Training my cats: an experiment with a surprise

This is Tiger, one of my cats. He's about four years old, and a very loving companion.

There was a brief point in my life when I had a dog... I was excited about having a walking partner, a couch-sharer, and it was very important that he be a well-behaved pet. But, I realized eventually that I wasn't a dog person, and he has a much better home now. I did go through a bunch of dog training though, and it was still fresh in my memory. Since that day, I've been with my three cats, and have wondered how similar cat and dog training might actually be.

Curious, I got out the treats, shook em' up, kneeled down and held one above Tiger's arm. He pawed at it. Hmmmm.... I started holding the treat with my fingers upright. Then, about an hour later, I could get my cat to give me a high-five!

Since then, I have trained all three of my cats to sit, high-five, and I am working on shake.

Its honestly kind of weird seeing a cat do things a dog would do, with a lot of the similar training techniques! But its really entertaining.

Many times, especially recently, my cats will try to high-five me, expecting treats!

They are smarter than we think, folks.....

-DB