What you need
| A marker | A clicker, or a consistent word like “good”, whichever you’ll actually use every single time |
|---|---|
| A target | A chopstick, a plastic spoon or a purpose-built target stick. The tip is what matters, not the brand |
| Treats | Pea-sized or smaller and high-value, kept on your body (a pocket or hip pouch) so a reward is never more than a second away |
Step 1: charge the clicker
Pair the click with a treat with no behaviour required yet, so the sound itself becomes meaningful. This comes first. A marker that hasn’t been paired with a reward yet is just a noise.
Step 2: teach targeting
Targeting is the single most useful skill you can teach. Hold the target near your cat’s nose and reward any touch, then gradually increase the distance she has to move to reach it.
“What’s the single biggest reason a training session falls apart? It’s rarely the cat. It’s the human fumbling for a treat two seconds too late for the marker to mean anything.”— Professor Mochi
Step 3: name the behaviour
Once a behaviour happens reliably, give it a word (a cue). Once she knows the cue, you don’t need to click every time and rewards can come less often. The first tricks follow the same pattern:
| Sit | Lure a treat over her head while saying “sit”; click and treat the instant her rear touches the floor |
|---|---|
| High-five | Hold a treat at shoulder height until she paws at your hand; click and treat, then fade the treat and add the cue on a bare-palm touch |
Keep sessions short
Four to six repetitions per session is plenty. Fresh, genuinely exciting food helps too: Fear Free notes that something like rotisserie chicken motivates far more reliably than a stale bag of kibble treats.