Positive reinforcement in cats

If you are starting to educate your cat or want practice training with him, it is very important that you have one thing clear: you will not achieve anything with bad words or fights. Even less with bad treatment.

The cat is a very special animal and as you know, cats do not base their day to day to please us, on the contrary, they expect to be treated like kings and will not move a single finger in exchange for anything.

Whether to teach him to use the toilet, to educate him not to scratch the furniture or perhaps not to bite, to use positive reinforcement in cats it is an excellent way to achieve results in training. Keep reading this article:

What is positive reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement simply consists of reward those attitudes that we like of our pet. You can use food, caresses or pleasant words, anything goes if your cat likes you and makes you feel comfortable.

The purpose of the use of positive reinforcement is associate certain behaviors with certain consequences. Therefore, if the cat shows a certain behavior and we reinforce it whenever it manifests it, it will be more likely to repeat it and end up associating it correctly.

If you are modifying a behavior, such as scratching furniture, rewarding candy or caressing your pussycat when using the scraper, it will be an excellent way to tell “This is fine, I like it!” You should know that animals educated through positive reinforcement they learn faster and better. Why not try it then?

How to carry out positive reinforcement?

Most cats do not accept any prize, much less if it is their usual feed. For this reason, it can be interesting to make treats for homemade cats or to use pieces of chicken, frankfurter, liver or sweet ham. All cut into very small pieces. Remember: before starting to apply positive reinforcement it will be essential to find a tasty food that catches your attention.

If you have never practiced it before, you should know that for positive reinforcement to bear fruit you must be very constant and be alert to your cat’s behavior in order to reward him whenever the opportunity arises. If your goal is to reinforce the use of the scraper, you must reward it whenever you use it in your presence, otherwise there will be no association. This is known as “Fixed reinforcement”. In addition, it will not be enough to repeat 5 or 10 times, it is essential to be rewarded daily and constantly so that you remember it perfectly.

Once your cat has correctly learned a desired behavior, it may happen that it does not stop carrying it out to receive your delicious prizes. That will be the time to start applying the “Variable reinforcement”, that is, reward only certain repetitions. At first you will reward 2 or 3 afterwards, but with the passage of time, you will do it every 4, 10 or 15. Finally you will withdraw the prizes and you will only reward him on occasion.

Benefits of positive reinforcement in cats

The use of punishment can cause fear, stress, anxiety and even provoke aggressive behavior in our feline, on the contrary, positive reinforcement It is always well received and its application form is much simpler. In addition, among the benefits, we can highlight a better relationship between both, the stimulation of your mind and can even help us modify their behavior so that it is more positive.

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