High-Five Day Challenge Shows Cats Learning Neat Tricks And Helps Them Find Forever Homes
Some cats do more than chase toys, they learn tricks that can help them find homes. That is the idea behind Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Pawsitive National High-Five Day Contest, which spotlights shelter cats through positive reinforcement training.
The program recently announced the winners of its fourth annual contest, and the results are as charming as they are practical. From high-fives to leash walks and carrier training, these cats are showing that a little patience can go a long way in a shelter.
Here are the standout cats from this year’s challenge, and the moments that made them impossible to ignore.
FELV+ Tudie Wins High-Five Contest
This year’s first-place winner, Tudie, is a long-time participant in the Cat Pawsitive program.
“Congratulations to our first place winner, Tudie, who has won $5,000 for Chattanooga’s McKamey Animal Center (MAC)!” wrote Galaxy on Facebook.
“Tudie has been participating in Cat Pawsitive since it was first introduced at MAC, and has fully embraced it! So far, he has learned sit, head-bump, eye-contact, and most excitedly, high-five.
Despite being an FELV+ kiddo, Tudie serves as a wonderful example of how cats with an FELV+ diagnosis can still go on to live happy and fulfilling lives (and even learn some neat tricks, too)!”
MAC wrote: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected as the first place winner for this contest! Tudie is a little super star of a cat!”
Jill does High Five with Carin
Jill, a "mostly-blind foster cat" cared for by Austin Animal Center (AAC) foster provider Carin, came in second place. The AAC outlined how training works on their Facebook page:
“How it works is you encourage the cat to do a specific behavior, then when they do the thing you want them to do, click, and immediately reward. They learn to associate the click with the reward and then repeat whatever they did to get the click/reward.”
“What is so cool about this video is Jill is a mostly-blind cat, and look how smart she is and giving all the high-fives! It is no wonder they were a top finalist! Jill was born with feline entropion…a condition where the eyelids/lashes grow inwards.
Jill is blind
“Baby Jill💕💕💕💕 you’ve come so far sweet girl! Thank you for being so smart & getting 2nd place!!!!!, AAC wrote.
Third place goes to Phil
The Homeless Animal Rescue Team in Cambria, California, received third place with an extroverted 1-year-old cat named Phil, dubbed "the tiny bobcat."
“This is our silly BLOOPER. Our Medical Director Stacey, couldn’t help being class clown. WAIT FOR IT!” they shared on Facebook.
Phil the bobcat
“I’m Phil, and I’m a 1-year-old mini BOBCAT (Ok, ok! I like to pretend I am!) I came to HART after living on the streets.
Soon after I arrived, my caretakers discovered that I had a broken tail, which needed to be amputated to make me feel better. That’s ok – I’m even more like a bobcat now!”
Aside from the three champions, the Cat Pawsitive program has cats all throughout the country doing high-fives and other stunts. Thanos, a 15-pound FIV+ cat from the Heartland Humane Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, is in the news today, for example.
And for a truly wild transformation, read about Félicette, the first and only feline astronaut.
Thanos from Heartland Humane Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon
“He used to be a really shy cat that’s now come out of his shell with positive reinforcement with this program,” Courtney Williams wrote.
Learn more about Clicker Training:
With Cat Pawsitive and a lot of high fives, shelter cats who would otherwise go unnoticed get a chance to shine. Because more people were at home during the pandemic, teaching cats to follow Galaxy's simple procedures relieved boredom and aided overburdened shelters.
It is a win-win situation.
These cats are making their case one paw at a time.
Want another feel-good win? See how Moggy’s support for his deaf owner earned Cat of the Year.
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