People Are Teaching Their Cats to High-Five
Confession: We might like cat high fives better than human high fives. And we think you will too, especially after seeing some of the most adorable cats high-fiving their owners and caretakers on the internet today.
Though cat high fives have been around for quite some time, these adorable feline tricks are making the rounds right now for a particularly heartwarming reason — and it’s all thanks to the Cat Pawsitive program. Part of the charitable organization The Jackson Galaxy Project, Cat Pawsitive aims to increase adoptability for shelter cats. As People reported, one of the ways the organization does that is through teaching cats how to high-five humans through positive reinforcement training.
The organization explains on its website: “With clicker training that positively reinforces good behaviors, a shy cat can learn to feel comfortable coming up to the front of her cage to meet a potential pet parent, a feisty cat can learn to play nice, and an outgoing kitty can even learn to give an endearing ‘high five’ to his visitors to seal an adoption deal.”
One sweet example is Oodles, a shelter cat searching for his forever home near Philadelphia and learning high fives as a way to get there.
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See if you don’t squeal watching the adorable rescue feline named Bitty, showing off some seriously impressive high-five skills.
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From now until April 19, cat parents and cat caretakers can enter their kitties to win a Cat Pawsitive contest by using the hashtag #CatPawsitive and the tags @TheJacksonGalaxyProject and @HaloPets on Facebook and Instagram. The winner is awarded with a cash grant of $5,000 as well as 10,000 bowls of pet food to give to the animal shelter or rescue of his or her choice. What an adorably great cause!
It’s worth noting that just because your cat masters the skill doesn’t mean you necessarily need to enter them in a contest, though. Plenty of other folks have been using the hashtag #cathighfive to share their kitty’s talent with the world for the simple and pure joy of it — and it’s truly a timeless experience.
Take a look at Aki, a super sweet kitty giving “Meowmy” a special, super-touching high five just for her birthday.
And we simply can’t get enough of talented Cappucino the cat, especially with those tiny paws.
How to Teach Your Cat to High Five
If you’re interested in teaching your cat to do a high five, it can actually be quite easy to do. According to Cat Pawsitive, all you need is either a quiet clicker device or the clicking sound from a click-top pen (or even your tongue), and a reward of some sort, such as a tasty treat. When you’re ready to begin training, show your cat the palm of your hand and wait for your kitty to touch it (experts say this might take some time). Once he or she does touch your palm, immediately click your clicker and then give your furry friend the reward. Then, you simply repeat. For more detailed instructions on the best times to train and how to get past any challenges with training, check out the complete Cat Pawsitive high-five instructions.
We don’t know about you, but we’re definitely trying this out on our cats tonight!
Love cute cats? Here some more from Woman’s World:
7 Flat Face Cat Breeds That Are (Almost) Too Cute to Handle
Gorgeous Two-Faced Cats That Make Us Do a Double-Take
People Are Wrapping Cats in Blankets and Calling Them ‘Purritos’
Kitten Won’t Stop Meowing for His Sister, So Owner Returns to the Shelter for Her
