Aside from the stuff they sell in stores, what are good things to give cats for snacks and treats, and as rewards for doing something right when trying to train them (I know, "training cats" is an oxymoron!). I'm looking for something that most people already have around that they will like and also will be good for them. For example, I was wondering if they should eat crackers and stuff like that.
My cats liked cheese when they were kittens but seem to have lost their taste for it now that they are grown. A couple of them like cooked chicken. One has an affinity for sweets and loves minature marshmallows.
As far as training them goes check this out. Two of my three musketeers (all from the same litter) will chase a small, thrown object and bring it back to me. They especially like the fuzzy little balls that come in packages of catnip and milk or water jug rings. I did not teach them per se, they just learned it on their own. Chip will actually bring a ball or ring and drop it next to me and meow at me to throw it for him. I will lose interest in playing fetch long before he does. Stinky plays fetch too but he won't always bring it back to me. Chip will all but place it in my hand if I hold it out. He has learned that I will not fetch it for him and will stop throwing it if he does not bring it all the way back to me. I never would have suspected that a cat would play fetch but they do!
<font color="blue"> what are good things to give cats for snacks and treats, and as rewards for doing something right when trying to train them </font color>
Our late cat loved cheese, tunafish, and ice cream.
However, other than getting her to come when you called "cheese", or "tuna", or "ice cream", there didn't seem to be much trainabilty there [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
My cats seem to like what ever I am having for dinner. Three farm cats and the "Yellow Kitty" all line up like they are going to be fed.
Of course they are...
The only way I can get my cats to do anything is when I call "Hunting Tigers" and then feed them. They usually come in for dinner, but it's certainly not a done deal!
This is an older thread, but I found it interesting that we both have cats named Stinky and they both play fetch!
My Stinky has acquired a taste for whatever lunch meat I happen to be using to make my sandwich in the mornings. He'll even try to stretch and reach on top of the counter to get it.
Do either of your cats have a color preference on the jug rings? When I had mine, she would fetch the red rings, but not the green or blue ones. She wasn't much on packaged treats, but would stand on her hind feet and dance for ham or a blade of grass from outside.
You know, SHF, I never noticed if they had a color preference or not. I am thinking now that maybe blue is Chip's favorite. He is the real fetcher of them all. If there is not a blue bottle ring in bed when I go to bed I can usually count on finding one in it when I get up! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
GSS: Our Stinky was originally named Slinky because he was long and lanky as a kitten and reminded us of a Slinky (the toy) but he is such a stinker that we had to change his name to reflect his personality!
I have had many, many cats in my life but my three musketeers are the most unique and most loved of them all. It seems odd to me that none of them care for canned cat food but they don't. They do enjoy moist cat treats like Whisker Lickin's or something similar. All I have to do is rattle the package and they come running from all corners of the house. I have trained them to take the treats from my hand and apparently did too good of a job training them because they lose interest after only a couple of treats if I do not hand feed them. Rotten outfits! Gotta love 'em! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Stinky has a good story behind his name. He and his brother were originally named Bo and Luke (Dukes of Hazzard), because he had blonde hair and the other had dark brown hair. Well, Luke got hit by a car when still a kitten. We couldn't have Bo without Luke, so we changed his name. Stinky seemed appropriate b/c he always seemed to have gas. It turns out that he probably had gas, because we were feeding him adult catfood! Stinky just stuck since though.
I'm kind of surprised that yours likes blue. I figured maybe cats are color blind in certain parts of the spectrum, like blue/green, which was why mine liked red and orange so well. Maybe MY cat was just color blind in that area, and other cats can see the blue/green okay. No body knows but the cats, and they aren't talking.
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