How to Train a Cat to Jump Through a Hoop

Co-authored by Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT

Last Updated: March 13, 2023

Though you may think that cats are impossible to train, with a little patience, persistence, and plenty of treats it can be done. Soon enough, your cat will be jumping through hoops for you! Teach your cat to associate behaviors with rewards, then introduce it to a hoop, and slowly lure it through the hoop a bit at a time until your cat is jumping through on command.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Familiarizing Your Cat with the Basics

1
Teach your cat to follow your hand by rewarding it with a treat when it does. Put a treat in your hand and get your cat to come to it. Begin by moving your hand slowly away from the cat and reward it with a treat when it follows it.^{[1]
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- This will teach your cat to associate behavior with a reward. Eventually, you should be able to get the cat to follow your hand even when it doesn’t have a treat in it. Make sure to reward it every time it completes a desired action.
2
Purchase a child-sized hula hoop or cat agility training hoop. Buy a small hula hoop at a toy store, or find a cat or dog agility training kit at a pet store that comes with a hoop. Don’t get any hoops that light up or make noise because they will scare or distract your cat.^{[2]
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- Agility training kits often come with small, pet-sized hoops with a stand. This can be useful later on in your training so you don’t have to hold the hoop up yourself.
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3
Lay the hoop on the ground and let your cat get familiar with it. Put your new hoop flat on the ground and get your cat to explore it by placing treats in the middle and around the sides. Raise the hoop up on its side after your cat seems comfortable with it on the ground. Continue to reward the cat for getting close to it and touching it with its nose.^{[3]
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- Make sure your cat is fully comfortable touching the hoop before you begin to teach it to jump through it.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Teaching Your Cat to Walk Through the Hoop

1
Hold the hoop on its side on the ground. Stand the hoop up between you and your cat on its side and hold it in place, or use a stand if you have one. Have plenty of treats handy to keep your cat interested in you and the hoop.^{[4]
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2
Lure your cat to walk through the hoop towards your hand. Use your hand with a treat as a target on the other side of the hoop. Stick your arm through the hoop and lure your cat through it a step at a time if it's hesitant.^{[5]
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- Repeat this process until the cat walks through the hoop to your hand without needing to be lured step-by-step.
3
Reward your cat with a treat every time it walks through the hoop. Always give the treat right away as soon as the cat walks through the hoop so it understands that the treat is for passing through the hoop.^{[6]
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- Do not reward your cat if it walks around the hoop to get to the target.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Raising the Hoop and Introducing a Cue

1
Raise the hoop 1–2 in (2.5–5.1 cm) at a time and lure your cat through it. Start slowly raising the hoop bit by bit, in increments of 1–2 in (2.5–5.1 cm), and luring your cat through it towards your hand until it is high enough that it has to jump through it. Your cat will likely keep walking through it until it gets high enough that it has to jump, but keep giving it a treat every time it passes through the hoop.^{[7]
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- Don’t give your cat a treat if it goes under or around the hoop.
2
Add a cue sound once your cat is jumping through the hoop. Say a word like “hoop”, or make a clicking sound with your mouth or a handheld clicker, right before you present your hand with a treat on the other side of the hoop. This will begin to teach your cat to associate the cue with the action of jumping through the hoop.^{[8]
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- Remember to continue to reward your cat as soon as it jumps through the hoop to the other side, and do not reward the cat for any other behaviors.
- You can get handheld clickers that are meant specifically for pet agility training online or at a pet shop.
3
Phase out the treats until your cat jumps on cue. Wait 1-2 seconds after you make the cue sound to show your hand with a treat on the other side of the hoop. Keep increasing the amount of time, in 1-2 second increments, until your cat jumps through the hoop when it hears the cue.^{[9]
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- Remember to present your hand with a treat right away every time your cat jumps through the hoop so it keeps associating the behavior with a reward.
4
Stop holding a treat in your hand on the other side of the hoop. Keep some treats hidden in a pocket, or off to the side somewhere, and make the cue for your cat to jump through the hoop. Give your cat a treat right away every time it does the trick after the cue.^{[10]
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- Keep practicing this trick with your cat and it will become second nature. You can impress all of your friends with its newfound ability!
- You can even expand on this trick and begin to teach your cat how to get through more complex agility courses.^{[11]
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