How To Train A Maine Coon To Sit Down? (The easy way!)

** . As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, this post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Welcome, Crazy Cat People!

Teaching your Maine coon tricks such as how to sit down can be a fun and enjoyable process for not only your Maine coon but also for yourself too.

Maine coons are intelligent and they love to play so teaching them how to perform tricks can be a way to keep them entertained and to keep them physically and mentally fit. Not only that but any form of play such as cat training also works to strengthen the bond you have with your cat.

This short post will guide you step by step on how to train your Maine coon.

So keep reading crazy cat people to learn more!

I made an ULTIMATE GUIDE on how to train your Maine coon and how to teach them a variety of tricks! Click here now to take a look or bookmark for a later read!

Things You Will Need To Train a Maine Coon To Sit

Before we get into the ins and out’s of teaching your cat how to sit there are a few essential items you will need to have. To make it easy for you I have listed these items below so just click on the links to check them out on Amazon.

For any tricks, you teach your Maine coon you will need what’s called a cat clicker and also a target stick. The set I recommend is this Cat school clicker set that comes with all you need to get started to train your cat. Click here to take a look or click on the image below!

If you wish to buy just the clickers at this stage then you can also buy this set of two clickers, check out the price on Amazon by clicking here!

Let’s not forget the treats – It is important to reward your cat when they follow a command successfully to create a positive association. So make sure you have lots of treats.

Cats LOVE temptations so why not get this 16oz big box full! – Check them out here!

How To Train A Main Coon To Sit

So without further ado, let’s get into this and show you how to train your Maine coon to sit!

First of all please remember that training your Maine coon will require patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you must remember this when beginning cat training. It’s important to never get frustrated with your cat in any way if they are not following your commands.

The last thing you want to do is to create a negative association with learning how to do tricks.

Also, keep training sessions to less than 10 minutes and because you will be rewarding them with treats it’s a good idea to do this before main feeding times because when they are full they may not have the motivation to learn.

Yes, cats do get food coma too!

Make sure also that when teaching tricks you teach only one trick at a time until they have mastered it before moving on to more complex tricks.

Step 1 –

Teach your cat to associate the clicker with a treat

This is where your clicker comes into use. The reason we use a clicker in cat training is to make the process easier. The first step is teaching your cat to associate the clicking sound with a reward.

Once your cat has got the hang of this step they will know that once they hear that clicking sound that they have done something right and they will be expecting a reward.

To build up that association just click the clicker and immediately feed your cat a treat afterwards.

Repeat this frequently over the space of a few days to cement the new association and remember never to click without giving a reward.

Step 2 –

Train them to sit with a treat and a click

When your Maine coon is in front of you what you want to do is stand or sit in front of them with a treat between your fingers.

Hold the treat a few centimetres away from their nose until their gaze is fixed on the treat and start to move the treat upwards above their head about 5cm. Once the cat treat is above their head you can then begin to move the treat slowly backwards towards their tail.

If they are following the cat treat with their gaze then they should naturally sit as you move the treat towards the back of them. As soon as they sit down click the clicker and reward with a treat straight away.

Good kitty cat! There you go your starting to build up an association with them sitting down and a reward!

Next, you want to re-set by throwing a treat across the room and then attempting this a few more times to cement the new behaviour. Carry on this step for a few days until they sit every time you repeat these steps.

Step 3 –

Train your cat to sit by using a specific wrist action

Now that your clever Maine coon has learned to associate sitting with getting a treat it’s time to change things up!

It’s time to alter your hand movement so instead of moving your hand back, you can hold out your hand with the treat inside and just flick your wrist up to signal for your cat to sit down.

They may not understand at first but eventually, they will respond and as soon as they do then it’s time to click and reward.

Rinse and repeat a few times.

Step 4

Time to learn the vocal queue ”Sit”

Well done for all your hard work so far!

Now it’s time to associate a verbal queue with the action of sit. You should be at a point now where when you flip your wrist in front of them they automatically sit down.

If they are not then please go back to the previous steps. When they consistently sit down then it’s time to introduce a verbal queue this can be the word ”Sit” or it could be another word of your choice.

Have the treat ready in your hand, say your chosen word and flip your wrist until they sit and then click and reward.

The aim of this is for them to learn that when you say the word sit they know that a tasty treat is coming next.

Check out the video below to see the above in action!

You should now be at a point where you can just say the word sit and your cat will automatically sit down.

Eventually, you won’t need to encourage them with a treat at the beginning of the trick but still, always make sure you reward them with one when they sit down.

Well done for getting this far and teaching your Maine coon how to sit. It may take persistence but you will get there and your bond with your Maine coon will strengthen as each day goes by and you can move on to more advanced tricks!

As always take of yourself and your little fur babies!

Mark (The Crazy Cat Man)