How to Teach Your Cat a Shake Hands Trick

Work with your cat over a period of seven or more days. Do not feed more than 4-5 high calorie treats per day during this 7 day training period. If you feed more use a low calorie treat designed for training. These may be hard to find for cats. You can also use your cat's other favorite foods like chicken or tuna. It just needs to be in a form you can hand them.

Place your cat in front of you, facing you, and do not pet them. They may try to rub against you or walk away. Use the palms of your hands to gently nudge the cat back in front of you.

Present the treat, but do not give it to them. Just let them smell it, then take it away. Use your hands to keep your cat sitting in front of you and upright as much as possible. They will attempt to lay down.

Present a hand directly in front of your cat near it's right front leg. Snap your fingers a couple of times, then reach out gently and take your cat's paw and shake it. They will attempt to pull it away, but keep a firm but not tight grip and keep the shake very short. Do not hold on for more than 2 seconds.

Reward your cat with a treat. Pet your cat without picking him/her up. Tell your cat "Good Job!"

Repeat steps 1-5 three consecutively times before noon and two consecutive times in the evening for seven days. You will begin to see that your cat presents their paw to you in anticipation for the treat. Make sure you don't give the treat unless you ask for their paw by snapping your fingers. They will also learn to let you shake their paw for longer and longer periods of time. Cat's have a natural response to pull their feet away from being grabbed.

After your cat learns this trick, practice with them at least once per day. Wait no less than one to two months before teaching another trick.