Article: Cats are always learning how to communicate with us. The more that you communicate with your cat, the faster he or she will learn.  Use a slightly raised tone of voice to indicate friendliness and a lowered tone of voice to indicate displeasure or aggression.  Using repetition will help your cat learn to anticipate consistent activities.  You may want to repeat a word such as sleep or bed each time you go to bed. Eventually, your cat will begin to associate the repetitive word sound with your actions and may even get to the bedroom before you. Cats can be trained to understand words, but they will instinctively understand nonverbal cues.  Creating a warm environment with clear expectations and few surprises can help strengthen your initial bond with a new cat.  If you blink slowly when making eye contact with your cat, she will usually respond by coming over to be stroked. This is seen as a very non-threatening gesture. Try not to stare directly into a cat’s eyes. It tells her that you're unfriendly or aggressive.  If your cat wants to go somewhere such as next to you on the couch, but he seems unsure, pat the space and use a soft, reassuring voice to invite him to join you. Be consistent in your intent and expression. A common blunder many pet owners make is to say "no" but pet the cat at the same time. This is very confusing to the cat. So for example, if you want your cat to go away, a firm "later" and a gentle push, without showing affection, will let the cat know that her presence is not desired at this time. Most cats will try two to three times to invade a person's space, often from different directions. When saying "Later", be patient. Never yell at or physically discipline a cat. This only frightens and angers the cat, and is counterproductive. Instead, to show displeasure, you can add a hard edge to your voice. The cat will pick up on that and sense unhappiness. Being consistent with the wording, tone, and other accompanying signals while giving your cat training commands will help both of you agree on and understand clear expectations.  Develop a commanding tone to use with your cat when he or she is doing something that you consider to be wrong. Use a voice that comes naturally to you and can be replicated easily, but that is also distinct from your everyday talking voice. If you use this voice sparingly but seriously, your cat will learn to associate the voice with the idea that she is displeasing you. Make a quick and sharp hiss or spit sound as a "no" command. This is similar to the sound made as a correction or warning in “cat language” and using it can communicate your intent more clearly to your cat. With patience, cats can be trained to respond to commands, much the same as for dogs. You can even teach your cat to shake your hand.

What is a summary?
Talk back to your cat. Use nonverbal communication cues. Deliver commands to your cat.