How to teach your cat to touch a spot with its paw
Your cat learns to touch a sticky note or target disc anywhere with nose or paw.
- Difficulty
- Some practice
- Session
- 3 min
- To learn
- 5-10 sessions
You'll need
- a sticky note, coaster, or plastic lid
- small soft treats
- marker
Why it matters
A surface target tells your cat to go to one exact spot: on a scale, in a carrier, on a step or wall. It starts many games and the chin rest.
Before you start
Decide whether you want nose touches or paw touches. Nose is easier for most cats; paw suits cats who like to bat things.
Step by step
Target in your hand
Hold the sticky note flat on your palm and present it like your hand target. Mark and treat when your cat touches the note.
Move on when: Touches the note on your palm, 8 out of 10 times
Tip: Your cat already knows the hand target, so this just shifts focus to the note.
Lower it to the floor
Hold the note on your palm closer and closer to the floor, then press it onto the floor and move your hand away.
Move on when: Touches the note on the floor, 8 out of 10 times
Tip: Treat right next to the note to keep your cat close to it.
Send to it
Stick the note on the floor 1 metre away. Say 'touch' and point. Mark the touch and bring or toss the treat.
Move on when: Touches the note from 1 metre, 4 out of 5 times
Tip: Toss the treat away after each go so your cat walks back to the note.
Move it up
Stick the note on a low box, then a chair leg, then a wall at nose height when your cat stands up.
Move on when: Touches the note in 3 different places
Tip: For a wall stand-up, start low and go up 2 cm at a time.
Use it for jobs
Put the note on the bathroom scale, on the carrier floor, or on a step stool. Send your cat to touch it.
Move on when: Touches the scale or carrier target, 4 out of 5 times
Tip: This makes the weighing and carrier lessons go much faster.
The cue
- Say
- “Spot (or Touch)”
- Hand signal
- Point to the target
If it isn't working
- Peels the note off and plays with it
- Use a heavier target like a plastic coaster or a jar lid, or tape the note down well.
- Touches your hand, not the note
- Move your hand away a little earlier, and mark only touches that land on the note.
- Won't touch it far away
- Go back to 30 cm and add distance slowly. Toss the reset treat a bit further each time.
Safety
Safety- Put targets only on stable surfaces your cat can reach easily.
Mastered when
Goes to the target on cue from 2 metres in 2 locations, 4 out of 5 times
Video check: Film your cat going to a target on the scale and touching it.
Variations
- Paw target for a 'press the button' game.
- Two targets: send left or right.
Teach this first
Learn next
Sources
- 3 tricks to teach your cat with a clicker (Vetstreet, Dr. Marty Becker)
- Cooperative care: when to touch and poke? (Klebba, AVSAB 2024)
Written from these sources and checked against vet and trainer guidance. General guidance, not veterinary advice.
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