People are forever surprised that cats can learn tricks at all, let alone a whole repertoire — but with a clicker, a pot of treats and a few minutes a day, the average house cat can learn to sit, spin, high-five, jump on cue and even fetch. Tricks aren’t just party pieces; they’re first-class mental enrichment, they deepen your bond, and they build handling skills that make vet visits and nail trims easier. This is your menu: twelve tricks, sorted from beginner to advanced, each built on the same simple clicker loop.
Work down the list roughly in order — the easy tricks teach the cat the game and give you the building blocks for the harder ones.
How clicker tricks work
Every trick on this list uses the same loop, so learn it once and you can teach anything. First, charge the clicker: click, then immediately treat, ten to fifteen times, until the click alone makes the cat’s eyes light up. Then you teach behaviors by luring (using a treat to guide the body), capturing (clicking a behavior the cat offers naturally), or shaping (clicking successive approximations toward the goal). Click the exact instant the behavior happens, then reward. Our clicker-training guide covers the mechanics in depth.
Easy tricks (start here)
These four teach your cat the game and become tools for everything else:
- 1. Target touch — the gateway trick. Present a target stick (or your fingertip); the moment the cat’s nose touches it, click and treat. Use the target later to lead the cat into spins and jumps.
- 2. Sit — lure a treat up and back over the head until the rear drops, then click and treat. Add the word “sit.”
- 3. High-five — hold a treat in a closed fist; click any paw lift toward it, then shape it into a clean tap on your open palm.
- 4. Come when called — click and reward any movement toward you, then add a recall cue. A reliable recall is genuinely useful, not just cute.
Intermediate tricks
With the basics solid, add movement and a little more difficulty:
- 5. Spin — lure the cat in a full circle with a treat or target, clicking the completed turn; then name it and fade the lure.
- 6. Jump — use the target to lead the cat over a low obstacle or onto a cued perch, clicking the landing.
- 7. Shake — high-five’s cousin; present a low, open hand and click when the cat rests a paw on it.
- 8. Stand up — lure a treat straight up so the cat rises onto its hind legs, clicking the moment it’s up.
Advanced tricks
These take more sessions and build on the tricks above:
- 9. Fetch — shape it in stages: click for nosing the toy, then picking it up, then carrying, then bringing it back. Our fetch guide breaks it down.
- 10. Jump through a hoop — combine target and jump: lead the cat through a hoop held low, raising it gradually.
- 11. Go to a mat (station) — click the cat for going to and settling on a mat; invaluable for door-dashing and mealtimes.
- 12. Trick chains — link known tricks into sequences (sit → high-five → spin), clicking only at the end as the chain becomes fluent.
Keep it working
A few habits keep trick training fun and productive. Keep sessions short — three to five minutes — and always quit while your cat is still keen. Use a high-value treat the cat rarely gets otherwise, so the paycheck is worth working for. Reward approximations on the way to the full trick rather than holding out for perfection, and raise your standard only when the current step is reliable. Train before meals, when the cat is hungriest and most motivated, not after.
Where to go next
Pick a trick that suits your cat’s personality — a food-motivated cat loves fetch, a climber loves jump-and-perch — and start at the top of the easy list. Each trick you teach makes the next one faster, because the cat gets better at the game itself: offering behaviors, reading your cues, and trusting that good things follow a click. Before long you’ll have a cat that comes when called, high-fives on cue, and looks forward to training time as the best part of its day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest trick to clicker train a cat?
Target touch — the cat bops a target stick or your fingertip with its nose. It's quick, builds confidence in the clicker game, and becomes the building block for nearly every other trick, since you can use the target to lure sits, spins and jumps.
How many tricks can a cat learn?
There's no fixed limit — cats can learn a sizable repertoire and chain tricks into sequences. Most pet cats master a handful to a dozen. The ceiling is how much short, fun training you do, not the cat's ability.
Do you need a clicker to teach cat tricks?
No, but it helps. The clicker is a precise marker for the exact instant the cat earned a reward; a consistent 'yes' works too. Its sharp, identical sound improves your timing — and timing is what makes tricks click.
How long does it take to teach a cat a trick?
Often a few short sessions for a simple trick like sit or target, and a week or two for spin or fetch. Keep sessions to a few minutes, reward small approximations, and end on a success. Consistency beats one long session.
Sources
- American Association of Feline Practitioners — Positive Reinforcement Techniques
- ASPCA — Cat Training & Enrichment