Clicker Training Cat that is not Treat Motivated

Question

I am wanting to start clicker training my cat but unfortunately she almost never eats treats and is not food motivated. However she does really like catnip and attention. Does anyone have experience clicker training a cat that is not food motivated?

Answer 1

Find something the cat will consider a reward. It can be as simple as attention and approval, for cats that are focused on their humans.

Your best bet, with any form of training, is to take something the cat does naturally and try to encourage it by making a game out of it, and then shape it by responding more selectively. I was able to get Hazel to say something vaguely approaching "hello" without treats simply by repetition and making it a game I would interrupt other activities to play on request. She trained me to throw a toy for her to chase...

Cats are cats. They are mostly less approval-driven than dogs, not being pack animals, but this varies from breed to breed (roughly) and individual to individual. You need to be prepared to work on what they want to work on.

Answer 2

You can absolutely use both attention and catnip as rewards with clicker training (or any other type of marker-based training, like saying "Yes!" or anything else you want to use).

My recommendation would be to start with attention, as introducing catnip might be highly distracting and derail your training session.

Examples of attention-based rewards

• Petting, rubbing, or scratching somewhere that your cat really, really likes
• Getting excited and enthusiastic (if your cat responds well to that)
• Brief amount of play

With cats, it's best to keep training sessions short (5-10 minutes) and build in a way for them to both indicate interest in the training "game" and to indicate they're done.

Starting the session Use a cue and create patterns so that your cat knows what's going on. For example, you might ring a bell to show that the session is starting, or you might bring out the clicker or a special toy. Maybe you have a place in your home where you will train, or some other routine. Cats love routine and they thrive when they know what to expect. Even better, if you leave the indicator out, your cat may start to show you that they want to have a training session now, which will increase their buy-in.

Ending the session Keep sessions short, within 5-10 minutes. Then, have a cue for the session being over, like putting down the clicker, saying "All Done!" etc.

Ideally, you'll end each session before your cat gets bored, but look for your cat's body language to tell you when they've had enough. They may walk away or start to look less interested and engaged. They might lay down or swish their tail.

Good luck and have fun!