Can You Really Train A Siamese Cat?

Siamese cats are arguably one of the most intelligent cat breeds. Siameses energy makes them a fun pet to have in the house, especially for families. However, it can make them a little reckless. Training them correctly is essential if you don’t want your cat running amuck and if you’re going to teach them a few tricks.

Can you really train a Siamese cat? Yes, Siameses are one of the most intelligent breeds of cats and are extremely easy to train. A reward-consequence system is the most efficient way to train them. Siameses can be easily house trained and taught to do tricks. However, all of this takes patience and time.

Training your cat doesn’t have to be hard. Hopefully, these few tips will help training your Siamese a little easier.

Can you Really Train a Siamese Cat?

It’s not unknown that Siamese cats are an intelligent breed. Their intelligence makes it so much easier to train them and teach them tricks. You can teach Siameses a multitude of things from basic housetraining and using the litter box to skills like sitting on command and giving a high-five.

Siamese cats also have a ton of energy, and they love to play. They also are incredibly affectionate and love to be with their owners. They will see the time spent training them as playtime and a sign of affection. Therefore, teaching them some tricks can be a great bonding experience for you and your cat.

What You Can Teach Them

House Training

House training your cat is probably one of the most important things that you can teach them. How to use the litter box is typically one of the first things that you teach your cat when they first come into your home, especially kittens or cats who aren’t already housebroken. Some people even go as far as teaching their cat to use a toilet.

Obedience

Siamese cats are especially devious and mischievous, so how to behave appropriately is another crucial thing to teach them. When Siameses don’t get enough attention, they’ll act out so that way you will pay attention to them. They’ll do things from knocking things off of counters to scratching up your furniture.

Kittens are exceptionally playful and are always finding their way into trouble. You should implement obedience training early in your cat’s life to prevent any bad habits from forming. Obedience training focuses on curbing bad behavior and rewarding good behaviors.

You can also teach your cat to sit and come to you on command. Like it is with a dog, it’s helpful to teach your cat these things for when you need them to settle down or for when you have company.

Even though it’s essential to have mutual respect and trust between you and your Siamese, it’s also necessary for you to establish some dominance. Aside from house training, obedience is the most critical thing that you can teach your cat.

Tricks

Aside from house training your Siamese, you can also teach them to do tricks. Because of their intelligence and all of their energy, you can sometimes find Siameses as show cats.

Siamese cats thrive off of affection and attention. They can even become depressed if they don’t get enough of it. Spending quality time with your Siamese to train them and to teach them tricks is a great way to show your affection towards them. Even though it may be frustrating for you at times, they’re just happy to be spending the time with you.

While training your cat to do tricks takes more time and patience than house training, it’s a lot of fun and a great bonding experience for you and your pet.

Training Methods

Even though training a Siamese cat is relatively easy, there are a couple of standard methods that people choose to use when training their cats:

Clicker Training

Clicker training is one of the most common methods used for training cats. It uses a clicker, a remote control that makes a clicking sound when you press it. The remote makes a sharp clicking sound that startles the cat and lets them know that they’re not behaving properly.

Clicker training is mainly used for correcting bad behavior. When you see your cat doing something terrible, like scratching the couch, you can use the clicker. Over time, they will learn that if they do that, then they will experience that sound and stop engaging in that behavior.

Clicker training can also be used to teach your cat tricks. You can use a combination of the clicker and treats to encourage good behavior to pull off the trick. I recommend the Click Stik clicker for training cats.

An alternative option to clicker training for deaf cats is using a penlight or a flashlight. A flashing light will get your cat’s attention just as effectively.

Reward System

Because clicker training targets stopping bad behaviors, it’s essential to pair it with a reward system. Siameses are a very sensitive breed, so constant punishment may be too hard on them. Positive reinforcement is just as effective as creating consequences for bad behavior.

When your cat does something good, give them a treat every time. For instance, when your cat uses the litter box instead of the floor, provide them with a treat. They will start to expect a treat for doing this specific thing, and then they will continue to do it.

You can also do this trick when you stop bad behavior. For instance, if your cat is about to scratch the couch, and then they stop, give them a treat for stopping. They’ll begin to recognize that doing one thing over the other will reward them, influencing the good behavior.

Starting Small And Slowly

Starting with smaller, more manageable tasks is an excellent way to introduce training to your cat. Even though you may be eager to teach your cat how to do things right away, it’s important not to overwhelm them and take things slowly.

You should also allow your pet to master one specific thing before moving onto another. For instance, you can’t expect your cat to be able to use the toilet if they haven’t even learned how to use a litter box yet. Inching up to more significant tasks and tricks is an excellent method to properly training your cat.

Obedience School

If you are finding it hard to train your Siamese on your own or don’t have the time, you can also try taking your cat to obedience school. It’s more common for dogs to participate in obedience, but there are some for cats, as well.

In these training schools and classes, cat behavior specialists work with your cat to develop good behaviors. They will use various methods to discipline them and to break bad habits. However, obedience schools aren’t very affordable- some training schools can cost at least $300 a session.

There are a few different kinds of obedience schools. For instance, there are physical schools that offer classes that you can go to, some behavior specialists offer housecalls and will work with your cat there, and there are even some online schools that give you tools to help you train them yourself.

Obedience school isn’t just for misbehaving or aggressive cats. Some cats need a little extra help with things like house training and socializing. A lot of these problems can stem from past traumas, and sometimes owners need a little extra help with their cat.

How to Train Siamese Cats

Although they are extremely intelligent and can pick up on cues quickly, don’t forget that Siameses have a lot of energy and like to play. Sometimes it’s hard to keep their focus because they get sidetracked and just want to play. With that being said, having patience is key to training your Siamese.

How To Start Training

If you’re bringing a new cat into your home, allow them some time to start getting acclimated to their new environment. Being in a new environment can be scary, and it may take them a little while to get comfortable enough to start training them.

It is also easier to start training while they are still a kitten, but if you’re bringing in an older cat, it isn’t impossible. It may take more time and effort to break some old habits, but you can still teach an old cat new tricks.

Start With the Important Things

Bringing in a new pet into the home is exciting, and you may want to start training them right away. But prioritizing what to train them is crucial. Even though Siamese cats are super energetic, they can still become overwhelmed with information. Here are a few things to start training your cat:

How To Use The Litter Box

This is important for obvious reasons. Cats are arguably easier to house train than dogs. Cats are cleaner and tidier pets, so they prefer using a litter box over open space as a dog would.

To train your cat to use the litter box, set it up in one place that you will keep it there for a long time. Sometimes moving their litter box around too often will confuse the cat and they will ignore it. Then let your cat become familiar with it by allowing them to sniff and examine it. Older cats who have never seen a litter box before may need some more time with it.

If this is your cat’s first time with a litter box, it may take some time for them to be comfortable it and there may be some accidents. If this happens, don’t punish them or scold them because this can cause further anxiety and hinder the training.

When you start to notice that they have to go, for instance, if they start crouching or sniffing the ground, pick them up and put them inside of the box. After a while, they will begin to understand and use it. When they do use it, reward them with a treat.

Come To You On Command

Siamese cats love to be with their owners all of the time so you may not even need to teach them this trick. Some Siameses may even already know how to do it. However, it is easy to explain.

To start teaching them to come to you, stand in front of them with a treat, and call their name. Keep practicing this until they come to you a few times. Once they’ve mastered this, move further away, practicing until they’ve learned that distance. You’ll eventually get up to calling them from other rooms.

Another way to do this is not even to call their name. You can make a noise that they recognize that they would want to come to — for instance, the sound of a toy or crinkling their favorite treat bag.

Use a Scratch Post

Cats love to stretch and scratch on things, especially furniture. Even though you love your cat dearly, you don’t want them destroying your couch. Scratch posts are the best option to get your cat to stop that.

To attract your cat to the post, put catnip or their favorite treat on it. You should also play with your cat near the post, and even use it while you’re playing, getting them comfortable with it. When they start to use the scratch post, give them the treat to reward them.

If you scold your cat for scratching the furniture instead of the post and they stop, make sure you reward them for that, as well.

Moving on to Tricks

Once your cat gets the basics down, you can finally start teaching them some tricks. Siameses are particularly easy to teach tricks to because they love to play with their owners and would see it as such. Here are a few simple tricks that you can start to train your Siamese to do:

• Sit
• High-five
• Fetch

Like people, cats need repetition for them to learn new things. Practicing the same thing over and over again will help them perfect it. You can also use clickers and treats to help you train them.

To start teaching them to do the trick, show them how you want them to do it. For instance, if you’re teaching them to give a high-five, grab their paw and touch it to your hand. Then provide them with a cue to follow. For instance, you are raising your hand in front of them to show that you want a high-five.

Keep doing this until they get the idea and start doing it themselves. Whenever they successfully perform the trick, give them a treat as positive reinforcement. You can also use the clicker as a cue for them to perform the trick and then reward them with a treat.

How to Make Training Siamese Cats Easier

Siameses are relatively easier cats to train compared to other breeds. Because they love to play so much and to spend time with their owners, they will love being trained on how to do tricks just to spend time with you. However, here are a few tips to make training them easier:

Starting At A Young Age

All cats are more impressionable at a young age, making training easier. It’s not impossible to train an older cat, however. The infamous expression “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” (in this case “cat”) doesn’t apply here.

Because of how smart Siameses are, it’s easy to teach them anything at any age. Adopting an older cat doesn’t mean that you can’t house train them or teach them tricks.

Having a Bond

If your Siamese feels like they can trust you, that will make training them much easier. Creating a bond comes with time, no matter how lovable Siameses are. You’ll know that they trust you when they show you by looking at you and blinking slowly.

When your training your cat, you are disciplining them. Therefore they must know that they aren’t bad cats or else they will start to feel unwelcome in your home. Spending quality time with your Siamese will make them feel loved and will help build that bond.

Final Thoughts On Training Siamese Cats

It is easy to teach a Siamese cat how to do tricks; it just takes time, patience, and effort. Siameses have the perfect personality to learn new things quickly because of their intelligence and playfulness.

If there are other people in the household, it is essential also to involve them in the training process. You can’t be the only person that your cat will listen to. There also has to be established rules, and everyone in the house also has to use the same techniques with the cat, so everyone is on the same page.

It’s also important to note that you should also reward good behavior and not just punish bad behavior. The last thing that you want is for your pet to feel like you don’t love them. Training should be fun for both of you, and it will even help strengthen your bond.