Think Fluffy can’t do what Fido can? Think again. Area specialists share their cat training stories and tips on how you can achieve success with your own fuzzy feline.

Karen Campbell, a consulting pet behavior specialist in Portland, has taught cats to sit up on their hind legs to receive a treat (ultimately doing the cat-equivalent of “sit”), to fetch, accept new pets into a home by using food-based rewards and, most notably, to ring a bell by the front door when the cat needed to go outside to relieve itself.

“Cats are independent, discerning and definitely turned off if they feel pressured to do something,” says Campbell. “The easiest way to mold a kitty’s behavior toward new skills is to observe their play, interests and body motions, and build on their natural inclination.”

Don Hanson, owner of Green Acres Kennel Shop in Bangor and a certified dog trainer and behavior consultant, sees about four cats a year that need help modifying behavior — such as aggression or not using their litter box — and suggests working in rapid repetition for five-minute intervals with plenty of rewards to reinforce the wanted behavior.

“Cats typically have a shorter attention span than dogs,” he says. “It’s all about rewarding behavior that you like.”

They are self-motivated and can find something that interests them quite easily — something other than you trying to get them to sit, that is. Hanson has seen cats that were able to run agility courses and to “give a paw” on command.

Diana Logan of Pet Connection and a certified dog trainer in North Yarmouth, knows of a cat who can “sit like a bunny” on its hind legs and felines who have stopped the habit of climbing on countertops through the training efforts of owners.

“Training for all animals — horses, dogs, cats, whatever — is pretty much the same,” says Logan. “It’s all about motivation and controlling the rewards.”

Campbell, however, draws a sharp distinction between training and behavior modification. Training, she says, is about teaching a new skill, something that through rewards and positive enforcement can often be achieved if the skill is reasonable and the cat is inclined. Behavior modification, she says, usually involves an emotional issue; for example: a cat’s frequent urinary tract infections being caused by a weakened immune system because the cat is low cat on the totem pole in the house.

Treating an emotional issue presents a greater challenge than simple training, she says, and often requires considering internal and external factors and determining the reasons for the cat’s unwanted behavior.

So is it impossible to train your cat? These area experts say no. But it will take time, patience, rewards and sometimes determining what’s going on in Fluffy’s furry head.

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