Here is an adorable challenge from Travis’s Highlights magazine: Can you teach your cat a trick? Travis was gamely up for trying, and although we didn’t exactly succeed, our cat was an eager participant! It was a great way to engage my son with our companion animal in a new way – cat and boy both enjoyed it!
The goal was to teach our cat, Krishna, to high-five with his paw touching our hand.
Hold a cat treat in your right hand.
Hold your left hand up just slightly above the cat’s head, as if you’re waiting for a high-five. Now hover the hand with the treat in front of that. The cat will (hopefully) paw for the treat.
We gave praise, and then tried again, over the course of a few days!
Okay, so we never got a paw to palm, since Krishna wanted to go in each time with his nose. But it was fun to have his nose nuzzle up to the palm.
In sum, what great inter-species play! Has your child ever taught the family dog or cat a trick? Please share in the comments.
joyful parenting 