I’d like to introduce you to two of my own pets, Rena (the mutt) and Rupert (the buff cat). When this video was taken, I had adopted Rena about a year earlier. She was about 7. We had been trying to teach her to sit or shake paw or do ANYTHING for months and months and were getting nowhere. So I thought we would have a little lesson with Rupert, who is 2 in the video.
I trained my cat Rupert to sit, shake paw, high five and beg using clicker training when he was less than a year old. He is learning speak as well. He caught on very quickly, because as you can see he is very eager to do anything for a treat.
I am happy to report that a few months after this video was shot, something clicked for Rena. She learned sit quickest, and after months and months of trying to teach her to shake, she is now a master at that. She can also high five, stay, crate, and ring a bell to go potty. I am so happy she is now loving life, as I rescued her just before she was to be put down at a shelter where she was suffering with Heartworm, her teeth worn down likely from being left in a cage by her previous owners. She is now happy and healthy, AND this video has been picked up by some television shows on Animal Planet and in Japan, so she is famous! I hope one day her previous owner recognizes her and realizes what they lost.