Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by admin
Delilah used to avoid her carrier. After one semester of clicker training, she walks in on her own.
The calico tabby lives in a campus cattery at Virginia Tech, where nearly 30 students spent a semester teaching 14 shelter cats to sit on cue, spin, target a wand with their noses, and give fist bumps.
If you have ever been told cats can’t be trained, this is the class that says otherwise.
Why owners misread it
Dogs look at you and wait for instructions. Cats look at you, decide whether you’re worth it, and leave.
That walk-away is what most owners read as “untrainable.” It usually means “no reason to stay.”
What’s actually happening
The cats come from the Lynchburg Humane Society, and the course is taught by Assistant Professor Lisa Gunter and Associate Professor Erica Feuerbacher of Virginia Tech’s School of Animal Sciences. Students use clickers and food rewards, the same positive-reinforcement method used with dolphins and dogs.
Delilah’s turnaround is the clearest example. Student Roya Cranford said that “after a lot of training and socialization through the class, she loves the carrier now.”
Not every cat is a performer. Dublin, a tuxedo cat, is described as independent and retreats to a ledge during sessions. He tolerates the activities for a while, then checks out.
Any cat owner recognises that. Your cat is not stubborn. Your cat is choosing.
The science behind it
Gunter told Virginia Tech News that it is “one of very few courses in the country that has cats coming in from animal shelters, living on campus, being trained by students, and being adopted out.” You can read the full Virginia Tech report on the shelter cat class.
The idea has research behind it. In a small study by Grant and Warrior published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, clicker training made shelter cats more open to exploring their surroundings, and they spent more time at the front of their cages. The University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program’s summary notes that the study covered just 12 cats. The authors say more research is needed.
Cranford started the course planning a career in veterinary medicine. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in applied animal behavior and welfare, focused on cat behavior. Feuerbacher’s work on animal training is listed on her Virginia Tech faculty page.
What to do with this tonight
You don’t need a course. You need a clicker (or a pen that clicks), your cat’s favorite treat, and about two minutes.
Click, then treat immediately, ten times, until your cat looks up at the sound. Then hold a finger a few inches from their nose. When they sniff it, click and treat.
That is nose targeting, the first trick the Virginia Tech cats learned. Stop while your cat still wants more, and if they walk away, let them. Dublin would.
Once targeting sticks, a cat can learn to follow your finger into a carrier, onto a scale, or up onto a vet table. That is the difference between a cat that hides under the bed on appointment day and one that walks over on their own.
Delilah started out a carrier-avoider. Now she goes in by choice.
What’s the one trick you wish your cat would learn? Tell us below 👇