How to build a trick routine with your cat
Plan, practise and film 5 or more tricks in one continuous take for a video exam.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Session
- 5 min
- To learn
- 8-15 sessions
You'll need
- clicker or a word like “yes”
- small soft treats
- phone on a stand
- plain, uncluttered background
- the cat's favourite mat
Why it matters
A filmed routine is the course's final exam and earns the Advanced trainer certificate. Trick-title programmes judge unedited video, so planning teaches clean cues and rewards between tricks.
Before you start
Film when your cat is most active, before a meal. Set up the camera first so you are not fiddling while your cat waits. Play for 2 minutes, then start.
Step by step
Pick 5 to 8 tricks
Choose tricks your cat does 4 out of 5 times on cue. Mix moving tricks (spin, hoop) and still ones (sit pretty, high five).
Move on when: List written in order
Tip: Start with the strongest trick and end with a crowd-pleaser.
Plan reward points
Decide where you treat. Many cats need a treat after each trick; that is allowed in most trick-title levels.
Move on when: Reward plan written
Tip: Treats are fine; lures do not count as the cue — use signals and words.
Set the stage
Phone on a stand at your cat's height, whole cat and your hands in frame, good light from the side.
Move on when: Test video shows the full cat
Tip: Shoot landscape. Turn off notifications.
Rehearse in halves
Run tricks 1 to 3, then 4 to 5+, on camera.
Move on when: Each half clean once
Tip: Watch it back and fix any cue that looks unclear.
Full take
Film the whole routine in one take. No edits.
Move on when: All tricks done in one continuous video
Tip: If one trick fails, ask once more, then move on; re-film another day.
Review
Watch back and tick each trick the cat did on one cue.
Move on when: At least 5 tricks on the first or second cue
Tip: Submit your best take to the app for the certificate.
The cue
- Say
- “Each trick's own cue”
- Hand signal
- Each trick's own signal
If it isn't working
- Cat walks off mid-routine
- Shorten to 3 tricks with more treats, then build back up.
- Cat is distracted by the phone
- Leave the phone and stand in place for a few days before filming.
- Cues look messy on video
- Rehearse cues without your cat, then with. Stand still between cues.
Safety
Safety- Kittens: keep jumps no higher than the elbow, landings soft, until about a year old.
- Senior or low-jumping cats may have hidden arthritis: keep floor level; ask vet before height.
- Watch for tail flicks, skin ripples, walking off, grooming or swatting; then ease up.
Mastered when
Performs at least 5 tricks in one unedited video, each on one or two cues, without lures
Video check: Film the full routine in one take; this unlocks the Advanced trainer certificate
Variations
- Themed routine (a morning routine: lights on, bell, high five)
- Routine with a short agility line
- Routine performed by a second person
Teach this first
Sources
- Trick Dog titles: levels, video submission and lure rules (Do More With Your Dog)
- Click and laugh: fun cat tricks (Karen Pryor, clickertraining.com)
- Making the connection: behavior chains (Karen Pryor, clickertraining.com)
Written from these sources and checked against vet and trainer guidance. General guidance, not veterinary advice.
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