Mokave's Queen Honey won the first International Cat Agility Tournament (iCAT) held in Jacksonville, Florida for performing a flawless course run in just 17.1 seconds! At that time, she was the second fastest cat in the world!!!

How To Train Your Kitten

It's easier to train a Mokave cat than you might think. There are many books such as "Cat Training in Ten Minutes" that provide good training tips, but the real trick is to develop a solid bond with your cat before beginning any type of training. See First Day:  The Bonding Process.

Once your kitty trusts you, it will want to please you and that makes it easy to teach. For example, most Mokave kittens easily train to harness and leash and actually enjoy walking with their owners. Other Mokave cats have been taught to use the toliet instead of a litter box. Be patient and don't overwhelm your kitten with too much at once, and you'll be surprised what these felines can do. Mokave cats are so smart that they often wind up teaching you!

I am currently working on a book called "Raising Hybrids," which is designed for Pet Parents and breeders. It will provide you an easy reference for topics such as mating, birthing, feeding, weaning, litter training, socialization, pet tricks, behaviour modification, traveling, health issues and remedies, and more. Available sometime in 2011.

Mokave Pet Parents:

"Milo is doing well. He is 8 months old now and probably about 12 pounds. He climbs his cat tree on command. I am going to teach him to 'stay' one of these days. He still sits, lays down, and circles. I ask him to do those things every time I feed him."

John W.   El Cerrito, CA

"Lil' Critter has learned to play fetch; his favorite play toy is a pink poodle. I took him camping. He woke me up at 4:30 am. He was standing there staring at me with his poodle in his mouth. I asked him what he wanted and he sat down, dropped the poodle on the floor, and looked at me. I told him he was nuts and his foot came out and batted at the poodle. It's 4:30 am and he wanted to play poodle! So I threw it for him..."

Sarah W.   Norfolk, VA

Leash Training Your Mokave Kitten

To leash train your kitten, you'll need a lightweight harness - never use a pet collar as it can choke your kitty. I recomend the Comfort Harness (PetSmart and PetCo sell them in their Rabbit section) as it is easy to put on your kitten and has velcro and snaps to prevent kitty from slipping out of it. As your cat grows larger, use a soft, padded dog harness. Of course everywhere you go, people will want to see your exotic leash-trained cat!

Isis On Harness

Mokave Pet Parent:

"Isis and Sheba both walk very well on leashes. When we ask if they want to go for a walk they get excited and begin 'talking' to us. They sit, stay, and heel. While walking, they will slow down or speed up so that they can walk right by our heels.

We take them up to football practice with us forso that they may get fresh air and some time to run. We bring a water bottle and a bowl for them... they always wash their paws in the bowl after their 'work out.'

If we take them out separately, the one left at home calls for the other until she comes back. Upon return, it is like a mad house in here with their greeting ritual: sniffing, kissing, rubbing and chasing."

Kim Z.   Brookfield, IL

To Leash and Harness Train Your Kitten:

1. Put the harness on your kitten and let it walk around your house to get used to it.
2. When kitty is comfortable wearing the harness, attach the leash. Don't let it play with the leash.
3. Walk kitty around the house, letting it lead, so it can recognize it's connected to you by the leash.
4. Using praise or a treat, encourage your kitten to walk in the direction that you want to go.
5. When your kitten is used to following you around, take it outside to a safe and quiet place.
6. Let it walk outside a few minutes longer each time until kitty feels at ease outdoors.
7. Always stay alert to any animal or person that might rush up to your kitten and startle it.

Mokave Pet Parent:

"Sniffles has been a ball of thunder, zipping and zooming around the house nonstop. She walks on a harness and leash now everywhere I go. You can't imagine how many times I got, 'OH MY GOD, SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!' She loves all the attention."

Margaret C.   Seattle, WA

Training Examples

Mokave Pet Parent:

"He is walking on a leash now. We have taken him to AJ's Tee Ball practices and out to enjoy the sunshine. We took him to Petco... oh, the 'Oohs' and 'Ahhs' over his beauty. Titan loves sitting in my computer chair. As a matter of fact he is in my lap right now. I cannot tell you how much he is loved."

Stacy H.   Momence, IL

Mokave Pet Parent:

"People do not understand that these Mokave babies of ours actually understand what we say when we talk to them. When I ask them to get off of, let's say the table, they get down. We do not give our beautiful animals people food but occasionally we do give a small piece of carrot or chicken. Isis and Sheba do tricks for these tidbits such as sit, sit up, take food from our lips, and lay down. These are all their favorite tricks and I am trying to add more. They are very polite ladies as well. They never jump into our laps for food, nor do they steal it out of anyone's plate. They sit and are patient."

Kim Z.   Brookfield, IL

Mokave Pet Parent:

"Critter is learning to walk on the harness, the hard part was getting it on him, the rest was easy. He has a scheduled appearance in Gilford Middle High School once we get all settled in. My Biology professor from high school has asked that I come in and present him to her classes."

Sarah W.   Norfolk, VA