Do you love cats? Do you wish you had a stronger bond with your cat? Would you like to better understand your cat? Do you want your cat to be a star? See how trick training improves your relationship with your furry friend. In this class I, with the assistance of my two cats, Shinobi and Rygel, will show you how to teach your cat fun tricks. These tricks include high fives, play dead, roll over, etc. plus how to teach your cat to walk on a leash. In each class, there will be a demonstration of the desired behavior, a detailed step by step video on how to achieve the behavior, and then the explanation of why this works for your cat. Students will learn the principles of gentle animal training through positive reinforcement. We will discuss common problems that a trainer may encounter. We will also discuss habits of successful trainers. Students will learn patience and gentleness as they learn how to communicate with their cat.  Students who do not have a cat are welcome as well. Each week, after watching the posted video, students should submit a video outlining the steps of the trick. The video should be a minimum of 60 seconds, not to exceed 3 minutes. Please submit the video by Saturday 12:00 am. Students without a cat may use a stuffed animal or a family member with a sense of humor. I don’t expect the cat to perform the trick in one weeks time, I only expect the student to demonstrate their understanding of how to teach the trick. 
Students then will discuss and give feedback to each other on their demos. In giving feedback, Please find something positive about the video. It is not enough to say “Great job!” Please be specific! For example, “You went through all the steps to teach mittens in the correct order! I liked how you were calm and patient with mittens! Nice job!”  Remember, treat others as you would like to be treated. Please submit feedback to each other by 12:00 am Tuesday. 

*Note that each cat learns at a different speed, your cat will not learn a new trick each week, rather the student will learn how to teach a new trick each week. The student can then use their new skills to teach their cat at their own pace. Some cats will take a month or two to learn new tricks.