Since the beginning of time, cats have convinced the world that they are untrainable so they can do whatever they want...but those days are over! Gregory Popovich is a professional cat trainer who's trained cats to perform amazing circus-style tricks for television and stage, and he's about to reveal his most closely guarded secrets so cat lovers everywhere can put an end to the most common problems: - Stop bad litter box habits - End early-morning howling - Banish your cat from tabletops and countertops - Prevent begging before mealtime - Put an end to destructive clawing - Make peace between rival cats And so much more, including how to become an expert cat trainer at home and teach your cat to perform Gregory's favorite tricks, like jumping through a hoop or perching on your shoulders. This fun-to-read book also provides wonderful insights into the mysterious, complex feline mind, explaining why cats do the things they do so we can better understand them and enjoy a closer, more meaningful friendship. Since the beginning of time, cats have convinced the world that they are untrainable so they can do whatever they want…but those days are over! Gregory Popovich is a professional cat trainer who's trained cats to perform amazing circus-style tricks for television and stage, and he's about to reveal his most closely guarded secrets so cat lovers everywhere can put an end to the most common problems: Stop bad litter box habits End early-morning howling Banish your cat from tabletops and countertops Prevent begging before mealtime Put an end to destructive clawing Make peace between rival cats And so much more, including how to become an expert cat trainer at home and teach your cat to perform Gregory's favorite tricks, like jumping through a hoop or perching on your shoulders. This fun-to-read book also provides wonderful insights into the mysterious, complex feline mind, explaining why cats do the things they do so we can better understand them and enjoy a closer, more meaningful friendship. Gregory Popovich and his performing cats have appeared on The Tonight Show , Late Night With David Letterman , Craig Ferguson , America's Got Talent , Penn & Teller , Animal Planet and more.  He has also trained cats for Saturday Night Live and pet food commercials, and has been written up in Entertainment Weekly , The New Yorker and People magazine. You CAN Train Your Cat Secrets of a Master Cat Trainer By Gregory Popovich St. Martin's Griffin Copyright © 2009 Gregory Popovich All right reserved. ISBN: 9780312565282 YOU CAN TRAIN YOUR CAT Part I Laying the Groundwork for a Long, Happy Life Together 1 The Connection Between Humans and Cats Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. --ANONYMOUS            T he feline we know as the domestic cat or housecat has cohabitated with humans since long before the dawn of recorded time. Whatever it is that sustains the mutual attraction that first spurred this partnership, it has continued to this day. Perhaps the explanation is that humans and cats were made for each other.There is evidence from a genetic study that the direct ancestors of today's domestic cats broke away from their wild counterparts and began living with humans more than 100,000 years ago. The study's coauthor, Stephen O'Brien, chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National CancerInstitute in Frederick, Maryland, remarked about the housecat's special character. "The felidae family is well known as a successful predator--very deadly, very ferocious, very threatening to all species including humankind," he said. "But this little guy actually chose not to be that. He actually chose to be a little bit friendly and also was a very good mouser."Good news for it. The bearlike saber-toothed tiger has been extinct for thousands of years. The clever little housecat is thriving. Estimates indicate there as many as 600 million of these creatures in the world today.A question arises: Who made the first move in the bonding between cat and human? What drew this curious subspecies of feline toward the fires and shelters of human settlements?Knowing the independent nature of cats, it is likely that they initially sought out the company of humans, not vice versa. And what, exactly, did these upright, two-legged, rather naked creatures have to offer their much smaller, four-legged and furry, fellow mammals?The explanation is simple: farms. Early agricultural settlements were infested by rodents attracted by grain stores. The mice and other vermin, in turn, attracted cats. And the cats--being lethal hunters--garnered the gratitude of the farmers. The partnership deal likely was sealed by the cats' openness to establishing permanent residence in the farming communities, partaking of shelter and food offered by human settlers in return for their mouser duties. But we shouldn't ignore two other appealing qualities: the relative ease in