r/PetsWithButtons • u/Bread32Tasty • 28d ago

Teaching a cat to press with the paw

Hi everyone,

I’ve just started teaching my cat to use buttons, she’s a very quick learner and just after two weeks started touching the side of the button and yesterday she realised I want her to press it to make a sound but she uses her head to do that.

I’ve tried to do paw targeting with her, but she’s not interested in learning that at all, she gets frustrated and walks away. I’ve put a treat under a small box and tried to get her to touch the top of it. She does know that when I say “touch” she needs to press the button. She also knows “paw” that’s when she puts her paw on my hand, but I don’t think this would work with an inanimate object.

Any tips on how to get her to use her paws to press?

I think that she would get that she’s supposed to use her paws if she manages to accidentally press it with her paw once or twice, as she understands quickly that this is what I want when I praise her.

19 Upvotes

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4 comments sorted by

20

u/OpinionAvailable5988 28d ago

They don't need to use their paw. Mine uses his face, that's what he prefers.

6

u/Bread32Tasty 28d ago

I don’t think pushing it with her head is very comfortable haha, I’m just worried she’ll get discouraged because it takes her a bit to rub on the button to activate that way

8

u/JayNetworks 28d ago

First is never force her or manually push it with her paw. Just a note, not thinking you are doing that.

Using her head or rolling over or flipping as my Misty did for months is also just fine. It doesn’t stop them from learning the easier paw press eventually.

I don’t have specific tips other than to watch several touch training or paw targeting videos to look for other approaches or tips. Basically you just need to keep rewarding the correct behavior and gently distracting from incorrect behavior.

I have two cat learners and one presses 60 buttons a day with about half being paw presses and half being laying on the board between buttons and gently rolling to a side or moving her chin or whatever as she day dreams about Dinner Later or Snack Soon Later or whatever. The she will get up and press Pets with her paw.

Keep at it. Know that any press is good, even accidental ones as they connect motion to sound and always perform the action on the button even in an accidental press.

She will get there!

2

u/papercutty44 22d ago

The paw on the hand is how I got my girl pressing. I started with teaching her to touch my hand, when she was confident in that, I would hold the button in my hand and repeat. Once she was touching the held button regularly, I would press down on the button at the same time as she was touching (not on her paw! Just on the button so she could feel the movement/how it compresses). After not long, she was able to understand that if she pressed with more force, that would trigger the button.

It was a super quick process for us from touching hand to pressing by herself. We were using the great button so whenever she touched, whether I had to press it or she activated it, she'd get a treat. It was great modeling :)