Cat basic concepts

How to Make a Cat Learn its Name

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: January 16, 2017
How to Make a Cat Learn its Name

Cats are independent animals with a strong character. They are also excellent companion pets and, believe it or not, they can be trained to obey certain orders. But to achieve this, it is essential that your cat responds to its name, thus making it much easier to relate to it and get its attention when you need it. Do you have a cat at home and do not know where to start? At OneHowTo.com we explain how to make a cat learn its name, with patience and dedication you can make it.

Steps to follow:
1

Start early to make a cat learn its name

The most important stage of socialization and learning occurs in the first 6 months of life, meaning that everything you teach your friend during this period will be learned much faster. For this reason it is very important to train it as soon as possible to learn its name and respond to our call.

2

Choose the right name to make a cat learn its name

A very important step we should place particular care with, is choosing the name. The name of a cat should not be chosen at random, it should be short and easy to pronounce so the cat can understand quickly.

Very important: if you have 2 cats, use 2 very different names for them so that they do not get confused. Cats often only pick the first or first 2 syllables, so make sure the first syllables of the names you have chosen are very different. It will make it easier for your cats to learn their names.

3

Consistency

To make your cat learn its name, it is important to be consistent and perform daily brief training sessions, maximum 15 minutes in duration. For this you need to train your cat in a quiet place where there few distractions. Keep handy treats for rewards for your cat, the training will be based on rewarding the cat every time it answers to its name.

4

The training for a cat to learn its name

At a distance no greater than half a meter, sit on the floor and follow this process:

  • Call the animal by its name until it responds by looking at you. Do it as many times as necessary until it you looks.
  • When it does, give it half a treat as a reward for responding to its name.

This simple guideline should also apply in training sessions carried out as a game. Once you are clear on how to properly play with your cat you need to mention its name during play time. Every time your cat looks to answer to its name, it must receive half a treat as a reward.

How to Make a Cat Learn its Name - Step 4
5

Association of its name with food

When you serve the food to your cat, call it by its name for it to come. The important thing is that the cat associates that word you have chosen as its name to a positive stimulus so that it knows that when it responds good things happen.

For this reason, it is important that you never call the cat by its name when you discipline it, doing so will get the cat to associate its name with something bad, which will eventually make it stop responding to the call.

How to Make a Cat Learn its Name - Step 5
6

Additional tips to make a cat learn its name

To make a cat learn its name you must put into practice other tips that we detail below:

  • Use the name of the cat when you are caressing it, this will reinforce the positive relationship between word and reward.
  • Speak the name of the cat always in the same tone of voice, this will help the animal to recognize it more quickly.
  • Avoid using words similar to its name when you are near the cat or you will end up confusing the animal.
  • It is important to avoid calling the cat by nicknames or aliases if you want to get its attention, many words could confuse it and ultimately end up in the cat not responding to its name. Once the cat responds to the call and is with you, you can use a diminutive of affection, but without waiting for a reply in return.
  • If your cat is very hyperactive, it is better to train it while it is playing, by making learning its name a fun activity. Use your imagination and invent fun games!
How to Make a Cat Learn its Name - Step 6

If you want to read similar articles to How to Make a Cat Learn its Name, we recommend you visit our Pets category.

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Adam Turner
At first, say the cat's name incessantly, especially when petting. After a few months, say a few random words mixed in with the cat's name near the end. You'll notice when you do, they'll perk up at saying it. When they do, reward their attention with praise.
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How to Make a Cat Learn its Name