I think that we can all agree that cats in hats, capes, or other clothes are quite adorable. However, many of our cats find the experience to be less than enjoyable.

Here are a couple of solutions if you would like to dress your cat up!

You can use a training trick as a “costume”, use a costume that your cat prefers, or desensitize your cat to wearing clothing.

Pick Trick for a Treat!

The trick that you use can be either very simple or very complicated depending on what you pick. The simplest trick can be used for a fun costume with a little creativity. For example, you can use a fundamental trick such as touch, where your cat touches their nose to a specific spot such as your finger or a stick, to have them “wear” a mustache or a funny face! They will not have to put anything on but instead get rewarded for a simple action making this costume a fun and easy experience for both of you!

An alternative trick could be training your cat to perch on your shoulder or go to a specific place to help hand out candy on Halloween or greet guests at the door. If your cat already knows a few tricks you can use what they already know to have them play a part without the clothing!

Cat Comfy Clothing!

The reason that cats tend to dislike wearing clothing is that not only are they not used to the sensation of clothing but they are also particularly sensitive in the places that costumes are usually worn. As humans, we tend to not be particularly sensitive at the top of our heads, the front of our torso, or our hands and feet. Cats are especially sensitive at those places! That sensitivity combined with the fact that many costumes are made to mimic human costumes or clothing means that cats are predisposed to not like clothing. However, there is hope! Not all cats are sensitive in those places due to genetics so depending on your cat you may still be able to put certain items on your cat with minimal difficulty. The best place to focus a costume for a cat who dislikes wearing clothes is their back or the neck. You can add wings to a harness or a bow tie to a collar easily and many cats will accept those costumes with ease.

Learning to Love Style

If you are determined to have your cat rock an awesome costume for Halloween or a costume contest here is how you teach them to not only cooperate but love their costumes!

The secret is to take it slow and that they get lots of treats and play while in costume! It sounds simple, and it is! However, it can also take a significant amount of time depending on how much your cat hates getting dressed up! Here are some steps for you to follow:

1. Once you get the costume let your cat investigate it. Bonus points if they sleep on it! This will allow your cat to get used to the costume outside of the context of wearing it and also help it smell like them.

2. Take one part of the costume, such as the torso item, hat, or boot, and place it over the cat’s body without fastening it. Reward them immediately and constantly while they are wearing it. This will help them get used to the weight and associate the costume with treats and therefore positive feelings. Repeat with all parts of the costume and stay on this step until your cat is unphased by the costume.

3. Now you can practice fastening each item, keep rewarding constantly so that your cat is distracted from you messing with the ties or clips! Repeat with all items of clothing individually until your cat is similarly unphased by being dressed.

4. Now you can put it all together! Put on all pieces of the costume and keep rewarding your cat while you do so and while they are wearing it!

5. At this point if your cat is relaxed in the costume you can start decreasing the number of treats you are giving them and let them wear the costume while they sleep or play. This will let the costume become more normal and let them move around and be able to do tricks while in costume!

As you go through these steps watch out for your cat telling you to back off! You don’t want them to start to hate the costume so if you see raised fur, stiff body, growling, or hissing immediately take off the costume and give your cat some space. You can try again later with less costume or more treats to help distract them! It is common to use a LOT of treats especially initially, just try not to give your cat a belly ache if they are not used to lots of treats!

If you are having difficulty at any step feel free to reach out!

The Biology of Cats vs Clothing

As mentioned earlier there are a couple of biological conflicts cats have with clothing. The main one is the fact that your cat probably has whiskers. Whiskers act as your cat’s sensors to tell them to move out of the way from an approaching object. Therefore when you place a hat on your cat’s head or something around your cat’s paw their whiskers are telling them to move away from the object. And when that object follows them they will stress out a bit and learn to hate that item of clothing. While there are ways to teach your cat how to wear hats and boots, see above, however, these tend to be the hardest items to desensitize. For similar reasons try to keep your costume from crushing your cat’s ears! Not only do their ears also have whiskers but if your cat’s ears are forced down they will be uncomfortable. Cats rely on their hearing for their situational awareness and being deafened will stress them out!

You can read more about how whiskers work here at Just a Whisker’s Length Away!

The belly is the next common problematic place. A cat’s belly is both soft and vulnerable, making your cat highly protective of it. This is why when your cat shows their belly it is both a sign of trust and a trap. And also, why they tend to not like you putting a costume around their torso. If your cat is already harness trained then you have most likely already worked through this problem, and if your cat has never seen a harness in their life then that is a problem that you will most likely face. If you having trouble with this part check out our Harness Training course! (add link)

You can read more about Why Your Shows Their Belly here!

The final common issue cats have with costumes is that they are not used to the weight of the clothing. Some cats freeze up with the weight of the costume on them, some flail around trying to remove them. If you have ever seen a cat just fall over when wearing a vest harness for the first time it is a similar situation. They are not used to the extra weight and therefore not sure about how to move with the weight. They will need to practice moving in the costume for short periods to adjust. You should also make sure that the costume’s weight is evenly distributed and that there is no pressure on your cat’s neck as to not restrict their breathing!

Costumed Tricks!

If you want to go above and beyond you can combine your costume with a trick to get your cat in character! You can add a high five or a stand to show off your cat’s skills. For example, my cat, Professor, knows how to give me a high ten, and when she is dressed in her parrot costume it moves and shows off her wings! Get creative and blow away the competition!

How to Prepare for Halloween!

Getting ready for Halloween or a costume contest for your cat? Here are some tips for a successful costume showing!

1. Start now! The earlier you get the costume the more can desensitize your cat to the costume and potentially teach them a trick to go with it!

2. Take their preferences into account! If your cat is good with you handling their belly but hates hats aim for a costume that focuses on their torso. It will be significantly less stressful for both you and your cat.

3. Take it on the road! If you are planning on traveling to show off your cat or taking them outside in their costume practice putting on and wearing the costume in similar locations so they learn to wear it anywhere!

Have fun and send us pictures of your cat in costume! Tag us on Insta @spacecatacademy