# Can You Cat Do Tricks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298 "2010-07-02T12:55:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SevenOfTeemingMillions)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/41 "2010-07-03T09:12:40Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > My cat flees in terror if I so much as sneeze, is completely oblivious to my suffering (as evidenced by his delight in walking all over my boobs/crotch with his tiny sharp paws), and the greatest trick he can do is get the hell off the kitchen table when I give him a stern look. Was the cat adopted? If so, he might have been abused before. If not, it might just be a quirk in his personality. We once adopted a dog that would literally tremble in fear if someone’s shadow fell on him. Poor thing would cry out as if he was being beaten with a stick if we try to pet him. We guessed that he was beaten a lot before. But after a month of tender loving care, he became a happy, playful dog that loves being petted. > [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Are those critters really always plotting to outfox us? Sorry to be the one to tell you this, **Tethered Kite** , but cats are no longer plotting. They have already outfoxed us. We’re now serving them. Most of us just don’t realize it. If I don’t post on this board again, that means our cat masters have found the basement in the cave in the middle of the city where I’m hiding. It also means the tin foil hat do not work. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/42 "2010-07-03T14:29:11Z")
[QUOTE=SevenofTeemingMillions] Was the cat adopted? If so, he might have been abused before. If not, it might just be a quirk in his personality. We once adopted a dog that would literally tremble in fear if someone’s shadow fell on him. Poor thing would cry out as if he was being beaten with a stick if we try to pet him. We guessed that he was beaten a lot before. But after a month of tender loving care, he became a happy, playful dog that loves being petted. [/QUOTE] Yes, he was adopted in 2006. It’s complicated, but he belonged to a roommate of my friend. The roommate moved out, and because there was suspected abuse my friend insisted on keeping him. But he was with three other cats and two dogs and was the smallest, getting bullied a lot. She had to feed him by hand because the other animals would eat his food before he could get to it. It was time for him to find a new home. He loves being the ruler of the house, for sure. He was in my lap within a half hour of coming home. A very loving cat who insists on nonstop cuddling, but very skittish. I don’t know for sure if he was abused or not, but given his behavior at even the smallest noise or sudden movement, it wouldn’t surprise me. Your username, btw, is awesome. (Assuming a _Voyager_ reference.) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/43 "2010-07-03T19:04:21Z")
My fairly dumb cat Max has learned, over several weeks of coaxing to shake and sit up on command. It works because we had to stop giving him all dry food. Now the dry food is a treat. He’ll do anything for it. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/44 "2010-07-03T21:02:25Z")
Fatcat is famous for flushing the toilet, although that’s something he does on his own accord rather than on command. However, one term while still in university, I had to leave Fatcat behind at my parents’. My father taught him stupid pet tricks. He would “speak”, “beg”, and “dance”. The last being to stand on his hind legs and do a 360 turn, kind of like a cat pirouette. A housemate of mine later taught him “circle”, although he only ever figured out how to go counter-clockwise. Fatcat is now very old and in poor health. He ignores all commands now, but he does “beg” automatically as part of his dinner routine. ---
**Author:** ![Helena\_Handbasket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Helena\_Handbasket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena_Handbasket)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/45 "2010-07-03T21:16:51Z")
I used to have a cat who would come to the foot board of the bed, stand on his hind legs, hands resting on the foot board. When you says, “Give me some bucks!” or “Gimme five!” he’d slap you some skin. He’d do it over and over, 25 times or so. My other kitty could say “Mama!” My two current kitties can run to the food bowl and wait. \ ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/46 "2010-07-03T21:50:25Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > My cat flees in terror if I so much as sneeze, My two cats are very affectionate and one is at least half canine, but they both flee if I sneeze. I express my occasional displeasure with them by hissing and to a cat a human sneeze must sound like nothing so much as a giant forceful hiss. In fact they are both so attuned to it, that they will respond to the stereotypical sound of me drawing in my breath prior to the sneeze by preemptively scuttling from the room. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/47 "2010-07-04T21:10:13Z")
[http://www.metacafe.com/watch/476669/key\_west\_carnival\_with\_trained\_cats\_mallory\_square\_florida\_us/](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/476669/key_west_carnival_with_trained_cats_mallory_square_florida_us/) Of course cats can be trained. Dominique did a show on mallory Square for many years with trained strays. You people are pikers. My cat trains me. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/48 "2010-07-04T22:42:45Z")
Dewey fetches his stick. He won’t do it if the other, more aggressive cats are around, but if it’s just him and you he’ll do it for hours. We didn’t train him, he taught himself. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/49 "2010-07-04T23:21:27Z")
In my last apartment, my current cat liked to bring me one specific wiffle golf ball and have me throw it down the hall or down the stairs so she could bring it back. Alas, we no longer have the wiffle ball or the stairs. Sometimes, once in a great while, she wants to do it again and I throw another ball around for about five minutes, and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SevenOfTeemingMillions)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/50 "2010-07-05T07:47:43Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Your username, btw, is awesome. (Assuming a _Voyager_ reference.) Thank you. 🙂 SevenOfNine is my favorite character in Voyager. I’ve always believed that if the Borg knew that cats are the real rulers of Earth they would cancel their invasion plans. > [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > Fatcat is now very old and in poor health. He ignores all commands now, but he does “beg” automatically as part of his dinner routine. It’s possible that Fatcat is not ignoring you and that he’s become hard of hearing in his old age. My family had a dog that we thought had become ornery and disobedient in his old age. Turns out that he could no longer hear most human voices. If you pitch your voice high enough (and loud enough) he could hear you and obey. Our aching throats made us switch to using gestures with him. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/51 "2010-07-05T14:13:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Our cats do all kinds of tricks - there’s the meow at the sink for us to turn the water on trick, there’s the wave your paw at the coffee table to get us to open the door trick, there’s the sit by your dish until we come to fill it trick… Heh, you mean to say that your cat has trained you to do tricks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/52 "2010-07-05T15:02:16Z")
I have trained my cat to not be completely annoying 100% of the time. It is down to a mere 80% of the time at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/53 "2010-07-05T15:15:43Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > My two cats are very affectionate and one is at least half canine, but they both flee if I sneeze. I express my occasional displeasure with them by hissing and to a cat a human sneeze must sound like nothing so much as a giant forceful hiss. In fact they are both so attuned to it, that they will respond to the stereotypical sound of me drawing in my breath prior to the sneeze by preemptively scuttling from the room. I never thought of it that way. Although to be fair, my cat’s terror isn’t limited to sneezes. Pretty much if you stand up suddenly or wrinkle a piece of tinfoil too loudly or bang a pot or do anything that might in any way be conceived as an unexpected noise or movement, he’s gone like a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/54 "2010-07-05T15:38:56Z")
I trained my cat - Chaton - to jump on my shoulder. It became a problem when he started “attacking” visitors so I had to train them to keep away from him when he was on the side table, kneading his paws ready to jump. No treats, he liked being on my shoulder and I just kept moving further away until he had to jump. Granny Cat was a master at opening doors with loose round knobs, when we tightened the door knob she couldn’t do it and we had to loosen it again. Guests again would be unnerved by the door rattling, then opening like a ghost was coming in. She could also open the kitchen window latch and refused to use the cat flap resulting in an icy kitchen. She was long haired, and in her later years was unable to keep the knots out of her fur. When you picked up the comb she’d purr vigorously and jump on your lap. I don’t think she was trained to do any of these things, she was just a problem solver. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/55 "2010-07-05T16:49:29Z")
Merlin was in the habit of raiding my neighbour’s kitchen – once he placed a steak on my chest while I was sleeping, and the next day the neighbour mentioned in passing that he couldn’t find his dinner steak. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/56 "2010-07-05T16:54:16Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Heh, you mean to say that your cat has trained you to do tricks! 🙂 Oh, absolutely. You should see us jump to open the coffee table doors when she vaguely waves a paw at them. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/57 "2010-07-05T17:19:24Z")
We set up a bell so the dog could be trained to ring it when he needed to go out. The dog still won’t ring the bell, but my cat, [Raja](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h292/heraldgwena/DSCN0022.jpg), will. People love it when they see it. At first they think it was an accident, until they see him reach out with his paw and ring it. The only down side is that he will ring it at night (when we don’t let him out). He will sit there and meow when the door doesn’t open after he rings it. It hasn’t affected him using it during the day, though. He was almost potty trained, as well, but his sister cat, [Lucy](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h292/heraldgwena/Pets/DSCN1895.jpg), would have nothing to do with it. She won’t ring the bell either. I think some cats are just more trainable then others. BTW, I am shocked at the lack of adorable kitty pictures in this thread… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/58 "2010-07-05T21:51:51Z")
About half of our cats will come when called by name and ignore it when I call another cat’s name. This isn’t a big deal and doesn’t mean the cat grasps the meaning of names; they all probably think the whirring of a can opener is one of their names, too. But one of our cats, when I called another cat, would immediately look at that cat. I think that’s pretty unusually clever for a cat and am not so sure this cat couldn’t grasp the meaning of names. Not a trick exactly, but still pretty tricky. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/59 "2010-07-05T23:07:22Z")
> [@SevenOfTeemingMillions](#): > > It’s possible that Fatcat is not ignoring you and that he’s become hard of hearing in his old age. My family had a dog that we thought had become ornery and disobedient in his old age. Turns out that he could no longer hear most human voices. Oh, Fatcat still has exceptionally good hearing! He can hear the faintest, muffled crinkle of a Doritos bag up in the bedroom while sleeping under the basement couch. The mere whisper of the word “dinner” will bring him running with a squeeeeeeeeeeeal that not even Howard Dean could replicate. He just ignores us whenever we ask him to do something, unless he thinks the reward is even better than bacon. Since not much is better than bacon, cat-trick commands are just met with a :rolleyes: Edit: > [@heraldgwena](#): > > BTW, I am shocked at the lack of adorable kitty pictures in this thread… Sorry, [this is Fatcat not listening.](http://www.clzoll.com/vogue.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298/60 "2010-07-06T01:17:14Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > Edit:Sorry, [this is Fatcat not listening.](http://www.clzoll.com/vogue.jpg) Awwwwwwwwww. Thank you. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-cat-do-tricks/545298.md?page=4)