Click On Cats

Monday evening we went to the library where I found a copy of Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats by Karen Pryor. I’ve seen references to clicker training before but never read anything about it. Basically, the idea is that you can train animals by getting them to associate a good behavioral action with a marker signal such as you clicking a clicker box. Soon the animal learns that a click means a treat is coming and starts to expand his behavioral repertoire so as to produce more clicks.

Pica went and bought an inexpensive clicker box and we’ve been having fun working with Charlie and Diego. Both are now able to follow a dowel about and touch it as a target. Tuna is working well as a treat, though we need to figure out the best way to dispense it.

Speaking of clicking on cats, Rate My Kitten is a good site to visit if one is looking for distractions.