How to Get Your Cat Used to Being Handled by a Variety of People

Judges vary greatly in the ways they handle cats. Therefore, the more friends you can persuade to aid you in this process, the better training it provides for the cat. Make sure that your friends carry out adequate disinfection procedures before handling your cat to prevent the transmission of any infection or disease.

Training objective: To get your cat used to being handled by a variety of people.

Training steps

    • Encourage your friends to pick up your cat and talk to him in a gentle voice. Reward your cat with his favourite food treat at the end of each session.


      • Familiarise your cat to get used to his body being held in various poses. Generally, a steward will extract the cat from his pen by the rear end. The cat is then placed on the judge’s table. The judge or steward will pick up the cat again, and, while raising him, stretch out his whole body for examination. After this has been completed to the judges’ satisfaction, the cat is placed on the table, or held with just his back paws resting on the judging table. Practise all these manoeuvres while gently speaking to, and encouraging, your cat. Reward your cat with his food treats after handling.
        • Lift up his lip so that he gets used to someone looking at his teeth. The alignment of the cat’s lower and upper jaw is checked at the same time, although this usually applies to pedigree show entrants only. Many cats become frightened when being handled in this way, so take training slowly, encouraging your cat at all stages. After each attempt, reward with a favourite food treat.
          • When your cat is used to being handled by you and your friends, introduce a white coat into the scenario. Familiarise your cat with seeing you and your friends wearing this coat, and with being handled by white-coated people. At the end of each session, bring out the usual food reward treat.
            • Find a small table, and protect its surface from cat scratches. Place your cat on its surface so he is used to being confined to a small space by a white-coated person. When each session has finished, reward with the food treat.