Can Cats Do Tricks?

by Dana Scott

It is not uncommon to see dogs at the park catching frisbees and playing fetch. Sitting and shaking seem to be standard issue in the dog trick repertoire. And there always seems to be an ad in the local paper for canine obedience classes starting soon. There are even Canine Science classes in high school now. But have you ever seen a “Feline Obedience Clinic” offered or a Feline Science class offered anywhere? At first glance it would seem that cats have been relegated to the lap and the window sill with no special purpose in life. Can and do people train cats to do tricks? If dogs are smart enough to do tricks, then cats should be too? Right?

While it is common to see dogs performing at dog shows (even though I would not really call those “tricks” per se) and horses going through their paces in the arena, cats are left out in the cold. If you watch animal shows on television, you may notice that cats always seem to be performing natural tasks while the dogs and birds are doing tricks. Is this fair to the felines? Absolutely not! Cats are smart enough to be trained to perform. It may be difficult to teach them, but perseverance definitely pays off.

During the previous TICA show season, I have seen a cat perform tricks. I’m not talking about sitting, staying, and rolling over. This cat plays dead and jumps through hoops! I wouldn’t kid you about something like this. His owner “shoots” him (she points her finger like a little kid making a play gun and says “BANG”). The cat turns a circle and falls over “dead” on his side. When he performs the trick correctly, she rewards him with a treat of beef baby food or a raw beef cube. Sometimes he just throws himself down and she tells him that won’t cut it – no trick, no treat. If it’s been awhile since he did the trick, his owner will walk him through the trick to reinforce it before he actually does the trick. He’s well enough trained, that she lets him perform on the floor or an empty table top. I’ve even seen him perform this trick in the show ring after a final.

The other trick he does is jump through a hoop. If his owner isn’t paying attention and has the hoop too low, he just looks at her before he walks through it and sits down. She tells him that doesn’t count and he has to do it right. To get his treat, he has to jump through the hoop, turn around, and jump back through the hoop. Once he’s had his treat, she raises the hoop a little higher and has him do it again. I’ve seen him jump through a hoop held more than 12" off the surface.

After seeing him perform these tricks, it was no surprise to see him walking on a harness and leash at a recent show and hear her telling someone that he gives “guest lectures” at school for the Ag canine science class. I was very disappointed to hear her say that her guy was going to be retiring at the end of the show season. I can’t wait to see if she trains her next show cat to do the same tricks.

Can cats do tricks? You bet. It’s not even all that unheard of for cats to play fetch. While I admit I haven’t seen any catching frisbees in the park, I know it’s just a matter of time and discipline (not to mention perseverance).

Dana Scott has been attending cat shows for the last couple of years. Sometimes she shows, sometimes she just visits. She likes being around the people in the show hall and experiencing the excitement of a cat show -- it's one of her favorite social events.