The Stupid Party Trick: Why I Trick Train Cats

When I train animals, some people get snarky and ask me why we’re working on “party tricks.” These people want “real-world” applications to training. Here’s the thing. Every trick that you work on with your cat has a real-world application.

Any time that you are working with your cat towards a goal, no matter how small, you are giving that animal attention.

I start working towards these goals when my cats are kittens. Not that you can’t teach an adult these same things, I just got my cats as kittens. The most important thing is to start training when you get your new cat.

This was especially true for Violet. Before we adopted Violet, she had been living in a raspberry bush near the side of the road with at least eight other cats. From there she was in a foster home with our friend and then with us. That’s a lot of changes for a kitten. When I met her for the first time, she was very shy. She slunk away from us and didn’t want to interact.

While she was in foster care and with us, she had a respiratory infection and needed all kinds of medicine. Of course, I hadn’t had time to desensitize her to handling or giving her medications yet, so it was all a bit invasive. Her infection was hard to fight off and then she got a stomach virus, so the vet visits and medicine continued for a few months.

During this time, she was bonding with us by purring, rubbing against our legs, and cuddling with us, but would flinch when we tried to pet her since she knew that touching sometimes meant eye drops and antibiotics.

We started seeing a change in Violet after training for our novice trick cat title. She began soliciting petting and was much more confident being with us.

The tricks that she learns in this title aren’t always perceived as the most useful things to teach a cat. She learned tricks like jump through a hoop, spin in a circle, and kiss. These are those silly party tricks that people don’t want to put effort into. As you look closer into what these tricks require her to do, there’s a lot of benefits that you can’t see on the surface.

One of the biggest pieces is that she needed to trust me. For a cat who initially flinched when I tried to gently touch her, now she was comfortable moving her body all around me. She learned to not only reach out and touch my finger for the “touch” cue, but she put her nose on my lips for the “kiss” trick! That takes a lot of confidence!

Spin helps to stretch her muscles so that she stays flexible for the tricks that require more physical effort. The jumps and the recalls help her to stay fit and healthy by getting physical exercise. All of these tricks offer physical and mental stimulation that keeps her busy and satisfied.

Clicker training taught her that there is value in interacting with me and that not all interactions have to do with medication or handling. This has opened the lines of communication between us. Since she doesn’t speak English and I am not fluent in speaking cat, training has given her appropriate ways to get what she wants.

I will enthusiastically continue to teach my cats stupid little party tricks to stretch their muscles, provide physical exercise, stimulate their mind, open the lines of communication, and create a lasting bond with them built on trust.