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THE CAT CODE™Cat Academy · A little knowledge. A better connection.

Teaching & learning materials

Put understanding into practice.

Twelve guided worksheets and three complete facilitator sessions. All activities can be completed with fictional cases, props or observation; a live cat is never required.

An observation worksheet and pencil on a desk, with a cat resting separately on a low cushion.
Record observations while giving the cat space. Paper scenarios can replace live practice.Teaching illustration.

12 worksheets · 3 facilitator sessions

Learner worksheets

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Record what you see, including context. Keep possible explanations separate. If unsure about contact, pause and give space.
Describe the event before offering an explanation. A cat’s stillness alone does not establish comfort.
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Observation before interpretation

Capture what happened without diagnosing an emotion or forcing an interaction.

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Example resource map: a safe retreat; separate food, water and litter locations; room for play; cat-led interaction; familiar scents and quiet. Keep routes usable and resources accessible.
The five needs guide the functions of a home. The map is illustrative; separate resources and provide routes the individual cat can use.
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A home with choices

Turn a resource map into one affordable, reversible improvement.

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Check food against the existing care plan, fresh accessible water, and clean reachable litter. Record time, observations and unknowns; share changes with the veterinary team.
A handoff records actual care and uncertainty. New changes need veterinary advice; a log must not delay urgent care.
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Daily care and caregiver handoff

Keep essential care responsibilities clear and notice meaningful changes.

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Inspect materials, offer one easy activity, let the cat choose how to engage, then pause and put equipment away. Watching or leaving is allowed; ordinary nutrition remains available.
Start easy and observe the response. Supervise equipment that can tangle or be swallowed, and allow the cat to leave.
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Play and foraging experiment

Offer one easy activity and adjust it based on voluntary engagement.

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Two labeled routes show each cat reaching separate food, water and litter locations. Check for blocking or retreat; do not force cats to share a station or meet.
The lanes represent separate usable locations, not bowls lined up together. Observe blocking, waiting and retreat without assigning blame.
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Scratching and shared-resource access

Support normal behavior while noticing who can actually use the home.

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Emergency examples such as breathing difficulty, collapse or straining with little or no urine require emergency veterinary care. New or persistent changes need a veterinary call. An ordinary preference can be observed. If unsure, call.
Urgent signs override the activity. Straining with little or no urine, breathing difficulty and collapse are emergency examples; this list is not exhaustive.
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Changing needs and veterinary handoff

Separate safe home adaptation from diagnosis and medical triage.

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Choose something this cat values, notice one voluntary action, then give the prepared reward promptly and pause. The cat can leave; never withhold essentials.
Prepare a suitable reward and a quiet setting before asking for a tiny action. Participation includes the freedom to stop.
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Reward and readiness plan

Prepare the setting and reward before asking for a behavior.

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Observe the voluntary behavior, give one quiet marker at that moment, then give the prepared reward promptly. A marker is not a repeated command.
The sequence is action, marker, prompt reward. Keep the signal quiet and consistent; practice your own timing before adding a cat.
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Marker timing practice

Improve the caregiver’s timing before adding a training demand.

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Choose a target or a mat. Build a target from looking to approach to voluntary touch, or a mat from looking to approach to stepping on. Either way, leaving ends practice.
A target and a mat are different starting options. Build gradually, and let departure end the attempt.
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Small-step target or mat ladder

Break a goal into choices that can be made easier.

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With the carrier stable and its door secured open, a cat may approach, enter voluntarily or leave. Keep the door open throughout this lesson; do not add lifting or travel.
Looking or approaching can be a valid first step. Open-door practice must not turn into surprise confinement.
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Open-carrier confidence plan

Make the carrier an available place without surprise closure.

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Door movement, brief duration, lifting and travel are separate future steps. Pause and check comfort between changes. Return to an easier step or ask the veterinary team for help; a deadline is not readiness.
Practice one variable only after a comfortable prerequisite. Necessary veterinary care must not wait for a training milestone.
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One carrier change and a journey plan

Avoid stacking door movement, closure, lifting and travel into one demand.

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Check comfort before each familiar touch. Invite, offer one tiny already accepted touch, then pause. Turning away, tension or leaving means stop, even before contact. Re-entry needs a new comfort check.
Departure or withdrawal ends an optional touch attempt. Stopping before contact can be a successful caregiver decision.
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Cooperative-care participation agreement

Make the caregiver’s pause and stop decisions explicit.

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Facilitator session plans

Illustrative tabby leaving a low open hide, with a stable scratching post and clear walking space.
Notice the separate hide, scratching surface and open route. Offer choices your cat can reach.Teaching illustration.
60-minute session

A home seen from a cat’s point of view

Adult caregivers, community educators and supervised teen learners; no live cat is needed.

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Illustrative adult waits with hands in their lap while a tabby approaches an open carrier with the door removed.
The cat can approach or leave. Follow the carrier maker’s instructions before removing or securing a door for supervised practice.Teaching illustration.
75-minute session

Kind training lab: small steps and reliable pauses

Adult caregivers or supervised older learners; all practical tasks use people, objects or stuffed toys.

Open facilitator guide
An observation worksheet and pencil on a desk, with a cat resting separately on a low cushion.
Record observations while giving the cat space. Paper scenarios can replace live practice.Teaching illustration.
60-minute session

Evidence, reflection and improving the curriculum

Caregivers, educators and curriculum maintainers reviewing learning quality; no clinical assessment is performed.

Open facilitator guide

Make it accessible.

Offer spoken answers, drawing, large-print copies or a partner scribe. Assess understanding, not writing speed. Use scenarios in place of handling demonstrations.

Scoring matrix & rubric

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