my new 8 month old burmese x

Question
hello i have just got a 8 month old burmese x ginger male cat he lived with 9 other cats and now he is living with a dog he constanly walks around the house crying trying to get out side i have had him for 5 days he is used to me and my young son but weiry of my other half he was let outside a few hours a day at his old house but i am too scared to let him out due to my previouse cat gatting hit by a car how do i try and stop his crying and when would it be safe to let him out side  he has the best personality but i also want him to be happy what should i so

tarryn

Answer
Tarryn,

Obedience training with cats needs to be done gradually and for some cats they have to believe that the whole trick was their idea. I'd recommend finding out what motivates your cat as this will make him easier to teach. Some cats will do anything for food, other cats respond well to play or praise as rewards for good behavior. At the moment it's best not to force the issue with the leash since it sounds to me like he's already had some negative experiences with it. I'd suggest starting with other tricks to help build his confidence. Sit, sit pretty and beg are fairly easy to teach. Ideally you'll have some of your kitty's favorite treat in your hand (fish, chicken/turkey work well, if you want to give the meat raw that's fine but make sure the fish is cooked completely). Once you have your cat's attention you'll have the treat in between your fingers slightly above his nose then you'll slowly move the treat  backwards while it's still just out of your little guy's reach. He should naturally sit quite nicely for you, once he's mastered sit you can expand on that with sit pretty which means that he's just barely standing up on his haunches, beg means he's actively standing on his hind feet. Take your time, be patient and above all keep the training sessions short. If you push the issue too much you and your cat are going to be frustrated. I'd suggest 2-3 training sessions each day that last about 5 minutes or so given this kitty's age - he's still a kitten, if you notice that he's getting bored or frustrated stop the session ASAP on a positive note such as asking him to do something he's comfortable with such as a sit. Ignore behaviors you don't want, reward the ones you want. Cats are very intelligent and they'll learn just about any trick if it's presented to them the right way. Best of luck to you with this kitty's training sessions. Please, feel free to contact me again if you have any questions, concerns or you'd like me to pass along some more information about training your cat.