Training pets can be a complicated affair, especially cats. But things are different if you have a Siamese cat at home. While Siamese cats are an intelligent breed who love to play and interact with people, their intelligence and energy can make them a bit reckless. Thus, they need a little training.
But, if you, like most pet parents, are wondering: can we really train a Siamese cat? well, the answer is yes. As a matter of fact, these cats are quite easy to train. With the use of different training methods, you can easily train them at home. Some Siamese cats may need extra assistance, though. However, always remember that training a Siamese cat requires some time and a lot of patience.
Hopefully, the tips and techniques shared in this post will make the task of training your Siamese cat more manageable for you.
Training a Siamese Cat
Before you get started with the actual training, you must know more about this breed of cats. Siamese cats are brilliant. Owing to their high intelligence levels, they can easily understand your commands, which makes them easier to train than other breeds. From basic house training to using the litter box and trying a few tricks, your Siamese cat can easily understand your commands.
Moreover, Siamese cats have a lot of energy. They love to play and bond with their owner. And when you spend quality time training your Siamese, it becomes a unique learning and bonding opportunity for your feline.
But here is something you must remember. Siamese cats have a playful nature, and as you train them, they can get easily distracted, which is why training a Siamese cat may take time.
Now that you have an insight into the Siamese cat’s personality, let’s look at some of the ways you can use to train your Siamese cat.
Training Methods Used for Training Siamese Cats
You can train your cat to do several things. Depending on what you want to train your cat for, you can choose different training methods. For example, you can teach your cat how to use the litter box. You can also train Siamese cats on how to avoiding scratching the floor and your furniture and other inappropriate behaviors, such as biting or hurting with nails. You can also train them to avoid spilling food in the house and train them to walk with a leash.
Most pet parents rely on a few standard training methods when it comes to training a Siamese cat. The two methods that are most commonly used together include the following.
Clicker Training
This training method is primarily used to avoid undesirable behavior. It entails the use of a clicker that makes a clicking sound when you press it. As soon as you notice your Siamese cat doing something dangerous, you press the remote, making a sharp sound. If you consistently use this method, your cat will eventually learn that if they engage in inappropriate behavior, they will have to experience the sound and they stop engaging in such behaviors.
And while clicker training is all about refraining from bad behavior to avoid punishment, you also need a reward system to reinforce the newly learned behavior and appreciate their efforts. So clicker training should be used as an alongside method of training with rewards.
Reward-Based Training
As mentioned earlier, clicker training is more about avoiding inappropriate behavior and punishment, and since Siamese cats are quite intelligent and sensitive, constant punishment may be detrimental to their personality. So you need to balance it out with a rewards-based system to appreciate positive behavior, and it’s going to work as a positive reinforcement for your feline.
Here is how you can use the two training methods together. If you find your Siamese cat scratching the floor and you use the clicker sound to instruct your pet to stop the action. And if your Siamese cat stops scratching the floor, it’s a good idea to reinforce this behavior with a small treat. Over time, your Siamese cat will recognize that certain behavior can lead to punishment while avoiding the behavior is linked with reward.
Tips and Tricks for Training Your Siamese Cat
Now that you know the basic training methods that work with your Siamese cat, let’s take a look at some of the tips and tricks that will help you train your Siamese cat easily.
Be Consistent
As a pet parent, the most important thing that you need to keep in mind is that you have to be consistent. During the training period, know that the cat won’t do it right every time. You need to remind your cat every time it does something wrong and then make sure you do it in all circumstances. With your consistent approach, your Siamese cat will understand that they have inappropriate behavior, and it needs to improve. However, being consistent is not synonymous with being angry, harsh or hurtful. Even if you consistently use some mild methods to correct your cat’s behavior, your consistent approach will do the trick.
Desirable Rewards
Since punishment and reward-based training go hand in hand, make sure you provide your cat with a healthy and desirable reward. You can offer them their favorite food, or you can get a new toy for them. However, let’s not forget that training a Siamese cat is different from training a dog. Even when you are training them for appropriate behaviors, and offering them treats, you still have to respect their independence. So let’s not forget that praise is not always enough. To train a cat, you need a combination of praise, love and desirable rewards.
Be Patient
Training a Siamese cat is never easy for both the pet parent and the cat. It then comes down to the patience of the trainer. As a pet parent, only when you are patient, you would refrain from using harsh punishments for your cat as that could often backfire. In other cases, your excessive punishment can frighten your pet, which can affect your relationship with your feline, and that’s something you would never want from your training. So be patient.
React Immediately
If there is a specific behavior of your Siamese cat that you want it to avoid, then you must react immediately. This way, your cat will establish a relationship between its action and your response. For example, if your Siamese cat starts scratching the ball while playing with you, you should react immediately to stop the behavior. You can either walk away from your cat or ignore it, so it learns the relationship between the cat’s behavior and your response.
However, as you react to teach your cat a lesson, never rely on the use of harsh words and physical punishment, as both of these actions can be detrimental to your relationship with your cat.
Respect Your Cat’s Independence
Training a Siamese cat is not always easy. The cat’s breed may be intelligent, but the Siamese cat needs independence. Moreover, they would also need some breaks between the training sessions. So as a trainer, you need to respect your cat’s independence and keep the training sessions shorter. Moreover, you can also combine your training sessions with your cat’s playtime for some fun learning for your Siamese cat.
Obedience School for Your Siamese Cat
If you are finding it difficult to train your Siamese cat at home or have a busy schedule that doesn’t leave enough time to train your Siamese cat, you can consider taking your cat to an obedience school. While such arrangements are more common for dogs, you can find one for cats as well.
With these professionally conducted cat training sessions, your Siamese cat will be more disciplined and desirable for you as your pet. However, such arrangements are not always affordable. But if you are willing and able to spend on your cat’s training, then you can consider this option.
Final Thought
Siamese cats are intelligent and playful, and because of their nature, it is easier to train them. However, training a Siamese cat would require you to rely on specific training methods that combine rewards and punishments. Moreover, as you train your Siamese cat, you need to be more patient, respond in time and respect your cat’s independence. By being consistent and patient and offering desirable rewards to your pet, you can achieve the desired results.
