Teaching the command “Lie!”

You will find it very convenient to have a cat that lies down when you ask — for grooming, for visits to the vet, and simply for astonishing your friends and impressing your relations.

The simplest way to begin is this. Get the cat to sit, take a treat and hold it between your thumb and forefinger. Show the cat the treat, then lower it slowly. Ideally the cat’s head will follow it down. As soon as your hand touches the table, draw it slowly away from the cat: the path your hand takes should be the shape of the letter “L”. If all goes well, the cat will follow the treat and go straight down into the lying position. The moment it lies down, praise it and give it the treat. Repeat the exercise a few times and it will have it.

The alternative way of teaching this command is to lift the cat’s front paws and lower it into the lying position. When you take both front paws at once, be sure to keep a finger between them: it acts as a buffer, so that the pressure is not passed straight from one paw to the other. As soon as the cat lies down, praise it and give it the treat as usual. It will soon see what you want.

Common problems in teaching the command “Lie!”

The cat stands up instead of lying down

Your cat is supple enough to stand up without moving from the spot. That lets it get its head lower still in pursuit of the treat without ever lying down.

If that happens, break off the exercise. Lay your free hand on the cat’s rump and, with the hand holding the treat, guide it slowly into position. Do not grab the cat and do not press on the rump — that only produces resistance. Let your hand simply rest there as a reminder.

Alternatively, use the method of lifting the front paws. Use whichever method gets you there. But be sure to stroke, praise and reward the cat for any obedience at all, and it will soon see what you want.

The cat lowers its head but does not lie down

This is very common at the start of the training. If your cat puts its head down but does not lie down, do not worry. Do this. When it lowers its head, give it the treat. Next time, get it to put its head a little lower before the treat comes. Carry on with the exercise and in a lesson or two the cat will be lying down like a champion. Always remember that this is not a competition. It makes no difference whether it takes three lessons, five or ten. What does it matter? Praise, patience and fun are the keys to it.

The cat refuses to lie down

That will happen if you try to force the cat into obedience. Do not press on its shoulders — it will not help. Do not set your will against the cat’s. If the cat gets cross, end the lesson: the last thing in the world you want is for it to decide that these sessions are no fun at all. Keep the lessons short and lively always. Give the thing your time. Reward the cat for every small improvement. It will soon relax and lie down. And if it does not? Does that really matter? Take a break and come back to it in a few days, or in a week.

Using a training table

A training table can be useful for commands like “Sit!” and “Lie!”. It need not be a special table made for training — an old computer desk will do. A trunk, a card table, a large steady box: all of them serve perfectly well. What matters is that you should not mind the cat getting up on it. Use the same table for training every time and the cat will soon learn that the time it spends on it is working time — and once it has learnt that, the training goes faster.