Philosophical/Biological Question about Animals.

[Abdulmajid]

Why is it you can train a lion to jump through rings of fire and do tricks like in Billy Smart's Circus but no man has ever really trained a house cat.

But you can train a dog to be very obedient and intelligent but can not train a wolf??

I would have thought a cat is to a lion what a dog is to a wolf, no?

[Noweia]

Who says you can't train a house cat? Mine does 'paw', 'sit', 'wait', 'up' and is currently learning more. Many people have trained their cats similarly.

Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by man. They are far removed from the wolves in the wild. They are tamer, and adjust well to living in human 'packs', and as such are more more easily trained. You can train wolves, it's just harder.

[wildwood]

No. A domestic cat can be trained to do tricks just as well, if not better than a lion, it's just that it is frowned upon nowadays.
The Moscow circus has domestic moggies doing unbelievable acrobats.

[Schutzengel]

Cats can definitely be taught, as opposed to the idea of training them. My 3yr old cat Frankie has epilepsy (we have had him for one year, as his previous owners moved house and dumped him when he developed epilepsy, the likely reason being a cat's lifetime of medication at �14 per month). If a cat is going to develop epilepsy it is around the age of two years. Frankie has to have a Phenobarbitol tablet morning and evening every day for the rest of his life.
The first few days he was none too happy. But now I can say sit Frankie, and he sits. Open your mouth. and he does so. He has learned this without any encouragement . He also comes promptly to call just like a well trained dog, no matter what he is interested at the time. He also responds immediately to a quietly spoken no. I wouldn't say this was down to training, it seems more as if he has learned for himself, the things that are to his advantage, such as finding himself a safe home after he was dumped. He followed my well-fed cats home, and found a welcome. Good luck with your research.

[lankeela]

Breeding of domestic dogs has evolved by people choosing the ones to breed from that are more biddable and therefore easier to train, and selected breeding stock for their ability to learn. Wolves have not been domesticated in the same way but I am sure if someone started to breed a line of wolves that were chosen for their ability to respond to training within time they would be able to teach them most of what a dog can do.

As for cats, they do what they want, when they want. Anyone who says they have trained a cat is kidding themselves - the cat has trained them to ask them to do something then rewarding them - so the cat is in effect in control of its own destiny.