Cat target training
Teach your cat to touch a chopstick with their nose. It is fun mental exercise and later helps with the carrier or the scale.
What you need
- Chopstick or target stick
- Small treats
How to do it
- Pick a calm moment and a reward your cat loves: a small treat, a lick of soft food, a toy or gentle praise.
- Hold a chopstick or target stick close to your cat's nose. When they touch it, say "good" (or click) and reward straight away.
- Repeat a few times, then hold the stick a little further away each time.
- Keep sessions to a few minutes and stop while your cat still wants more.
⚠️ Safety
Supervision: Stay with your pet the whole time.
Train only when your cat is calm, healthy and not in pain: fear stops cats learning. If a clicker startles your cat, use a soft word instead. Count treats in the day's food.
👀 What to watch for
A cat who walks away or flicks the tail has had enough. Some cats prefer play or petting to food, so try different rewards.
Try next
Box and paper-bag hideout
A cardboard box and a paper bag on the floor: somewhere to hide, ambush from and explore, for free.
Cardboard reach feeder
A shoebox lid with toilet-roll tubes standing in it, kibble dropped into the tubes. Your cat fishes the food out with a paw.
Kibble treasure hunt
Small portions of your cat's dry food hidden around the home, so a meal becomes a hunt.
Starting a cat on a puzzle feeder
Move part of your cat's dry food into a food puzzle, so they work for it as they would when hunting.
Toilet-roll slow feeder
A toilet-roll tube with holes cut along its side and kibble inside. Your cat bats it around and food drops out.
Toy rotation box
Keep most toys in a box and put out only a few at a time. Swapping them every few days makes old toys feel new.