How to teach your cat to sit

You'll need

• small soft treats
• marker
• non-slip rug or yoga mat

Why it matters

Sit is a polite way for your cat to ask for things and the starting position for wait, down and many vet and grooming behaviours.

Before you start

Cats sit often on their own. Choose capture, luring or both; many cats learn fastest with both. Prepare treats, a marker and a non-slip surface.

Step by step

1. 1

   Capture natural sits

   During a session, wait. Whenever your cat sits on its own, mark and toss a treat a short way so it has to stand to get it. Then wait for the next sit.

   Move on when: Sits again within 10 seconds of eating, 5 times in a session

   Tip: Tossing the treat resets your cat to standing for another marked sit.

2. 2

   Or lure the sit

   With your cat standing, hold a treat at its nose and move it slowly up and back over its head, toward its ears. As its head tips up, its rear usually lowers. Mark the moment its bottom touches the floor and give the treat.

   Move on when: Bottom touches down within 3 seconds of lure, 8 of 10 times

   Tip: Keep the treat close to the nose; too high makes your cat stand up.

3. 3

   Fade the treat

   Do the same hand movement with no treat in that hand. Mark the sit, then give a treat from your other hand or a pouch.

   Move on when: Sits for the empty-hand movement, 8 out of 10 times

   Tip: Do 3 lured reps, then 1 empty-hand rep, slowly flipping the ratio.

4. 4

   Small hand signal

   Shrink the movement to a small upward lift of a flat palm, a little above your cat's head.

   Move on when: Sits for the small hand signal, 8 out of 10 times

   Tip: Stand up straight slowly over many sessions so your cat sits while you stand.

5. 5

   Add the word

   Say 'sit' once, pause half a second, then give the hand signal. Mark and treat. Over sessions, your cat starts sitting on the word alone.

   Move on when: Sits on the word alone, 4 out of 5 times

   Tip: Say the word first, then the signal; together may make your cat ignore the word.

6. 6

   Sit in new places

   Practise on a chair, on the bed, in the kitchen, and before meals.

   Move on when: Sits on cue in 3 rooms

   Tip: A new place is like starting over; help with the hand signal again.

The cue

Say

“Sit”

Hand signal

Flat palm lifted upward above the cat's head

If it isn't working

Stands on back legs to grab treat

Hold the treat lower and closer to the nose, and move it more slowly back toward the ears.

Backs up instead of sitting

Practise with the back near a wall or sofa corner so stepping back is not easy. Or switch to capturing.

Sits only for treat in hand

Fade the lure in smaller steps: alternate lured and empty-hand reps, and treat from the other hand.

Mastered when

Sits on the first verbal cue in 3 rooms, 4 out of 5 times

Video check: Film 3 cued sits in a row in a new room, with your hands at your sides.

Variations

• Sit to ask: wait for a sit before putting the food bowl down.
• Sit on a chair or stool.

Teach this first

• Clicker training for cats: how to charge the clicker →

Learn next

• How to teach your cat to lie down →
• How to teach your cat to wait →