Cat Shaking Hands

Training cats to shake hands? Only dogs do this, right? This is completely wrong! We have successfully taught many cats to shake hands, and now we will show you how. Here is how to train your cat to shake hands in simple steps.

Training Cats to Shake Hands in Simple Steps

Start with a treat to teach cats to shake hands

The first step in teaching cats to shake hands is to provide cat-specific incentives and rewards. You can choose anything your cat likes (pieces of tuna or candy, for example). Start by saying the word “handshake,” “hi,” or whatever word you want to associate the handshake behavior with, and touch your cat’s paw and give the treat. You don't have to reward your cat every time she says the word, but do it often enough that the cat begins to associate "hai," or your chosen word, with foot touching and the reward.

Next, sit in front of your cat at eye level and say in a clear, friendly voice, “Hey,” then touch the cat’s paw with your hand and hold its foot briefly. Immediately after doing this, give your cat some treats and some encouraging words, and pet it. Repeat this with your cat or kitten for about half an hour, then take a break.

Encourage good behavior

The next day, repeat the same exercise, but place a piece of candy, tuna, or any treat between your fingers, then place your hand (with the treat in it) in front of the cat’s face, and say “Hey.”

Often, when you do this, you will notice that the cat wants to move its paws when it hears the word “hey,” but will seem hesitant and unsure about raising its paw (as I observed while training 3 cats to shake hands).

I could see it was on their minds, but they hadn't lifted their foot yet. I continued stimulation with words, actions, treats, and lots of petting for another hour that second day.

On the third day, the results of the training began to appear. I held the treat in my hand and got down to the ground to get closer to the cats' eye level, then I said the word "hey." As they heard the word, they began to raise their feet to reach my hand on their own! You rewarded them immediately by offering them a treat, encouraging them with the words “good girl” or “good boy,” and lots of petting. On the fourth day and for about a week after that, go up to your cat at random intervals and ask her to shake your hand with the word you trained her to do (hi or shake hands, for example), then give her a reward. I did this several times every day whenever I thought about it, and I did not set any specific training schedule. My cats wagged their paws pretty much every time, and if they didn't do it right away, I would touch their paws and say the word again to give them a little training reminder.

This method should be repeated as many times as required. As for me, after a week of training my cats to shake hands, I started saying the word "hi,” and they started shaking their feet without me allowing them to see the reward. Now, for months, it has become a normal behavior practiced with my cats, and “Pepper,” “Katie,” and “Simba” are still the three cats. The ones I have shake my hand whenever I ask them to do this.

Another way to train cats to shake hands

Reader's Digest offers a summary of how to train cats to shake hands, and it's very similar to what I did with my own cats. The main difference is that this site suggests offering a mixture of canned cat food on a baby spoon. After you say “Hey,” tap the clicker on the foot you want your cat to shake. After the cat moves its foot, say “Okay” or whistle and give it food.

Many professional cat trainers use a cat clicker, a device that makes a clicking sound like a bell when pressed, to train cats to shake hands. The trainer clicks on the clicker and delivers the reward. Then, when the cat associates the sound of the clicker with a reward, the next step is to associate the clicker with a behavior, such as raising a foot, shaking hands, or sitting.

These methods are very similar to the methods of training dogs to shake hands. One of these methods is to place your hand near your dog and notice when he moves his foot the way you want. Then you reward him and give him a verbal cue.

The second method involves lightly touching the back of the dewclaw (the extra nail on your dog's foot) and then rewarding him when he lifts his foot. You can try similar methods with your cats as well.

Always remember that good training requires some time, patience, and providing incentives to reach a good result while avoiding the punishment method, especially with cats, because unlike dogs, they do not respond to punishment methods. Cats may associate punishment with the behavior that you are about to teach them, which leads to this behavior not being taught to them and a failure of training.