Houma woman’s business has gone to the dogs… and cats

You’re teaching your pet to sit. Within 10 minutes, and four or five treats, your pet now sits on command. The next day it’s time to teach it to “stay.” Five treats later, the animal sits, without a movement …that is, until you teach it the “come” command.

Within a matter of days, Oscar has perfected the commands and is an obedient feline.

Feline? A cat? Trained to take commands?

Although most pet owners would probably be shocked to hear it, experts say there is little difference between cats and dogs.

“As far as broad generalizations, cats and dogs are equal when it comes to the amount of time it takes to learn commands,” says Martha Anthony, that rare person who teaches owners to train their cats.

Anthony, from Houma, helps pet owners train their cats to be obedient, along with teaching basic commands. She conducts in-home sessions, as well as classes.

Anthony stresses to her human students that the most important aspect of teaching a cat is establishing yourself as its leader. Otherwise, when you call your cat to come sit on your lap, you’ll likely get nothing more than a blank stare. If you even get that.

For this reason, she came up with the “Follow the Leader” method in order to become a “benevolent leader and gentle guardian to your pet.”

“Soon after I started dog-behavior training, people started asking what I knew about cats,” Anthony recalls. “I read a cat encyclopedia and it mentioned that cats have colonies, and when I read that statement it all clicked that they do have a chain of command in the cat order also. People think cats are loners, but they still need leadership.”

There is a leader in the cat’s colony. And within a human household, the cat is incapable of effectively taking the leadership role, she says. It is the job of the human to lead the cat—not for the cat to lead the human.

“Pets cannot lead a human household,” she says. “Then again they try their best.”

Which is why a cat may jump on a bed at inopportune times. Or onto furniture that has been declared on numerous occasions as “off limits!”

And therein lies the problem. The cat is being treated as if it is a human—a young child. It is a mistake to correct a cat as you would a child. If you find yourself correcting the cat …

“Stop it now, Oscar! If I catch you on the sofa one more time …”

… then you are going about cat obedience the wrong way.

“We treat them like humans, and they don’t know how to be human,” Anthony says. “Would you like to be treated as a cat? Our cats really don’t like to be treated like humans. It is stressful on both the human and the cat.”

Anthony says that the stress for both sides disappears once the human(s) in the household establish leadership over the cat. Otherwise, the cat will feel that it has to be leader, thus leading to the unwanted behaviors.

Jumping in beds. Digging at the carpet. Chewing on furniture. Begging for table scraps. Pestering people as they enter the house. Clawing the furniture or, worse, clawing the neighbor.

Does your pet display this behavior? If so, it is likely the leader of the “colony” within the household. “When you’ve established leadership, you can correct the behavior and fix it,” Anthony says.

And how exactly are humans supposed to establish this leadership role?

Anthony has formulated six steps that can help the owner to establish leadership of the “colony.”

She says that it is vital that the leader enters and exits all rooms first. If the cat enters a room first? “Pick it up, bring it out of the room, and make sure you get the first step into that room.

Anthony recalls the experience that confirmed this idea of entering the room first. It involved her dog, Pepper. As they were walking inside from a day in the yard, Pepper placed his paw in the doorway. Anthony followed by putting her foot on the doorway. Anthony recalls that when her husband placed his foot into the doorway, Pepper stepped back outside, allowing him to enter the room first. Her husband had established leadership over Pepper, and Martha had not.

Just as in regular cat colonies it is important for the leader to eat first. It is okay to pretend to eat your pet’s food, before putting it down for the him to eat—it may look funny, but may also be the difference between becoming the leader or not.

Anthony stresses the importance for the leader to have attitude. And here is the simple advice for the pet owner. Think cat. Think dog. Just don’t be so quick to think like a human.

“The leader does not greet the pack,” says Anthony. “When you greet her, you’re telling her that she’s in control. We think human. They only know how to think cat.”

Anthony adds that the leader should be in the “driver’s seat,” that is, always in control and consistent with actions and commands. Anthony says that with the owner’s permission, it is okay for the cat to get on the furniture—but it is critical to be consistent with that message. Either allow it or don’t allow it.

“You must be consistent in your actions and commands so as to not confuse your pet. They love repetition,” and consistency and structure.

Anthony adds that the leader is consistent for the life of the pet.

The final two steps: Receiving eye contact from your cats, and knowing that you are right in your actions.

“When you start getting eye contact from your cats, then you will know you’re the leader,” says Anthony. “You want to display confidence, because our pets sense our feelings. When you display confidence, they sense that.”

So how does this newfound leadership affect yourself and your cat?

“If you don’t approve of anything your pet is doing, you can now correct that,” Anthony says. Unwanted behaviors such as jumping, biting and nipping, digging, begging, attacking and meowing (or barking) excessively can be corrected.

The leadership role also makes it easier on the pet owner to teach commands such as sit, down, stay and come. “It’s very easy for them to learn commands,” Anthony says. “Especially if they’re treat motivated.”

Who knew cats could be trained the same way as dogs? While the popular belief of cats being an independent, loner and unteachable pet may not be displaced anytime soon, it is comforting to know they are also a lot like the supposedly more teachable dog.

So, who said you couldn’t teach an old cat, or a young one for that matter, new tricks?

Matt LeBlanc can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or matt@tri-parishtimes.com.

Martha Anthony: Animal Trainer

Owner: Martha Anthony

Phone: (985) 226-6458

Website: www.felinecaninecoach.com

Services: Martha Anthony provides help in training both cats and dogs. Anthony offers in-home training, classes, phone consultations and presentations. Prices vary based various factors.

Staff Photo by Matt LeBlanc • Tri-Parish Times/ Martha Anthony sits with her dog, Pepper. Anthony helps local pet owners to train their pets n both dogs and cats n using a method of establishing leadership over the pet.