While websurfing this past winter, I happened on a site that was fairly new and devoted to promoting
[Cat Agility](http://catagility.com) as a sport. While this may seem a laughing matter to most people, this sport has actually taken off and is now adjunct to several cat shows, mostly on the East and West coasts in its first year.
Cat agility is similar to dog agility classes in that the animal does a series of athletic trials in sequence, guided by a handler. Cat agility tournaments, however, particularly stress the graceful athleticism of cats. The course is set up with a series of jumps, a tunnel, ladder walk, balance beam and stay table among other things. The course is designed to express the cooperative work between cat and handler.
When this sport began, there was much discussion as to how best to reward a cat for a job well done. To everyone's surprise, the cats that were the vanguard in this event showed that the best reward was to run the course again! They regarded the whole exercise as playtime with their person. It even got to the point where cats learned quickly where the last obstacle of the course was and refused to jump and out--they would sit down in front of the obstacle. They figured out that playtime would be over and they'd be carried out--and they didn't want it to end!
As a person who wanted to work with my young kitten/cat and teach him "tricks", this new sport was extremely interesting. I taught Rookie how to sit, sit up and follow the target stick using clicker training. At first, I used treats to reward, thinking that cats only responded to food. After getting bored with the whole "trick" thing and discovering cat agility, I began to work with agility moves. Using the target stick, I guided him through various obstacles--jumps and a tunnel (happily found at Toys'r'Us, thank you). Since I don't have a bunch of the equipment actually used at the shows, I've improvised using dining room chairs on their sides for jumps, the buffet for a high jump and the top of the trash can as a stay table. I started by teaching the maneuver by keeping the jumps and tunnel in static locations while teaching. It took Rookie only about 3 tries until he got what I was asking and from then on it was joyful play.
I now have to find a way to add the real equipment--which shouldn't surprise Rookie since I've taught the verbal command using the clicker for each maneuver. The target stick gives him the idea in training and he learns. Today, I moved the tunnel to another room, constructed a double jump from chairs and he got that down pat in short order. In addition, I reward Rookie with a big hug and lots of chirps and a few treats at the end of the session.
Even if we never show, the agility training is a wonderful bonding tool between a cat and its person. Rookie gets a bunch of mental stimulation, is presented with problems to solve and gets plenty of exercise, all plusses with any indoor cat.
The [Clicker Training](http://clickertraining.com/training/cats/) site has a little video well worth watching. Notice at the end, when the cat jumps on the stay table, how the happy tail comes right up. The whole agility course was FUN for the cat.
--I'm adding this part of the blog a week and a half after posting--
I've added a 1x6 plank on two chairs for a "walk the plank" obstacle. He got this after one try! I plan on making a set of weave poles to try teaching this maneuver.
Rookie has so much fun doing the obstacles that he pesters me to play with him and run the obstacles. Yesterday, he sat behind one of the chairs that had been left on its side, chirped at me while touching it with his paw. And then he jumped the chair/obstacle! Of course, I immediately went to get the target stick and clicker and away we went!
PLAY WITH YOUR CAT EVERY DAY....
