Cat Training: Step-by-Step Guide

1. How we train cats to walk, so far… Irina, May 13, 08

2. Day 1 • Inspect the cat, make sure that it is in good physical health and happy. • Let know Pamela Bortz that you are about to remove the cat from vivarium feeding schedule, ask if she has any concerns. • Place the yellow “Do not feed (including weekends)” tag on the cage. • Place a BIG “Please do not feed cat #X” tag on the outside of the room door. • Remove the feeding dish from the cage (but not water !). • Weight the cat. • Start our laboratory feeding chart.

3. Day 2 • Make sure that the vivarium personnel does know not to feed the cat. • Do nothing . • Day 3 • Make sure that the vivarium personnel does not feed the cat. • Do nothing .

4. Day 4 • Start having 3 (three) training sessions per day. • Spread the sessions as much through the day as you comfortably can. (For example: the 10 am, 2 pm, and 6 pm sessions should work well.) • Session have to be between 10 and 15 min long. Longer that 15 minutes sessions are not very helpful. • Time between the session IS helpful, keep it to at least 2.5 – 3 hours. During this time cat memorizes what she has learned. • Devote days 4 and 5 completely and solely to the association of the beeper sound with the food. Do the following (over)

5. How to associate beeper sound with food • - Bring the cat into any non-experimental room or a hallway. • - Sit low. • Beep and toss 1 pellet of cat food on floor every 5 seconds. • Vary the time between the beeps slightly (range 1 - 7 sec). • Do not pet the cat; if it sticks to you – blow it away. • Some cats prefer to eat from a dish, others prefer a rolling pellet, try. • If the cat does not eat, stop. Repeat in 3-4 hours.

6. Day 5 How to associate beeper sound with food -2 • There has to be an about 1 second time interval (may be a little less than 1 second) between the beep and the tossing of the pellet when you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Watch yourself, you do not want to associate something else, not the beep, with the food coming. • During the second day of beeper-food association training (our Day 5) cat will begin showing an orientation reaction to the sound. Watch for it. This can be anything, and might be very subtle. • Invite Irina for your 5th or 6th training session.

7. Day 6 Bringing the cat to the lab • - Make sure there in no food on the floor in the small lab (vacuum , …vacuum the chamber too). • Bring the cat in the small lab and let it roam around for about 10 minutes (be present in the room !). • Have a dish with several pellets in the walking chamber. • Place the cat in the chamber and show it to the food. • Start beeping every 3-5 seconds and tossing 1 pellet in the dish for each beep. • If the cat jumps out the chamber – take her to her home cage; repeat (except for vacuuming) in 2.5-3 hours.

8. Days 6-7-8 Shaping the walking around the chamber • - Place the cat in the chamber and give her a couple of pellets in the dish (with a beep). • Beep and give a pellet ONLY when the cat moves away from the dish; beep DURING the movement !!! • Reinforce (beep and feed) even the very small movements at first, as small as glancing away from the dish. • VERY slowly increase the required volume of the movement : turning the head, turning shoulders, a half-step away, a stride away, 2 steps, 3 steps.... • If the cat jumps out the chamber – take her to her home cage, repeat in 2.5-3 hours.

9. Days 6-7-8 Shaping the walking around the chamber -2 • - Always beep ONLY when the cat MOVES: beep DURING the movement !!! • Try to beep when the movement is the fastest. • Do not beep if you are late and the cat has already stopped. • Give a pellet for every single beep, even if your beeping was poorly timed. You must maintain strong association between the beep and the food. • Wait for cat to come to the dish before giving the pellet. • Work slowly around the turn, and reinforce the very small advancements into the second corridor.

10. Day 9 Introducing the ladders • - Start with the ladder with the widest cross-pieces • By the end of the day introduce the 12 cm ladder.

11. Day 10 Introducing the ladders

12. Day 11 Introducing the leash • - Remove all the ladders !! • Place a cat collar on the cat. • Attach a fake cable to the collar and the fish-line. • Reinforce cat for walking around the chamber. • When cat ignores the leach, reintroduce the ladders. • Do the 18 cm ladder first. • Then the 12 cm and the 5 cm ones.

13. Days 12-14 Introducing the sock • - Remove all the ladders !! • Place a fake sock on the cat. • Reinforce cat for walking even not complete rounds at first. • Gradually increase the distance cat has to walk before you beep. • When cat seems more or less OK with the sock,reitroduce the ladders. • Do the 18 cm ladder first. • Then the 12 cm and the 5 cm ones.

14. Day 15 When I know that my cat is trained ? • It has been 2 weeks since you’ve started training your cat. (you did nothing the first 2 days, remember ). • The cat now walks eagerly around the camber, on flat and the ladder-5, wearing her boot, and the leash. • Continue for 3 more days just that: let the cat walk around in the full dress for about 40-50 rounds during each session, 3 times per day. • The cat is ready now to learn a different task, to go into a surgery (in about 2 week after transferring on the normal feeding schedule), or to sit around and wait for us. But remember: the shaping never stops!!

15. Forever DURING recordings the main priority is NOT the data collection, however strange this may sound. The main priority is to maintain the cat behavior. Do not stop shaping ever !!