Making Your Cat Comes When Called: An Analysis From Experts

Considering the carefree attitude of cats, it's likely your fluffy friend is not going to come out on top in a contest of obedience. That being said, have you ever truly wonder why don't cats come when called? While it's a breeze to get dogs to call to you after you call their name, it's an entirely different story with cats.  Cats are aloof creatures that only respond consistently to the sound of a can of cat food being opened, they rarely react to human commands. But is it possible for you to make your cat comes when called through training?

In the case you wish that your cat would come to its owner once you call its name, you have come to the right place. This article could show you everything you must keep in mind about the behavior of domesticated cats and how to make a cat comes when called. Generally speaking, as long as you pay close attention, you should be able to get the pet to act as your desire without much difficulty. Put the following information into good use and you are going to see the result in no time at all.

The Nature Of Cats: Summary

Before we get to know how a pet owner could make his/her cat comes when called, it's wise to study a bit about the temperament of cats first. Once you manage to grasp the way that the mind of cats works, the acquired knowledge would facilitate the training.

The relationship between humans and cats started back in the First Agricultural Revolution (around 10,000 B.C), people at the time switched from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a permanent one.  The need to collect, store and preserve food quickly became a pressing issue as rodents naturally seek out the resources in order to sustain themselves. Hence, humans decided to adopt a vicious predator that could minimize damages caused by rats, squirrels and many others: cats. It a win-win situation: humans keep their foods and cats have prey to hunt.

So after spending millenniums as domesticated pets, cats, in general, should be quite friendly to human, rights? Well, not really. While different pets have different needs for social interactions, cats are able to live without requiring contact with humans. That is why cats could go to their owners for some snuggles in one moment and give the human a cold shoulder in the next. Needless to say, such a temperament means that making a cat comes when called is no walk in the park. You must invest time and effort if you wish to teach your cat to respond.

A lot of people wonder if cats are incapable of comprehending human commands because they could not differentiate our voices. In reality, cats have excellent hearings which means they should have no trouble tracking every sound in the immediate surrounding. Unless your pet experience some forms of impairments, he/she definitely hear what you say. Experts have conducted various tests before reaching the conclusion that cats instinctively react to the voices of their human caretakers. Nonetheless, few bother to investigate the source of the sound.      

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Getting Your Cat To Come To You: Tips And Tricks

• Get Some Treats On Hand

Cats would come running if they detect treat so if you want to successfully train your pet, you need to make it associate the sound of its name with treats. Because there is a good chance that you have to repeat the same process again and again for dozens of time, prepare small-sized treats. The last thing you want to experience is to use your cat to gain weight in the process so be careful. Tuna, sardine,... take your pick but remember to keep the calorie as low  as possible

• Consider Using A Shortened Name

We all attempt to be creative while naming our pet but if you want to get your cat to respond to your voice, use a shortened version of its name. For examples, use John instead of Jonathan, Bax instead of Baxter, Pic instead of Picasso,... Remember that although cats are intelligent, their brain would have a fairly hard time registering a long, multi-character name. In addition to that, always use a soft, stress-free voice to call your cat. If you call your pet using a deep voice, your cat might think that it's about to be punished.         

• Keep The Initial Distance Short

At the first stage of the training, the distance between you and your pet should be limited to around a couple of feet at most. Gently call out the name of your cat, clap your hand and place some treats on the floor for encouragements. In most of the case, the pet would casually approach the treats within a few moments, give it a lot of love once that happens. Now repeat with slightly increased distance and hopefully by the end of the training, your pet would come to you whenever you call its name.

Important Note: As with other cat-related issues, patience is the key to success here. You would not get anywhere if you decide to rush the process hoping to get it done in one take. Take things at a steady pace and soon, you should be able to summon your cat from another part of the house with relative ease. In that stage, there is no need to hand out more treats, some belly rubs should be more than enough. 

Some Benefits Of Teaching Your Cat To Come When Called

Besides the satisfaction that you manage to train your pet to do something, teaching your cat to come when called offers a couple of benefits. For example, you could call your cat to make sure that he is in the house before you head out. Moreover, if your cat is an outdoor pet then you would be to get him into the house quickly if there are dangers lurking nearby. Sometimes, you simply want to check up on your cat and all you have to do is to call out its name which quite convenient.