Trainer Popovich says your cat, too, can learn all the tricks

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Anyone who has seen his Comedy Pet Theater in Las Vegas knows Gregory Popovich can train cats to do the unbelievable.

Train a cat? Isn't that like training a goldfish? Seeing Popovich perform with his troupe at Planet Hollywood on Las Vegas Boulevard is believing. His cats perform in skits, jump through hoops, fly and stand and do acts on their hind legs, all within safe limits, he says.

The trainer writes about his methods in You Can Train Your Cat (St. Martin's Griffin), due Oct. 13. His message is that you, too, can teach your cat to stop clawing furniture or waking you up in the middle of the night or displaying other annoying behaviors, if you take time to get to know your cat, learn how your cat likes to be rewarded, understand how your behaviors affect your cat and then work with your cat. And keep working with your cat.

"Each kitty has a different way of being rewarded," says Popovich, a son of animal trainers with the Great Moscow Circus. "No two cats are alike."

Popovich rarely uses food treats as rewards. Praise is his main motivation, and he saves it for when the cat achieves a goal. He says he changes the pitch and volume of his voice dramatically when rewarding. After the praise is made, he resumes his normal tone and he walks away. "I never shower the cat with effusive praise except during training," he says.

He strongly disagrees with critics who say the Vegas act is unfair to cats. He says he doesn't push his cats. Instead, the shows allow for a cat to decline participation.

"Cats are very independent. You cannot push them," he says. "They will not do a trick they do not want to do.

"Because I do the show every day and some cats have bad days, to make my show happen every day, I have two or three kitties lined up do a trick. If Kitty doesn't want to do it, I go to another kitty. You can tell by the look in the cat's eye if it will do it."

Feline expert Beth Adelman of Brooklyn, N.Y., agrees cats can master just about anything. Popovich's cat even pushes dogs in baby strollers.

"You can train a cat to touch anything on command," Adelman says.

Popovich is a fourth-generation circus performer and also a master juggler. And the cats themselves? All of his pets are from local animal shelters.

Popovich says friends in Las Vegas taught him about shelters in the early '90s when he first came to the USA. "We did not have shelters in Russia. I could not believe my eyes when I walked into the shelter and saw so many animals needing homes."

source:usatoday.c0m

Cat trainer answers readers questions

Gregory Popovich uses a feather to teach a cat to jump through a hoop.

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Cat trainer Gregory Popovich answered several questions readers asked about troublesome cat behaviors ranging from defecating outside the litter box to biting and crying in the middle of the night."A key to understanding cats," Gregory Popovich writes in his new book "You Can Train Your Cat (St. Martin's Griffin, $14.99)  "is they think they're gods. And the mythologies of many cultures warn us: You better take extra caution if you offend the gods. Its behavior is governed by its personality, but it can range from annoyance to outright hostility."
So know what you're dealing with and then be consistent when trying to correct behaviors, he says. His overall advice:  nip things in the bud and use positive reinforcement. You need to know what your cats likes and how he likes to be rewarded. Every cat is different.
Many of the questions for Popovich had to do with litter box issues.

Gregory Popovich has more 16 cats and 13 dogs, all from animal shelters, in his Comedy Pet Theater in Las Vegas.

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Question: I have three neutered male cats (2 Maine coon cats and 1 Russian blue) that we adopted from a shelter. One of our Maine coons insists on urinating and defecating right next to the litter box even though the box is clean.   How do we get him to use the litter box instead of the floor?  We have tried various things including having another litter box, changing the brand of litter. - Tammy

Question: My cat, who seems very content, well adjusted and affectionate, urinates in the same place on the carpet for no apparent reason. Sometimes, right in front of me. She does this about twice or more a week. She's about 3-5 years old. Her litter box is clean. She is my only pet. She is an outdoor/indoor cat. No amount of verbal scolding seems to help.  - David

Answer: Keep an eye on the cats, especially after meals, If you catch them defecating, say ''No'' in a disapproving voice,  pick them and the poop up and put  both the cat and poop in the litter box.  Do this for several weeks. Clean the area thoroughly with a urine odor remover you buy at pet stores that neutralizes the area.
If this does not work, put the cat in a room with the litter box and do not let the cat out of he room until it goes once in the litter box. Then reward it by letting it out of  the room. It might also help to let the cats outside, where they can mark and defecate where they please. Most male cats will stop spraying after the are neutered. When I get a kitty from the shelter, I bring home some of its poop and put it in the litter box right away so it knows where to go. Another trick is to put the pets food near the spot where it is defecating or wetting.  A cat will not like to go to the bathroom near its food.
Among  tips in his book: The location of the litter box is very important. Cats like quiet places where there is not a lot of vibration. Laundry rooms with washing machines and dryers might not be a good place for your cat box.

Q: Snickers is temperamental and he nips.  He'll be happy and purring one minute and then he'll be ready to pounce and attack us the next.  What do you think would be the root cause of his mood swings and what can we do to prevent them? - Anne
A: It is very important to find out why they did it. Is the cats being pushed or are they hungry?   Maybe they are jealous or are trying to attract attention of the owner. My recommendation is to think what the owner did before or did not do correctly. Some cats are shy and do not want to be touched. Also, cats play by biting so it's important to not encourage your kitty to do this when it is young.

Q: My 2 cats have wrecked havoc on my sofa and chair.  I clip their nails frequently and have provided a number of acceptable scratching alternatives.  They do use the turbo scratcher and  the slanted scratcher, but still persist on my sofa and chair.  I have tried the sticky tape (will not stick to the fabric), herbal deterrent sprays and spritzing them with water when I catch them at it, but nothing works! What do you suggest I try next.- Frances
A: You have tried many things I recommend. One thing to try is put catnip on the scratching posts. I like to use positive reinforcement but when nothing else works, you can keep trying to spray a cat with a  water pistol.

Q: I have six house cats and a border collie mix. Can she be trained to break up cat fights and other cat behaviors. If the answer is yes, where do I go to find out how to do it?- Samuel
A:  Dogs and cats are two different societies. I would not recommend trying this. I keep cats and dogs separated. They can all relax that way. My cats have kennels and my dogs have kennel. Most cats would like to stay alone. Some cats have friends and sleep together in the kennel area, but for the night they stay alone.

Q: How do we get our cat to stop crying in the middle of the night?- Dave
A: Cats have different sleeping cycle. They usually jump on the owner to wake them up. Easiest for human to lock the door. If the cats start meowing and banging on bedroom door, two things you can do: do  feed them before you go to bed and give them food far away from the bedroom. Second thing, plugs for the ear and ignore arguments for two to three nights and cats give up.