7 Proven Steps to Get Your Cat to Respond When You Call Their Name

1. In a calm, quiet area with no distractions, stand up with your cat freely in front of you and have a small pot of their food by your side – remember when using food for training, adjust their regular food intake accordingly to avoid overfeeding.

2. Say your cat’s name and, if they look at you, say ‘yes’ in a positive, happy voice and quickly give them a bit of food (ideally within two seconds of them looking at you).

3. If they break their gaze, repeat step two again to further reinforce that positive association with their name.

4. If your first training session has been successful, repeat steps one to three in a series of short sessions (ideally no more than three minutes long) over the next few days. Try not to use your cat’s name outside of these training sessions as it could confuse them.

5. Once your cat has got the hang of it, repeat the training sessions but stand further away from them or do it sitting down instead. This will help them to learn to respond to their name in other contexts too. Make sure these changes are gradual as they could get distracted by a sudden change.

6. When your cat is reliably responding to you in every training session, you can then start varying the reward you give them. Try offering a toy, access to the garden, or a stroke (if they enjoy this) instead to reduce the reliance on tasty treats.

7. Finally, you can start adjusting how often you give them a reward, reducing it to every other time and then every third time they successfully respond to their name. Just make sure you don’t suddenly stop the rewards altogether, as they will stop responding too!

This may sound simple, but not all cats will respond straight away, and some won’t get it at all.

If your cat is struggling then remember it’s not their fault. It may be that they do not understand what you are trying to communicate or are not interested in the reward you’re offering, so try to make it easier and more exciting for them. It’s important to be patient and resist the urge to say their name louder, as this could scare them.

If you find that you or your cat are getting frustrated, simply take a break and try again another time.

Have you managed to successfully train your cat to come to their name? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

If you have any problems training your cat, take a look at our cat behaviour advice or contact a qualified behaviourist.