Animals don't need to know right and wrong when they can be conditioned to associate undesirable behavior with discomfort. They then avoid the behavior to avoid the discomfort. Same principle applies to children.
This post was edited by O-uknow at December 23, 2017 2:30 PM MST
I beg to differ insofar as the same principle should NOT be applied to children. You are installing a conditioned response, Not teaching about moral principles.
CBT - cognitive behavioural training - works with all species including worms and snails.
The trick is to match the deterant to a naturally instinctive behaviour linked to natural drives.
I say "no" a split second before gently pushing the cat off the table when we are serving food. She now knows not to jump on the table when serving or eating. In this instance, pushing her off (Classical Conditioning) is natural because it is what a mother cat would do when not sharing her food with older kittens to encourage them to respect her dominance in the pecking order. The sound "no"(Secondary Conditioning) becomes associated with the action that instantly follows it and thus works as a warning. Once learned, the cat will accept the "no" and turn away without needing to be pushed off. Eventually it will recognise the situation (also Secondary Conditioning) and not even try.
Training for carnivores and omnivores is different from training herbivores (eg horses) because their primal drives operate differently, but the principles remain the same.
The key to an effective stimulus is "as little as possible but as much as necessary."
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at December 23, 2017 7:34 PM MST
I suggest reading Hartfire and taking this idea into consideration. My suggestion was a simplified version. Hopefully you have a relationship with you cat. They enjoy your company and you enjoy theirs. Wanting to please one another is a basis where you can set the boundaries. With this in mind, the term "No" and voice flexuation does work with cats. Please remember to use their name first before saying "No." Don't just throw an arbitrary "No" out there and expect your cat to know you are talking to her/him. As much as we joke about cats owning us and having us as their pets, you are still bigger! Big winks and smiles. Good Luck!
I agree with Merlin, especially in complex households with kids and other pets. My cat, Suri, knows when we are speaking to her because we look at her as we speak to her. Cats do learn their names if repeated in context often enough, and they can learn several other words like "food" and "out?" Single syllables work best. Tone of voice makes a huge difference as they read emotion with accuracy. Cats also attempt to communicate with us with their voices and gestures. If we are sensitive to context we can learn what they mean. Suri has one cry which she only uses after catching a mouse - it sounds triumphant, as if saying proudly, "come and see what I caught!" A light mewl says "hello! welcome home! come and greet me!" She uses a gentle swipe to initiate playtime, nuzzles and purrs to get affection, kneads me like bread dough to turn me into a mattress, and has an escalating arsenal of tactics when she wants breakfast or dinner.
my2cents 