Cats have a behaviour trait that is all the same throughout all breeds and knowing these traits will help you to understand them, but it will also help you when it comes to training them. For example cats tend to jump from one thing to another, and land on their feet, for an adult cat this won’t hurt them as it’s just a natural thing for them, however for kittens under 7 weeks old it will as the pads on their feet won’t have developed enough to cushion them before landing.

Cats bone structure is also very different from other animals as their bones are flexible, they don’t have a collar bone so they can easily twist and bend bones, which is another reason as to why they can jump distant without getting injured. This allows you to teach them things like jumping through hoops etc but you shouldn’t encourage jumping off extreme heights because this will cause an injury.

Cats also have extremely good hearing and sense of smell, they will hear really high pitched tones like opening cans etc. Due to their strong sense of smell they tend to rub up against furniture and wee on the floor, this isn’t them misbehaving on purpose but it is them leaving their smell on things so that they can smell where they have been – making their territory. Their sense of smell is also strong due to them having a sac called the Jacobson’s organ in their mouths, this is a sac filled with blood that senses smells too.

Why do these facts help when training your cat?

Knowing the above will help when training because you should play on their natural strengths and instincts, and you should start as soon as you get your cat as the younger and quicker they are the better and easier they will pick it up.

When training older cats they may become angry so be careful of aggressive behaviour, also if your cat is older and from another owner they maybe slight depressed, and so they may suffer from stress or anxiety when training them quickly after moving, if you think your cat is suffering from either of the above you should take them to the vets.

You should never hit your cat when training or as a general punishment, instead if you catch them doing something that they shouldn’t associate a nose to tell them to stop or say No in a strong and firm voice. You should avoid making them fear you because this will both break your relationship with them and it could lead them rebelling against you.