Cat Training Made Easy

Are you looking for a cat training school? Look no further!

Start teaching your cat fun tricks, improving their behavior, and even taking them on exciting adventures.

Here's your FREE collection of cat training resources to help you get started.

How to Train Your Cat?

Yes, you can train your cat.

From coming when called, to walking on a leash, to using “talking buttons,” training your cat isn’t just possible, it’s life-changing. Whether you're here to fix frustrating behaviors, to improve your routines or just to have fun, the key is knowing why you're training and where to start.

1. Clicker Training
Build discipline, focus, and trust.

2. Leash Walking
Prep your cat to adventure with you.

3. Talking Buttons
Communication in a human-friendly way.

ACTION STEP: Before you dive in, take 30 seconds and answer this: What do I want from training?

Behavior help? Fun tricks? Outdoor adventures? Your answer will shape your cat's training journey.

1. Clicker Training

Clicker training is the easiest and most effective way to get you and your cat into the world of training. It’s like sending your cat to school, from very basic all the way to undergrad... only way more fun.

By using positive reinforcement, clicker training encourages your cat to repeat good behaviors. This is because behaviors that are rewarded are more likely to be repeated in the future.

But here’s the thing: not all tricks are created equal.

Some look impressive and might even get you a few views on Instagram, but others are far more valuable for building a smooth, stress-free life together.

I call them the foundational tricks. Some examples of foundational tricks are “come when called,” “sit,” or “stay.”

Once your bond is strong, move on to fun shareable tricks. I call them the party tricks.

Training in this order sets a foundation of trust and respect and makes the cool tricks easier to teach later on.

Foundational Tricks

These are the behaviors that you want to teach your cat first. They will build the foundation for all the training that will come after.

These behaviors are: Finger Targetting, Come When Called, Sit, and Stay in place.

Behavior Modification

Training your cat to perform these behaviors is basically going to improve your relationship with your cat, helping them anticipate what comes next.

These behaviors are: Teaching your cat "NO", Stopping Door Dashing, Not Eating Plants or Stopping Biting or Scratching

Basic Cat Tricks

Once your cat has mastered the beginning of cat training and some helpful behaviors are part of your routine, then you can start working on getting some tricks under your belt.

Some basic cat tricks you can teach your cat are: High Five, Fist Bump, Spin, Lay Down, or Roll Over

Advanced Tricks

Advanced tricks are those which require several sessions to work towards a determined skill because there's not one single movement that will get your cat to perform them on their own.

An example of these tricks are: Jumping through your arms, Jumping on your Shoulder amongst others, which we'll dig into in the Adventure Cat training part of this article.

Cat Training Tools

While you can train a cat without the need of a clicker, using the right tools will help you achieve better results, faster. I recommend starting with our Clicker Training Starter Kit, and advancing with the Click Crusade once you are ready to take the training to the next level!

More Resources

Continue learning how to train your cat using clicker training with this FREE guide, our YouTube tutorials and our blog, updated weekly!

2. Adventure Cat Training

Adventure Cats are cats that get to safely explore the outdoors—on a leash, in a backpack, or under close supervision (free roaming or tethering is risky and we don't recommend it). Adventure cats can enjoy the sights, smells, and freedom of nature without the risks of roaming unsupervised.

To understand why Adventure Cats are different, here’s a quick look at the four main types of outdoor cats:

  1. STRAY: Cats without a home. They live outdoors full-time, often in dangerous conditions.
  2. FREE-ROAMING: These cats have a home but are allowed to roam freely, unsupervised.
  3. ADVENTURE CATS: They explore the outdoors with supervision, usually trained to walk on a leash or stay close.
  4. CATIO-CATS: These lucky cats enjoy the outdoors from a secure outdoorsy enclosure, without the risk of encounters with wildlife.

🚨 Our stance: While any contact with the outdoors can be enriching for cats, we only recommend supervised or controlled outdoor time. It’s safer for your cat—and for local wildlife.

When to Start Adventure Cat Training

The best age to start adventure training your cat is today. Kittens have a better time learning new skills and new experiences and habituation. This does not mean that adult cats can't enjoy the lifestyle.

Caution note: Cats should have all vaccinations and be protected against ticks and fleas before heading outdoors.

Harness Training a Cat

This is the most important step when adventure training a cat and it often gets overlooked.

Cats won't appreciate wearing a harness, particularly not before understanding that harnessed is the way they get to explore outdoors.

The process of introducing a cat to a harness is simple, you can read this article to learn more.

How to Put a Harness on a Cat

The best way to put a harness on a cat is by asking the cat to sit and stay.

This system is the best not only because it reduces the stress on you and the cat, but also because it will avoid your cat door dashes when the door opens (they will be used to waiting until the harness is on to be let out).

Check out this article about putting a harness on a cat.

Traveling with a Cat

There are a few ways to travel with a cat, from more comfortable for the cat to the least: by Car, by Plane, by Bike

Start getting your cat comfortable riding by car first and then explore a plane or bike if that's something you intend to do.

Gear Needed to Take a Cat Outdoors

Despite it can seem overwhelming, there's not much you need to take your cat outdoors, but the further you go and the more days you stay out, the more complicated it gets.

If you don't know what harness to choose for your cat, this article covers the features you should be looking for.

More Resources

If you want to keep on learning about adventure cat training, we have 3 resources for you to choose from: A Cat Training Guide, a Blog, and our YouTube Channel.

3. Talking Buttons

Cat talking buttons are a fun and fascinating way to give your cat a “voice.” By using buttons that play recorded words or phrases, your cat can learn to communicate basic needs, emotions, and even preferences.

Training with buttons uses positive reinforcement and modeling to help your cat associate specific words with actions.

The trick is to find the right balance between words that are motivating enough, but not too motivating that they won't try anything else.

Once your cat is comfortable, you can expand their vocabulary and even explore complex concepts like places or time.

Do Talking buttons work for cats?

Yes, they do. Cats can learn to use talking buttons. There are cats that can understand and use over 20 buttons to communicate with their pawrents.

How Long Does it Take to Teach a Cat to Use Buttons?

Teaching a cat to press a button can be achieved in a couple sessions with a cat that already understands clicker training.

Getting your cat to understand what each button means will take a little longer. Some cats start pressing buttons to communicate in a month but some will take 2 or 3 months until they start deliverately using the buttons to talk to their guardians.

How to Start Cats Button Training?

The first thing you need to achieve is to help your cat understand that buttons can be pressed. The best way to get your cat to press a button is by using target training.

What Words Should I Teach my Cat?

Start by teaching your cat words that they already understand or things that your cat is already requesting.

Side note: avoid using food or treats as first words because that might accelerate learning at first, it will delay progression and generate frustration or overuse.

What are the Best Talking Buttons for Cats?

Cats weigh less than dogs and their paws are smaller.

It is going to be easier for cats to use buttons that sit next to each other on the buttons mat.

Communication buttons that are easy to help will also help your cat press the buttons more efficiently.

We recommend using the FluentPet buttons, but here's an article about all the best talking buttons for cats.

More Resources

Continue learning how to train your cat using talking buttons with this FREE guide, our YouTube tutorial and our blog, updated weekly!

THREE GOLDEN RULES TO BONDING WITH YOUR CAT

Why are so many cats overweight, anxious, aloof, or misbehaved... even when we're doing "all the right things"?

Because most of us were taught to care for cats in ways that go against their nature.

This FREE eBook reveals what your cat really needs based on how they’re wired.It’s not about fixing your cat. It’s about finally understanding them, building trust, and creating a peaceful home.