Yes, I'm trying to train cats. Call me crazy, I don't care.

Direct rewards

• Katsuobushi — Much cheaper than typical cat treats (they come in "large bag of chips" size for ~$6), and cats like it far better than any other treats I've tried. It's definitely worth finding a Japanese grocery store for.

My goals

• recall — get the cats to come to me, even from a distance, even even when they're in a frightening / unfamiliar environment (see "my story" below)
• That's really it. If I can accomplish that, I'm happy. The four basic markers would be nice too though.
• Summary of signals:
  • recall = blow on silent dog whistle (long blow, maybe?)
  • marker / reward = Nothing. I'm only trying to train ONE behavior, so I'll just directly train that, and be done. Also, I anticipate it will be difficult to train the calls to recall, so I prefer to always give a reward for recall than to introduce an intermediary signal that will stand in for a treat.
  • marker / keep going = alveolar click
  • marker / discouragement / try something else = "hey!", using the tone of voice when you say "hey, stop that!"
  • marker / you've earned punishment = hiss (cats seem VERY responsive to this, since it seems like a vocalization they use when threatening another cat)

My story

• I take my cats for walks in the city (Chicago). Yes, I'm crazy, I don't care.
• The best time to take cats out is dawn or dusk. Cats are specifically crepuscular, and are much more active and comfortable during this time.
  • Fortunately or unfortunately, metropolitan light pollution means that it's dawn/dusk-level-lighting here, ALL night. So I tend to take them out a little later, after most people have gone inside their homes and are preparing for bed. Car traffic and people taking their dogs out for walks are major nuisances to cats, but people usually stop walking their dogs around 11pm.
• Iron fences are the biggest initial problem.
  • The majority of Chicago houses have these. They're perfectly sized for letting cats through, but not dogs or humans. So they quickly learn that if they're ever scared for ANY reason, find the nearest fence and go through it. (if only chain-link fences are around, cats can still find gaps between gates and such)
  • Because they're indoor cats for the most part, they get scared frequently. Also, a cat's main advantages over predators and prey alike are stealth and agility, so they really like hiding, whenever they're slighty uncomfortable.
  • Fenced yards are usually locked yards, so retrieving a frightened pet is extremely challenging, often requiring me to search for an unlocked gate, or just climb over the fence. Then I have to try to explain to neighbors why I put so much effort into breaking into their yard.
    • I tried a harness+leash for a short while, but that TOTALLY destroys their advantages (stealth+agility), and makes them even more uncomfortable, which means they freak out and run even more.
    • Know what happens when a harnessed cat freaks out? It sprints until it slams into the end of its leash. And then it thinks it's REALLY cornered, so it will scratch and contort its body in any possible way to get away from that harness / whatever that beast is that has cornered it. The frightened cat almost always gets out of its harness. Making the harness tight enough to keep an insanely frightened and twisty cat from getting out means that it would be incredibly uncomfortable when it's not freaked out. Which ruins the point of this — to let them explore some new environments and enjoy themselves, to make up for the fact that I keep them locked in an unchanging environment for 99.99% of their lives.
• Instead, I take them to a very large park, far away from any private yards with fences.
  • Per the stealth+agility thing though, cats HATE wide open spaces.
  • Lots of overgrown bushes are great, especially beside ponds where landscapers usually let them overgrow no matter what. Spring and winter months aren't so good because the bushes aren't overgrown yet.
  • Fences are actually a GOOD thing in a public park. Your can still retrieve them sooner or later, and it lets the cats feel more comfortable.