Best cat training books according to redditors
We found 83 Reddit comments discussing the best cat training books. We ranked the 18 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 83 Reddit comments discussing the best cat training books. We ranked the 18 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I'm going to recommend this book to you and your soon-to-be-enormous monster kitty.
Bengals are smart cats. They're also big. And yours has thumbs. You are likely to be outsmarted by your cat on a daily basis, so I recommend training and playing with him every day until he is too tired to move.
Also, there's nothing quite like having a cat who will stand on his hind legs and give you kisses on command. Very rewarding, and you end up thinking "sure, my cat can be a right dick sometimes... but that's because he's amazing."
Enjoy the benefits of conversion, including purrs, happy kneading, head butts, all sorts of amusing forms of playing, etc. Cats make great pets, and kittens are literally "aww-inspiring" with their adorableness.
If you don't have a lot of cat experience and plan on keeping this kitty permanently, I'd recommend reading the book Think Like a Cat by Pam Johnson Bennett. It's comprehensive, easy-to-read, and gives you advice for pretty much every possible scenario--including learning how to keep your cat from waking you up at night.
My bff swears by this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-Cat-Not-ebook/dp/B005ERIIRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492975987&sr=8-1&keywords=Think+Like+a+Cat
Her cat was waking them up in the middle of the night for food, being a general pain in the ass, etc. She's now stopped. One thing they do is they play hunting games with her before bed and make sure to feed her a few treats so she gets that hunting instinct out of her system and feels fed.
What a little cutie! I have 2 cats, and this book has helped me immensely.
You may want to consider building an outdoor cat shelter. It's easy and fairly inexpensive. If you're looking to adopt this kitty, place an article of clothing belonging to you or your fiance in the shelter; this will help the kitty get used to you.
Best of luck, and keep the rest of us in the loop!
Good luck to you!
If your parents allow you to keep the cat I would highly encourage you to check out some resources on cat behavior and cat care, as many people new to cats don’t really know as much as they think they know.
Basic important information you need to know off the bat:
My recommendations for more info on cats:
It can be done. If you can train rats, you can train cats. I trained my rats to do some minor tricks by clicker training. You can get a clicker at petsmart or any other pet store for maybe a dollar or two. Here's a book on clicker training cats.
I have been clicker training my cats using the tips in this book. I'm sure there are better books out there but this one gives the basics.
Just make sure to be consistent. Cats, especially indoor cats, like having a job just like people do. My cats are much better behaved when we do our 10-20 minutes of training after I get back from work and 15 minutes of play before bed.
Also it took me forever to find a treat that one of my cats likes. I had to throw out like 6 or 7 open bags of treats because she only likes beef flavor. Just be patient and keep trying things until it works.
Also, I love that OP uses the hand gun as a signal for hands up.
Personally I would stay away from Scottish Folds, the "fold" in their ear is a deformity that has been breed into them and can be painful for the cat and lead to other health problems. Some countries are even considering banning the breeding of them because its cruel to the animal.
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It sounds like you are going to be getting the kitten from a breeder (its the only way to know for sure what breed of cat you are getting since they have papers, cats from a shelter are going to be considered domestic short or long hair since they don't have papers). Please make sure that you do your research on the breeder, you don't want to use a back yard breeder. Questions to ask; are the kittens/cattery registered with TICA, are the kittens raised under foot, what diseases and genetic conditions do you test for, what is the health warranty? A respectable breeder would never let a kitten go home before 14 weeks old, anyone that says the kitten can go home before that should not be trusted.
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If the kitten is going to be left alone for that amount of time expect it to get into everything and cause trouble while you are gone. The kitten can be left alone and end up fine but you have to leave it with a range of toys to play with and make sure that you are spending a lot of time with it when you are home.
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For litter, use Dr Elseys Ultra, it cost more but you will never have a problem with smell as long as you are cleaning it ever day. I use a simple litter box I got at the Dollar Store, you don't need anything fancy.
https://www.chewy.com/dr-elseys-precious-cat-ultra/dp/32362?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Dr.%20Elsey%27s&utm_campaign=hg
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Nails should be trimmed every two weeks or so, you can tell when they start to get really sharp again and need it. I hold my cat on my lap with her belly up and do one paw at a time. If she is fighting me I will wrap her in a blanket and remove one paw at a time. Make sure that you are getting your kitten used to her paws and nails being touched and it will make the process a lot easier as she gets older. When you are holding her just gently rub her paws every so often.
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Make sure you are brushing regularly, especially if you get a long hair breed like a Ragdoll, matts suck and are hard to remove.
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Items you will defiantly need, cat tree, scratching post, a horizontal cardboard scratch pad and a mix of toys.
This is a great scratching post, its large, hard to knock over and you can get the optional seat to attach to the top of it.
https://www.amazon.com/SmartCat-3832-Ultimate-Scratching-Post/dp/B000634MH8/ref=sr_1_16?keywords=cat+post&qid=1549895273&s=gateway&sr=8-16
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Dry food is horrible for cats, its like eating fast food for every meal. It causes dehydration, kidney and bladder problems, obesity and diabetes. Please feed the highest quality wet food that you can afford.
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Please make sure that you get the kitten nurtured and keep it inside at all times (unless you are going to train it to walk on a leash). Cats that are let outside have a dramatically lower life expectancy.
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Do not declaw, not only is it cruel but it causes a lot of behavior problems, you can teach the kitten to not scratch the furniture by using treats. When it is scratching something its not supposed to pick them up and place them by the post/scratch pad and use your fingers to show them what to do. When they use the post/pad give then a treat right away.
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For a first time cat owner I highly recommend reading this book, it goes over everything that you need to know.
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-Cat-Not/dp/0143119796/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+raise+a+well+adjusted+cat&qid=1549894696&s=gateway&sr=8-1
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Here are 2 great books
Kitten Taming: Train Your Cat's Inner Tiger
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592239862/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_WID-Bb01TKADC
The Cat Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on Lifetime Maintenance (Quirk Books)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1931686874/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6HD-BbGMPCX8G
Congratulations on your new kitten! I'm also a relatively new cat owner (about 8 months), but have learned there are plenty of things you can do to keep an indoor cat entertained.
A good place to start is looking into cat towers, climbers, and window perches – according to cat experts like Jackson Galaxy, cats build confidence by being able to traverse a room freely in their own spaces. Cat tunnels and even cardboard boxes can provide provide fun hiding spots if your cat is more of a "bush dweller." Cats are natural explorers, so try to picture your apartment or home from your cat's point of view (think both vertically and horizantally) and provide plenty of points of interest.
Examples: My cat loves watching the neighborhood from the window on this perch. You could even hang a bird feeder outside to provide extra stimulation. Mutlilevel cat towers and climbers also increase a cat's engagement with his envirnonment (you can also install DIY cat shelves).
It's important to play interactively with your new cat to bond, but make sure he has some toys to keep him occupied when you're not around as well. My cat loves this toy and there are plenty of other independent cat-puzzle toys out there. The more stimulated a cat is, the less behavioral issues you will have.
I hope this helps! I would reccomend that any new cat owner look into the TV show "My Cat From Hell" by Jackson Galaxy and/or read the book Think Like a Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennet.
Pam Johnson-Bennett has written several books about feline behavior. Most of them are for dealing with problematic behavior, but Think Like a Cat is her general care guide. I highly recommend her books; I've had cats all my life and her books are the best I've read.
While contrary to dogs, cats will feel more secure in small places. Put some of her things that has her scent on it. Like beds and litter box. And keep her in a small room, even a bathroom.
If you want to learn more detailed and advanced things about keep cats as pets, this book is pretty good: https://www.amazon.com/Trainable-Cat-Practical-Making-Happier/dp/0465050905
maybe take a look at https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-Cat-Not/dp/0143119796/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524653488&sr=8-3&keywords=pam+johnson-bennett+books
this book has solutions for all kinda kitty problems.
Get a cat feather toy and wear him out with it before you head to bed. Being a young kitten he has lot's of energy he needs to expel, and playing with him will help that, and calm him down so you can sleep at night.
Our kitty used to want to play and meow all night until we set him on a schedule, now everyday at around 5:00 or 6:00 P.M. He gets play time and afterwards dinner. Once dinner is done, he's ready to relax and groom then sleep.
Trust me just spending some time drawing out his energy and you'll have a much more content kitty.
P.S. all this info comes courtesy of Jackson Galaxy, the man is the cat whisper and I learned so much watching his show My Cat From hell. He also has a book called Total Cat Mojo
Make sure she's getting played with enough; she could just be bored. Cats are just like you in that they need plenty of mental stimulation. Unlike you, their whole world is your house so it's important to give them plenty of enrichment! My girl, Pixie, used to spend hours after we'd gone to bed pawing at thibgs and crying. We finally learned that she needs about 20 minutes of play leading up toward bedtime.
Cats most enjoy play that mimics a real life hunt, so I've always had success with Da Bird. When you swing it lightly over your head, it gently flutters like birds wings and cats go crazy for it.
You're right about reinforcing her behavior by responding to it at all. Positive or negative, any response reinforces her actions. You really need to grit your teeth through it all - No talking, no looking, no tossing things at her in frustration :D
I've recommended this book several times in the past because it really helped me a lot in understanding my cats' behavior and responding appropriately. It's an easy read and can be thumbed through just to check a relevant section.
Edit: If you adopted from a center, check with them to see if she seems friendly with other cats before bringing another into the mix. There are ways to provide enrichment without potentially compounding the problem. Just because she had kittens doesn't mean she'd automatically be open to a new "friend." Ask me how I know!
Oh no! This book has a ton of great tips to make your cat and new puppy be comfortable with each other. :)
There's a lot more out there now than there was when I started thinking about this stuff 15 years ago. Two books I found useful were this one and this one, both clicker-based. Karen Pryor, of dog clicker training fame, also has a book for cats, although I haven't read that one. Nowadays there are even YouTube channels devoted to cat training, and lots of good one-off videos for specific tricks too. I think I'd have used videos often if there'd been more of them at the time, because shaping does work somewhat differently than with dogs, and cats can be harder to read during training, so there is a bit of a learning curve.
For interactive play, I started out with just a laser pointer and basic "found toys," like dangling strings through holes cut into paper bags, or into boxes filled with crumpled paper. Eventually I discovered the Neko Flies rod toys, which you walk around swooshing in figure-8s through the air and above boxes, furniture, cat trees etc. I think they may be phasing these out now, which is unfortunate because they're a lot more durable than most toys of this type, and it's easy to change up which toy is on the rod, or to take a toy off the rod and run laps lashing it behind you for a change of pace.
It's all so basic really, and even then plenty of cats seem fine without any of it, but for me these things were key to shaking off my old (bad) habits of mind towards cats. I liked them, but I didn't really respect them, and a big part of that was that I'd never really experienced a mutually rewarding interaction with one beyond petting a purring cat when both I and the cat were in a good mood, which I assumed was all they were capable of.
The Kickeroo is stuffed with soft stuff, like cotton batting. My cats hate paper filling in such toys but love the Kickeroo. It's been my experience working with cats that this is basically the only Kicker toy worth buying. This is only helpful if she is a kicker, i.e. when she plays, if she lays on the ground and uses all four paws to kick/shred the toy/your arm. It's a natural instinct cats have to disembowel prey. But not every cat is a kicker, so not every cat will benefit from this.
Not every cat responds to catnip, so no biggie there.
It sounds like she's just too intelligent for her own good. Either there is some physical quality to the wand that is attracting her (can test this by either removing the string part or just holding the toy in your hand so essentially the toy is only a stick, then moving the stick on the ground like it's prey), or she has figured out toy -> string -> stick, so if you get the stick, you win. I'd recommend a wand toy with a longer string. Da Bird entertains 98% of cats in my experience. Also, the cat dancer is 100% worth the $3.50. It moves like a bug would. In my experience, 100% of cats under 5 respond to it. They might get bored after 5 minutes, but I'm usually bored after 5 minutes, too.
Your cat sounds like a really good candidate for clicker training. The idea with clicker training is twofold: one, you train her to do what you want her to do (be quieter, leave you alone when you are doing certain things); two, she gets a sense of intellectual fulfillment and satisfaction. Cats are designed to hunt prey. When they live in our homes all their lives, they never get to do what they were meant to do, so I think it's natural that they are frustrated at times. When you clicker train a cat, you are stimulating a part of their brain that makes them think. If they respond to certain stimuli, they get a reward. Even if you just do this 2-3 minutes a day, you should see improvements in her temperament.
I've used an assortment of free resources (there is a great Yahoo group for clicker training cats) to teach myself. There are also two books that are considered the gold standard for this: this and this. I haven't read them, but if you're looking for a quick way to start, I've heard good things about both. The clicker is important - you can also use an old jam lid (one with those pop up buttons) as long as it makes a distinct, regular, loud-enough sound. This is all based on psychological research, so don't skimp on that part.
Wish I could be of more help! Good luck.
I always recommend getting this book, you don’t have to read it cover to cover it has a great index for different topics and stages in life.
Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat--Not a Sour Puss https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143119796/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SBqxCb0QCT0KV
Shadow is probably very stressed out right now. Moving houses is a nightmare for cats because they depend on everything being the same from day to day. There are four things I would recommend looking into.
First is, if I'm understanding correctly, she has free access to the entire house, but only hisses in your bedroom? If that's the case, have there ever been any other cats or dogs kept in that bedroom? Could there be another cat's scent in there, maybe from a cat spraying or having litter box problems? A black light flashlight can help you find these spots on the carpet and walls if they're there, and then you can use an enzymatic cleaning product called Nature's Miracle to remove the scent. Remember, cats can smell things that we can't.
One of the pheremonal calming products people have been mentioning is Feliway. I think you could really benefit from a diffuser for your room. I know it says it's for scratching and urine marking, but it works for stress in general. It does also come in sprays which you can spray on certain things like cat carriers, furniture, etc. but supposedly it does need pretty frequent application, just so you know. Don't be discouraged if the diffuser doesn't seem to work right away. It can take a week or more but I've seen a definite improvement for my cats.
You might also want to pick up a book called Think Like a Cat, or something similar. There are so many things we as humans do that cats find threatening, startling, upsetting, etc. and we don't even know it. The truth is that she is hissing at you for a reason, whether it's the way you're approaching her, something she now associates with you, who knows. I bet you could figure it out with some insight from a good source.
One final thing that's pretty important. Cats who hiss, growl, or jump when touched sometimes are doing so because they're in pain. Pay attention to how exactly she's reacting to you. Especially since you say she has a heart problem, it's possible that she is physically uncomfortable. You may want to explain what's happening to your vet and see if they can find a physical cause.
And of course... a little sprinkling of fairy dust for luck ;)
Solid advice above. When kittens do something mama cats don’t like they pick them up and remove them from the situation and physically put them elsewhere. You can do similar by immediately re-directing the unwanted behavior with wanted behavior. Is going to mean having some cat toys stashed all over the place for redirection to correct play at any moments notice.
Cats also do well with their natural rhythm discussed by Jackson Galaxy as hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, and sleep. Plugging into this natural rhythm of their’s seems to really solve a lot of cat behavior problems.
He has solved so many unbearable situations with cats and has studied their behavior for a very long time. You will learn so much insight and why you are doing certain things to change certain behaviors it is well worth the less than $12 and the time you will spend reading it. Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143131613/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WRCHCbTMQSY5F
Cats do super well with positive reinforcement. I took my cats favorite treat which is freeze dried salmon bites and only allowed her to have those when she did positive steps towards learning to use her new cat wheel. It may have been that she simply walked up to the wheel and took a treat off of it. But within four days that cat was on the wheel running by herself with my encouraging her with a little piece of salmon. For a while the silly girl would jump on it every time I went by the wheel, ran a few steps, and then sat waiting patiently for her treat which I continued to give to her but now she only gets them sporadically because let’s face it she couldn’t possibly run off that much salmon and I couldn’t afford to keep going at that rate with it LOL. Please note that there was a great deal of verbal praise lavished upon her every time she performed positively. Many time she is just happy to be praised still when she gets on her wheel as opposed to the edible treat. The point is it didn’t take much to completely ingrain that into her behavior. She also uses the wheel completely on her own for her enjoyment and getting her cat zoomies worked out. Even the manufacturer of the wheel said to allow your pet at least 60 days to become accustomed to the wheel and begin using it. It is common to see Bengals and other high energy cats on the wheel but mine is a beautiful tabby colored domestic medium hair born into a feral litter who I fostered when they were four weeks old from the local shelter.
Cats have a natural cycle that isn't often encouraged when they live indoors:
If you play with your kitty 10-30 minutes before you feed her at night (right before you go to bed), she's more likely to spend a good amount of time grooming and then settle down to sleep. This can help keep her from waking you up in the mornings.
Every time you feed her before you're ready to get up, you're telling her that her actions give the desired response, and she should keep doing what she's doing.
While the vacuum method can be effective, it can also be highly disruptive to everyone in the household and may cause anxiety and stress in your cat, causing her to act out in other ways.
She will learn the hard way after your surgery that waking you up doesn't feed her, but you'll also need to make sure that you're not waking your sister up to feed her to get her to leave you alone. It may take an entire month for kitty to catch on.
This book is excellent for learning cat behavior, and ways to deal with problems like yours.
Good luck!
My kitten is 8 months old, and I move her constantly (partially out of necessity, partially to train her into it). I got her at 4 months, she spent a week at my apartment, and then I went to see my family for the holidays. My parents are divorced so I was shuffling between two houses the entire time. She was so young that this was not stressful at the time, and now she is used to it. I think she also sees her carrier as "home". This weekend I took her to my SO's new apartment, she spent maybe half an hour investigating everything and then settled in and started treating it like her home (still very curious though).
A couple of side notes:
I agree with others' advice about getting a kitten. Normally I'd say get an older cat as a student, they are less time-consuming and expensive, but if you have the resources get a kitten for sure. You will be able to train your cat so they are comfortable with your lifestyle. I also highly recommend Think Like a Cat, I read through it before picking up my kitten and it helped me with strategies for training her. I have owned cats before, but she is my first baby.
We just recently took in a new kitten (Turbo) who is a couple of weeks older than yours. We were initially having very similar problems with constant biting.
The good news? It seems to be totally normal. From what I’ve read, there’s a ton of developmental stuff that happens between 7 to 12 weeks of age—specifically regarding kittens learning a restrained bite from play-fighting with their litter mates. Unfortunately our little balls of teeth and fury didn’t get those experiences, and thus are working through that phase on our hands, arms, and legs.
The bad news? It’s going to take a lot of patience and consistency from you and your family over the next few weeks, but this behavior can (and absolutely must) be trained out of them. Here’s what we’ve been doing that seems to be working thus far:
If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book Think Like a Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett. When we got our first cat, it helped me understand so much about their behavior and how to communicate effectively. I highly recommend it!
Good luck!
Amazon
I recommend reading "Think Like a Cat" as this will fill you in with all your questions and continue to be a great reference down the line. Also check out littlebigcat.com and Jackson Galaxy's youtube channel, as well as some episodes of My Cat From Hell (many are available online) to get more insight into cat behavior. In short though, some highlights:
Good luck to you and your new kitty friend!
Is this for real? If yes, then total cat mojo.
You should read The Trainable Cat
A lot of the problems you’re describing can be corrected using the methods in this book. People make the mistake of thinking they can deal with cats the same way they deal with dogs, and then get mad when they don’t listen like it’s the cat’s fault. But it’s not. Cats have a lot more wild in them than dogs do, and need to be handled much differently. If you can implement the information in the book I linked, you may be surprised at how different your cat’s behavior becomes. If you just want someone to blindly obey you and love you with no work put forth on your end, then by all means stick to dogs.
It's been 2 years, and you have been very patient! Only a bit more to go!
Dealing with cats is as much of a skill as drawing, for example. You can look at people who have been drawing for years and think "I keep seeing people working miracles with a pencil on paper and here I am, barely able to draw a straight line". But that's not constructive, anyone can learn to draw. Talent is a part of it, but only a small one. The rest is learning and practice.
I have been reading a ton on cat behavior over the past few years. The first cat I had (when I was 6) was really mean, he would scratch me and bite me, and barely let me pet him, and I didn't understand what was going on, and my parents made me give him away. I always wanted a cat though, and wanted to understand what happened. My current cat also came with some behavior issues, but surprisingly, all this learning paid off. He is the sweetest cat and I am clicker training him to sit and give kissies. I still have much to learn, and I am trying to share what I've learned with other people in the meanwhile.
I found Pam Johnson-Bennett's books to be great. I found "Think Like a Cat" in particular to really help me understand cats. I also found My Cat From Hell to be an interesting series, and it helps in seeing interaction directly, although be aware that Jackson Galaxy is not a certified behaviorist as far as I know, and he believes in homeopathic medicine woo, so take everything he says with a grain of salt.
2 very expensive books:
Canine and Feline Behavior and Training: A Complete Guide to Understanding our Two Best Friends
Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats
Brief reviews of some other cat behavior books:
http://www.infopet.co.uk/pages/2023.html
this is a book
> Cat Training in 10 Minutes
Disappointed that this is a book, not a 10 minute video.
http://www.amazon.com/Training-Minutes-Miriam-Fields-Babineau/dp/0793805309
Angry Swearing Cats! Cause swearing.
And cats.
Yeah controls are super important. I know that study didn't "need" them for what they were looking into, but it'd be good info for consumers to have context against Purina, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Eagle Pack, etc.
I know, the stigma against this is unreal. Even in the /r/vegan sub people refuse to even consider it's a possibility, so I appreciate your open mindedness.
Here are some more brands and more.
Have you heard of Dr Andrew Knight? Here's his website, some videos, and an article he wrote. How about Pitcairn?
I agree that buying from a small supplier is scary due to potentially reduced knowledge, scale, and testing ability, but just because they're small doesn't inherently mean it's impossible for one of them to get it right. Some of those brands are also pretty large, and may offer a vegan option in addition to a more mainstream lineup.
My adopted Bengal, Pearl, did it without training when I first brought her home (she was 1). She would drop the toy at a little distance from me and unfortunately, I tried to train her to bring it closer. Instead, I somehow extinguished the behavior completely, as she decided that "closer" really meant "drop it." Now, I'm working on it again, starting with praising her a lot every time she just picks up the toy when I throw it. Otherwise, she'll pounce and run toward the toy, but not always even pick it up. I really think it's a lot of fun for her watching me run back and forth and get down on my knees to get it myself each time I throw it! But there have been a few times when she brings it right back, and they seem a little more frequent, so that's progress.
I'm not really a trainer, but according to the little I've read, giving praise as I do for even the tiniest movement toward the end goal is how to do it. And then once the minimal behavior is established, then you can up the ante and only praise when she takes it a little bit further toward the end goa I should add that when I first got her I always praised her heavily when I fed her or when she was enjoying being petted. Now, just praise alone is a great treat for her, which I think will help motivate her during future fetch training.
I haven't finished reading it, but The Trainable Cat seems like a great book with lots of ideas and tips, and background understanding so you know better how your cat sees the world.
Is this the book? Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143131613/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.InSDb2QV9EYS
Since they already have the cat (kitten?) I would highly recommend the book Think Like a Cat. People think cats can't be trained, BUT THEY CAN. They should never scratch your furniture (scratching posts/ mats should be in every room) or go outside their box (it has to be cleaned twice a day, two boxes is always a good idea). Also, active play everyday is crucial. No playtime = they will fuck you up! Watching "My Cat From Hell" on youtube might help as well. Good luck!
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-Cat--Not/dp/0143119796/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468512743&sr=8-2&keywords=Cat+training
This book has great reviews
These two are general guides on cats. Both are very good:
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-Cat--Not/dp/0143119796
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014200281X
This is a book on clicker training, I haven't tried the techniques, but the book seems good:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890948144
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trainable-Cat-Practical-Making-Happier/dp/0465050905 is a good place to start.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Cat-Behaviour-Roger-Tabor/dp/0715315897
The good news is that this sounds liike one of the most fixable problems ever.
I think you should read http://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-ebook/dp/B005ERIIRQ/ref=la_B001H6NUGW_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381275035&sr=1-1, as I feel it will give a good framework for solving this issue.
BUT, off that bat, and having read that, my advice is to try free-feeding (having a couple bowls of food/water available open all the time).
EDIT: it sounds like the kitty is hungry
I’m getting two kittens this fall and someone recommended this book
Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat
I haven’t read it yet, but it has great reviews!
Let me recommend a good book.
It's called THINK LIKE A CAT.
I don't agree with everything the author says, but mostly she gives a lot of good practical advice.
Best practice is to let the new wee-one be in a small space in quarantine for a few days until they get used to their new home. How realistic that desire/expectation is...varies. My MC is a precocious little mess...and wanted to go out and explore in less than 12 hours. Especially once he knew there was another cat to be friends with.
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All cats/kittens have personalities. Sure they'll grow/change a bit--but you can't cause a life-change. If you haven't read the Way of Cats, I'd highly recommend it:
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https://www.amazon.com/Way-Cats-their-instincts-understand/dp/099803570X/
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Same woman has a website/blog which the book is compiled from...although these days most of the content is payware.