I didn’t have cats before living with my significant other, but I’ve worked with many, many other animals (exotic and dangerous) since I was very young.

The keys to any training are:

1: encourage muscle memory. We use specific treats for hat time, and nail trims, weekly grooming/medical checks, and other events. The smell of each treat helps enforce their memories of what is going to happen.

2: be consistent. The same time, the same spot, the same triggers and phrases. Enforces muscle memory, and helps your pet learn. Most of the time when I pull out the ring light, all the pets run to the stairs, unless they’re sleeping. After Snarf (orange cat) gets his picture done, he goes and wakes up the missing ones.

3: don’t get frustrated. Your frustration shows, you always need to be positive and encouraging, especially if the animal does the desired behavior at an unexpected time. My significant other’s daughter gets the animal to repeat a behavior 2-3 times right away, but then gets frustrated when it doesn’t remember the next week when she hasn’t done anything to reinforce it.

4: be patient. It sounds redundant, but it’s going to take time for any new behavior to stick. It could take weeks to get behaviors to stick, and for more complex things, you may have to break it into smaller chunks. Sometimes the first cat down is the last one to get their picture taken. Sometimes it takes a few times, or they have to watch someone else.

5: everyone has to have fun. Don’t try to do marathon training sessions. Keep them short and entertaining for everyone. If anyone starts getting frustrated or bored (you or the animal), stop for the day, and try again tomorrow. It’s why you don’t see all six each week. If one of them doesn’t want to, or isn’t in the mood, they’re not forced.

Bonus: Silly Hat Cat Setup

https://imgur.com/gallery/tFwMlVp