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How easy is training an adult cat? Any cat owner can tell you that it's typically not very easy at all! Adult cats lack the energy and drive that kittens have and so are often not very motivated to follow instructions or respond to training efforts. They're often very set in their ways and not so eager to make changes, even those that are for their own benefit. Many cat owners have found that training an adult cat is a lot like trying to nail Jell-o to a wall; it's just going to slide away from you and go where it wants, so why bother?

You Can Train Your Cat

In reality, training an adult cat can be done successfully if you understand how adult cats are different from kittens and understand what may motivate an older cat so that he does what you want, when you want. There's no reason to think that training an adult cat is just an impossibility and that's the end of it; many who have tried have found success, depending upon their own methods. So let's consider a few things you might take into consideration.

Always Reward Your Cat

For one thing, when training an adult cat remember that cats often respond better to rewards than they do punishment or scolding. By the time a cat is older, it might not care anymore if you're upset or angry with it; the cat is just as happy to retreat to a favorite corner where it can ignore. But no matter how old, a cat is always happy to get a favorite treat so you need to remember this when training an adult cat. When they do something they should, give them a special reward and lots of physical attention. Make sure they have lots of other options to accommodate them. If they're chewing on your houseplants, give them a cat-safe garden, available at your local pet store. If they're always jumping on a particular shelf, give them their own sill in a sunny spot and put a nice treat there.

Look After Your Cat's Health

It's always good when training an adult cat to make sure that they don't have any physical problems that might be causing problems. If your cat is not using the litter box and is eliminating in areas of the house, make sure he doesn't have bladder problems or an infection of any type. If your cat doesn't come when called, be sure he doesn't have a hearing or vision problem. You're wasting your time training an adult cat if he is physically unable to do what you ask! So make sure that regular checkups are a part of your routine with your adult cat.

Being patient is also a big part of training an adult cat. Since they don't have as much energy as a kitten, they may decide to be done with your training session before you are and slink away to that sunny windowsill. So you'll need to be patient and take it slow and you'll be successful.

If you'd like more of my Cat Training Tips, check out my "Insider Tricks and Secrets to Training Your Cat".

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