you put the cat outside you will want to keep an eye out for them coming in and show them to ring the bell. Once your cat rings the bell, you want to reward them with a good healthy snack. As you help the cat ring the bell you will need to open the door to allow the cat to come in and give them a reward as they come in.

Let's look at another way of training a cat to enter and exit a cat door. You can find cat doors and cat entrances in most pet stores, on the web, or ask your vet where you can purchase a cat door. The doors are small enough so that a cat can get in and out when it wants to, and frees you up from having to attend to the cat going in and out. One simple suggestion is make sure your cat is not going to run off before installing the door.

These doors can be installed right in your door, or next to your door as a wall mounting. This is something that you will have to look at before purchasing a door for your cat. Measuring the size of the opening is also important to look at before purchasing. You will want to know the size that you are able to fit the door in. You will also want to measure your cat's height and width to know what size of opening you will need to get. When measuring the width make sure you allow at least a couple of inches more than the width of the cat. The height from the shoulders to the back of the front legs will give the right height. With the many different types of doors, sizes and quality, a search in store or on the Internet would be a great place to start looking.

Let's look at how to train the cat to use the door. A cat will not automatically use the door. Hold the door open and allow the cat to come in and out freely with a reward of a simple small snack on each side. This will give the cat a chance to know that they are able to do this. This could take time for the cat to learn how to use. Continue playing with the cat over a period of time. Soon they will be entering and exiting on their own. Something that you must avoid is using the cat's nose to open the cat door, or pushing the cat though the door opening. Open the door and allow them to come in and out.

Once the cat is using the door you will experience the freedom of sleeping though the night, not having to stop what you are doing to let your cat in and out, and possibly no more kitty litter or mess where they should not be doing.

"A Guide To Cat Training" continues on the following page ...

For more information about cats and kittens, see the "resources" section of this website, or go to articles about cats.

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