Cats are animals. Humans are animals as well but supposedly of a higher order. In order to live together in a companionable and happy relationship there are some things that your cat needs to learn. Owning an animal of any sort should be more pleasure than pain, but there will be considerable pain if the animal is in control of the household.

So what is the basic training your cat needs, to establish a happy relationship in the family?

First, there is toilet training. There would be nothing worse than to come home from a hard day at the office to find an unmentionable lump on your best bedspread. So where to go to the toilet is one of the most important things to train your cat or kitten. Cats are naturally clean animals so it is quite easy to train to use a litter tray. Simply place him on it after his meal.

Other basic training may depend on where you live. If you live in an apartment, you may need to train your cat to lead so that you can take him outside. If you live in the country, this may not be necessary. If you live close to major traffic, but have a backyard, you may need to train your cat to keep away from the road, otherwise he is likely to get run over.

Another important item that will need attention is to stop your cat from scratching the furniture. Cats love to scratch and it is their nature to sharpen their claws. They don't just do it to ruin furniture, but this is what will happen if they are not trained. Remove your cat from the furniture immediately he starts to scratch and place his paws against his scratching pole.

If you travel a lot and wish to take your cat with you, travel training is a must. It's not wise to allow your cat freedom in the car, as it may happen to climb onto you while you are driving and this can cause an accident. Also, if you happen to have an accident with the cat loose in the car, it could be injured unnecessarily. A cat travel cage should be used, but make sure it is steadied by using a seat belt to hold it in place.

One more important thing to train your cat in is not to climb up the screen doors and windows. To save your screen from being torn to shreds, install a cat door and train kitty how to go through it. Most people start out with a kitten rather than a full-grown cat, so it is easier to train them. Once cats are fully grown it is very hard to break them of certain bad habits, so start while they are young and keep it up. Don't let them get away with behavior that is not acceptable to you.