Hey folks,

I've seen LOADS of videos on youtube of bengal cats performing tricks. To me it looks like a lot of fun, and the cats seem to enjoy it as much as their owners. I wonder if this sort of training helps the cat learn to focus and behave well?!

Do any of you have experience with training your bengal cat to perform simple tricks/agility? If so, what is the best way to go about starting this?

ah yes - i have mastered the sit and the 'up up' (which is stand on back legs and reach for my hand with no claws) commands. Occasionally the paw command works (this is when they lift one paw up when they are sitting down)

I'm still working very hard on the get down, get off, leave commands - they ignore these. They often forget/or cant be bothered with the paw command too.

A lot of people have managed to train using a clicker - mine just wanted to play with it!

i started with the basic sit - and when they got it right lots of praise and a treat. You have to help them understand what sit is - by either a gentle push on their bottoms to make them sit or in my case that and doing a sit motion as well. Then for paw - I take their paw and whilst holding it give them a treat and praise. Gradually you can let go of the paw and they will hold it up.

Super :) I will try these. They don't seem to focus very well when they are both in the room. May have to get them on their own for this. Sounds fun. Thanks xx

My girl does training daily and part of her routeen.
These days I encourge my family to do sessions with her also for the bonding time.

I like to focus on useful ''tricks''/commands that I can use at other times, like on walks.
For eg. ''come here'' and ''come on''
The tone of the commands has to be consistant, for example my ''come here'' I use when I see a dog/stranger or something otherwise scary approaching and I want Cleo to come to me quickly and hide under me... I use a kinda urgent tone which began organically but now I stick with that tone for effect. My ''come on'' I use a very sweet encouraging tone to get Cleo to move along and follow me and reasure her that its safe ect.

Counters are a tricky thing to teach, as are cables and wires for some kittys.
My girl only jumps on the counter that we have given to her to own and only if she wants food or something... she spends more time up higher than the counters in her kitchen tree and shelves.
Cleo learned she is not allowed on the rest of the counters and when one of us is in there she gets very sheepish and nervous when over-urged to walk onto our counters (all connected) and a sharp look and a finger point to the floor is enough to remind her she shouldnt be on the human's counters.
HOWEVER, and im sure this true for many many cats, my girl has learned not to go on our counters -when we are there- cooking or washing up ect. When we are not (during the night for eg) im sure she does explore these surfaces so we have to keep them clear of anything toxic or sharp ect.

Clickers, I use a normal clicker and a pointer but alot depends on the kitty, for my girl she is somewhat of a expert at learning hand gestures so I have developed that and use the clicker alot less these days.

I reccomend training for intelligent breeds like Bengals as it is bonding time and a form of communication that both owner and kitty enjoy.
Off the top of my head (to share ideas) my girl has learned:
''sit''
''stand up''
''follow finger''
''speak''
''jump here'' (double tap surface)
''head-butt''
''high five''
^ all by gestures and no need for verbal commands anymore, unless she as forgotten one a bit and verbal command reminds her again.

and im working on,
''lay down'' (really hard one for Cleo)
''give paw'' (she does this but hard to gesture this AND take her paw)
I need to progress her ''give paw'' alot because I am unable to clip Cleo on my own.. I always have to enlist a helper and for the long term Id like to be able to do clipping with just myself.

I think training that involves getting kitty to jump up and down using different surfaces like shelves and tree is great because it doubles as an energy draining exercise which Bengals REALLY need lol.

Just know it takes a while for them to learn, so you need to have patients and continuously work with the kitty.

So excited to read about this! It's possible! I now need to set out a time in the day for cat training and stick to it. :) Thanks xx

I have been click training Rosie since she was 3 months old and she is getting better with each training session. I initially used a standard clicker but found an extendable target stick clicker which made it a lot easier to do certain things.

Rosie can now.

Give me her right paw then a present my right hand
Give me her left paw when I present my left hand
Give me a high five with left and right paws
Sit
Stand on her hind legs
Meow on command
Follow the target stick through her cat tunnel
Jump from one place to another
And jump in the air.

The trick to doing more complex actions is to build on the actions they already know. As an example to get rosie to jump into the air, I held the cat tunnel vertically over her head and every time she jumped up to escape I clicked. Now she hardly needs the cat tunnel at all to prompt her to jump.

She doesn't do these tricks for nothing though and if I run out of cat treats she generally refused to participate in training sessions.

One of my kittens greets me at the door when I come home with an upraised paw as if she is waving hello to me. She does it several times until I pick her up and praise her.

I've had a lot of luck training my girl. She used to be really "bitey", but through constant discipline and steady diet of training she responds well. I don't see her on the counters any more, and she knows darn well that if I ever catch her on the table she's going straight to the "kitty time out chamber" (the bathroom.) Do not pass go, do not collect 200$. It's worked rather well I'd say.

i'd love to teach to my girl how to play fetch...

I've taught several Burmese cats to "fetch" but not tried it with our Bengal. However, I spent two weeks walking (no leash) around the bottom perimeter of our property (about 2 acres) ~ we would do the same walk every morning first thing and then back in for "treats" ~ he never once strayed, enjoyed the praise throughout the walk. Then one morning I did not go with him, but he sat at the front door waiting for me...
the next morning he went off on his own and was back in in 45 minutes for his "treats" ~ now he can go in and out up until curfew time as much as he likes and we are inclined and he pretty much stays and plays within the boundary I set; including coming in from time to time for treats. Recently he comes in for most of the afternoon and lounges around with a one-trip-out in the evening. As soon as I call him he is at the door after 2-5 minutes, so obviously well within range.

I pretty much did the same kind of property perimeter training as I had always done with dogs and was surprised how quickly my Bengal cat learned; faster than a dog is my recollection.

My opinion is Bengal cats are very trainable to whatever you are dedicated to do ~ everyday ~ same time ~ same procedure ~ rinse and repeat!

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New to Bengal with Tai Chi
Burmese cats for 25 years
West Coast USA