If you have rescued a cat or received one as a present, the struggle of becoming a cat owner and training your cats is as much of a pain as it is a joy. Owning a cat gives you a total amount of joy and companionship with an animal attuned to your emotional state. Once you have tamed your cat, they can become one of your most empathetic companions resulting in a fruitful bond.
Cats make for amazing pets because of how low maintenance they are. They can be kept comfortably in a tiny apartment as much as in a big house. Not only do they give you lesser maintenance costs than dogs, but they can easily adjust to cramped apartments and the fast-paced city life. That means that they don’t need tons of space to play around, and they don’t need to be given a walk regularly.
How to Tame Different Types of Cats
You don’t need to be present around them constantly to entertain them; they are perfectly capable of keeping themselves occupied. Not to mention they can keep your house pest-free as well.
Hence, we’re here to help you get closer to your furry companion by learning how to tame different types of cats.
How to Tame a Stray and Semi-feral Cat
Taming a stray cat or a semi-feral cat is quite similar because they are wary of you as a human on the off chance that you might harm them. A feral cat was born in the wild and has never interacted with humans so much. Whereas a stray cat is one that once upon a time used to have some human companion.
The only way to actually gain their trust is through their stomach. Here is what you’ll need to tame a stray cat
- Bowl of freshwater
- Canned/ dry cat food or a can of tuna
- A cardboard box or anything else in which a cat can go to sleep
- Cat toy
Step 1
The first thing you need to do when you see a stray or a feral cat is giving them some food, such as canned or dry cat food. If you have never owned a cat, then you can also dish out a can of tuna or some form of raw meat for cats to feed on. Feral and stray cats are usually not trusting humans, but they will not refuse a healthy helping of food laid out in front of them. After that, please don’t stay in their sight; otherwise, they will not eat their food. Also, place a bowl of freshwater with the food and repeat this step for a few days.
Step 2
By placing food and water for them, you make them trust you for sustenance, and they will keep coming back to you for more. Let the cat make the first move, start showing yourself during their mealtimes, and get a cat toy that you can use to distract them and get closer to you for a one-on-one bonding time.
Step 3
Once the cat is familiar with you, you can start building their bed or place where they would sleep in. Alternatively, you can leave some part of your garage door open or take a cardboard box and place cloth so that your cat can use that to protect themselves from cold weather and to safely sleep in it.
Step 4
Once your cat is trained for its meal times and knows where to sleep, it is time you litter train them and familiarize them with a scratch post. We’d recommend that since it’s a stray or a feral cat that you use a box or pot filled with sand or dust and keep it outside your home so that your cat knows that this is where they need to answer Nature’s call. You can either use an artificial woolen mat for the scratch post to let the cats scratch their paws.
But this is not where it ends because there also Persian, Ragdoll, and Siamese cats that are usually indoor pets that must be kept inside your homes.
How to Tame Indoor Cats
Indoor cats are more receptive to human touch and human presence than stray or feral cats. However, when you bring them over to your house, they may be hiding behind your sofas, under the table, or the bed. But don’t worry about that. Indoor cats behave very much like humans do when they feel they might be harmed. However, taming them is a very simple process. You will need all of the things outlined for taming stray and feral cats with the addition of a few more items such as:
- Litter box
- Cat Litter
- Scratch Post
- Cat Tunnel Bed
Step 1
Use the same approach that is outlined for stray and feral cats by giving them food and water. Once the cats start feeling safer during their mealtimes, then you can start interacting with them.
Step 2
Make your home more cat-friendly by having a scratch post for them, a tunnel bed, litter box with cat litter. This will allow them to roam around your house more safely. For litter training, make them sit on the litter box every 15 minutes to become familiar with the place where they are supposed to answer Nature’s call.
Step 3
The most important step is to train them with a cat whistle or make specific sounds that will condition them to come to you for food or playtime.
Our Final Thoughts
Cats are very loving and independent companions making you fall in love with them. Taming cats should be done exactly like how you would train a child. They are intelligent creatures, and they can easily condition themselves according to your house and the rules you silently lay out for them.
