How to train an Egyptian Mau? These cats seem so intelligent that it’s a shame to just keep them around without ever actually teaching them a couple of party tricks.
I know that people probably told you multiple times that you can’t train cats. They said that it would be impossible because cats aren’t as obedient as dogs are. Well, that’s true, however, this breed in particular is highly intelligent, and they’ll soak up every trick that you try to teach them.
An Egyptian Mau is a medium to large-sized cat that has the appearance of elegance, and grace. He’s the most playful cat that you’ll ever meet, while also being quite shy and reserved around strangers. That’s to say that he can adjust his temperament according to the situation.
You love him because he doesn’t require a lot of grooming, so you can devote all of your time and attention to playing with him. So, when you’re in the middle of your playtime, you also want to incorporate a couple of tricks into the mix.
But that’s when the question arose in your head, “How to train an Egyptian Mau? Is it going to be hard to train him? Do you need to take him to a specialist?”
Don’t be afraid! Actually, it’s much easier than you may think. You can do it! Your cat can do it! You’re the perfect team. All you need to do is follow a couple of instructions.
We’re here to give you a step-by-step rundown.
How to train an Egyptian Mau?
1. Find all the equipment that you need
Well, let’s first find all the equipment that you may need. To start off, you’ll need treats. This one is self-explanatory, but I’d recommend that you use a little pouch for your treats so that he’ll know what’s inside.
These treats will be the perfect motivator for all those times when he’s just lying around and being lazy. My recommendation would be to get him his favorite treats, just to make sure that he’ll do everything to get them.
The next thing that you’ll need is a clicker. When you instruct your Mau to do a trick and he does it, click the clicker and give him the treat. After a while, he’ll consider the click itself as an affirmation, so you won’t have to give him a treat. This will help prevent your cat from becoming overweight, too.
Other things that you may need are stacking cups, a yoga mat, and other toys that you want to incorporate into your training. You can always consider what tricks you want to teach your cat and realize what equipment you’ll need. But it’s best to have everything ready for when you start.
2. Start with something simple
You may want to start with something easy. You can’t really make your cat jump through hoops and dance around your feet if he doesn’t understand what you’re trying to tell him. It’ll become frustrating for both of you, and you’ll want to give up immediately.
I’d recommend that you try to teach him to fetch things for you. This will be easy because your cat immediately has the urge to run after prey. Another good trick for the beginning faze is to teach him to sit down.
But the most important thing is to use the clicker whenever he does it correctly and to give him a treat. Your Mau won’t understand at first, and those instances will be rare, but after a while, he’ll know what he has to do to get the treat he wants so badly.
Once you’re done with the basics, you’ll be able to move on to more complex tricks.
3. Make sure that there are no distractions (for either of you)
How to train an Egyptian Mau when there are millions of distractions around? Well, it’s impossible. It doesn’t matter if it’s distracting for you or for him, it’ll be counterproductive.
If you have kids in the house, you may want to wait until they’re in school or simply out of the house. You should also find a quiet place that won’t take his attention away from you and the task at hand.
If he sees another cat playing around, if he sees something else to play with, or even if there are other sounds, he’ll completely lose his focus. This will undeniably cause you to lose your patience with him, which will in turn make him run off to do something else.
So, find a quiet place, with absolutely no distractions around, to get him to focus on the tricks and the clicker. You’ll capture his attention with the treats, and make him understand the trick that you’re trying to teach him.
4. Keep it short and simple
I know that you want to teach your cat everything at once. Also, you want to spend the entire day playing with him, because it becomes very addicting once you see that he’s making progress. Nonetheless, you won’t get the needed result if you spend the entire day torturing him with the clicker and commands.
Put aside a specific amount of time each day. In my experience, the best thing that you can do is to schedule half an hour each day, possibly at the same time, to create a habit. Also, half an hour is just about enough time to train him, and it’s doable considering your schedule.
Another thing that I’d recommend is to always teach him one trick at a time. You’re wondering how to train an Egyptian Mau and we’re here to tell you that all you have to do is keep things short and simple.
Don’t overload his tiny brain with too much information, but rather focus on one trick until he manages to do it on command. After that, you can move on to other things.
5. Don’t punish him if he doesn’t get it right
The worst thing you can do is to punish your poor Mau if he doesn’t do something right. Cats can and will hold a grudge, no matter how much they love you. He’s no different.
If you choose to punish him when he doesn’t do something right, then he’ll avoid you, he’ll never listen to you, and he’ll even resist any type of affection. If you have your cat’s trust, don’t misuse it.
Never withhold food from him. God forbid, you choose to lay a hand on your cat. That’s animal abuse, and you don’t deserve to keep such a beautiful specimen in your home if you do that.
Respect your cat and he’ll respect you. That’s the most important thing when it comes to understanding how to train an Egyptian Mau.
6. Be consistent
You know just as well as I do that cats are extremely stubborn. However, we do have to remind you that he won’t learn almost anything in the first month. Yes, Egyptian Maus are extremely intelligent cats and easily trainable, but remember that they’re still part of the feline family.
This means that you can’t just give up on him when something doesn’t go right. You have to keep trying! Consistency really is the key when it comes to the question of training an Egyptian Mau.
If you stay consistent, if you choose to spend time every day and dedicate yourself to this task, you’ll see the results. But you can’t just throw in the towel.
Tips for target training
Now that you have all the basics down when it comes to training your kitty, I thought that it would be great to give you some ideas. For example, the easiest trick that you can teach your Mau is target training.
This entails that you’ll teach your cat to touch the point of a target stick with one part of his body. For example, his nose or his paw has to touch the stick.
Target training can also help you teach your cat to go from one place to the next. If you want your cat to climb into a carrier (or even better, into your lap), you’ll use this stick with the clicker. Of course, you’ll give him a treat when he does this correctly.
You can find many tutorials online if you want to make sure that you’re doing it correctly. However, it’s quite easy. You can buy an actual target stick, or you can use any stick that you have around the house.
Because Egyptian Maus aren’t really fond of strangers, they become very shy and hold to themselves, you can also use this as an ice-breaker. Point the target stick at the new person in your cat’s life and show him that he has nothing to worry about. You can also give the other person a treat to give to your cat if he does come near him or even is brave enough to sit in their lap.
Either way, your Mau will learn these tricks quickly, and you’ll bond even more.