• Mon - Fri: 8:30am - 5:30pm Saturday: 8:30am - 1:00pm
  • (02) 6251 1444
  • ccv@canberracatvet.com.au
Main LogoMain LogoMobile LogoMain Logo
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Is my cat sick?
  • Visiting Us?
  • Services
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Purr-fect Links
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Is my cat sick?
  • Visiting Us?
  • Services
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Purr-fect Links
cat with bow tie on
The sense of smell
October 27, 2017
November Canberra Cat Vet eNews
November 2, 2017
Show all

How do cats learn?

Published by Kate King at November 2, 2017

 

Dr Georgia told us at the info night that like us cats are learning all the time.  We often modify our behaviour based on the positive or negative feedback we receive. Cats are the same.

We are also training them all the time.  They take their cues from us – how cats act in the wild or as ferals is different to how they act with us because of the positive and negative feedback we give them.

A common example of how you might inadvertently teach bad behaviour is when you are working on your computer and your cat walks past. She sees where your attention is and jumps up on your lap and walks across the keyboard.  If you pick up her up and give her a scratch and hug before putting her back on the ground you have just trained your cat to interrupt you on your computer. You have rewarded her with love and attention!

To stop a cat disturbing you while you are on your computer do not interact with her. Ignore her. If she jumps up,  pick her up and put her on the ground without talking, make eye contact or giving any positive attention at all.

So how do cats learn?

The simplest type of learning is habituation.  Cats learn to ignore parts of their environment that have no special consequence for them. For example, a telephone ringing.

The opposite of habituation is sensitisation.  Repeated exposure to an event leads to an increased reaction or sensitivity.  If objects like nail trimmers, brushes or an asthma puffer are not introduced gradually and sensitively our cats learn to dislike them very quickly!

When we are aware of other more complex learning processes like classical and operant conditioning we can use them to make life easier for our cats and ourselves.

Classical conditioning occurs when a cat finds that a specific event reliably predicts that something else is about to happen.  The most notorious example of this is Pavlov’s dogs.   Pavlov would sound a bell and then feed the dogs. The dogs soon learnt that the sound of the bell meant food, if the dogs heard the bell they would start to salivate whether food was presented or not. A common classic conditioning in a cat house hold is the sound of a can opening.

Classic conditioning helps train cats when we reward them with a treat and a verbal cue like “good girl”. Once they associate the phrase and intonation with the good feelings they get with the treat, just hearing “good girl” will conjure up those same feelings.

The third type of learning is operant conditioning.  Operant conditioning is when the consequences of a cat’s own actions influence how it feels and what behaviour it feels like performing next.

There are four types of consequence that trigger operant conditioning. If a cat performs an action it may have a positive or negative outcome, or something positive or negative might end.

Let’s apply these principles. It’s night time and you want to go to sleep and your cat curls up on your pillow. If you’re a light sleeper like Dr Georgia this is not going to work. This is the story Dr Georgia told.

Alley Cat has learnt that at night when the night light is on and I am reading  she is allowed to nap next to me.  As soon as the light goes out and I roll over she gets up and moves to the blanket at the end of the bed.  She stays there until my alarm goes off in the morning.  When she hears this she is straight up for a cuddle before it is time to get up. Alley Cat learnt with operant and classic conditioning to leave my pillow at night and when it was permissible to return.

 

Every time the light went out and I rolled over, wriggled and moved her off the bed, I said “no”.  Something positive stopped – feeling relaxed and being patted – and something negative started as she was shuffled off the bed. I did this every night without fail , even when I was fed up and exhausted. Alley then looked for an alternative and chose the woollen blanket I’d placed at the end of the bed. She settled down there and presto! something negative stopped ie the wriggling and pushing her away, and something positive started, the comfy blanket where she could sleep. The accompanying phrase “good girl” reinforced the operant conditioning with classical conditioning so now she sees the light go off , hears “good girl” and she goes to the blanket at the foot of the bed.

Related posts

August 6, 2020

International Cat Day this Saturday


Read more
July 25, 2020

Constipated cats


Read more
cat getting pats in clinic
June 4, 2020

Back to Face to face consultations


Read more

Newsletter Signup

For all the latest news, signup to our newsletter

Looking for something?

Recent Post’s

  • 0
    Heart disease
    October 1, 2020
  • 0
    Thinking of a new kitten?
    August 10, 2020
  • 0
    International Cat Day this Saturday
    August 6, 2020
  • 0
    Cat Acne
    July 30, 2020
  • 0
    Constipated cats
    July 25, 2020

A calm, quiet haven for cats and their carers staffed by experienced, cat loving vets and nurses

Photo Gallery

ginger cat
cat scratching his chin
kitten ginger cat waving hello
cat with bow tie on

chubby cat walking down path
cat drinking from kitchen sink
cat getting pats in clinic
two cats playing with each other

old grumpy cat
blue eyed kitten
large white cat with golden eyes
cat laying down sunning itself

CONTACT

16-18 Purdue St, Belconnen, ACT

Telephone:

(02) 6251 1444

Opening Hours:

Monday — Friday: 8:30am — 5:30pm

Saturday: 8:30am — 1:00pm

Get Directions

NAVIGATE

  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Dental Health
  • Home
  • Is my cat sick?
  • Kittens
  • Purr-fect Links
  • reCaptcha v2
  • Senior Cats
  • Services
  • Visiting Us?
© 2021 Canberra Cat Vet. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy