The cat I had when I was a kid would occasionally use the toilet. Just for peeing.

When he was done he’d paw the handle. He wasn’t strong enough to actually flush it, but he tried.

We didn’t so much teach this trick, as he learned it on his own, but we got an automatic feeder for him to help us with his diet. It feeds him 6x per day, and since we’re no longer the ones giving him food, he has stopped begging us for food at all hours.

In any case, a few months ago, we noticed him in the dining room, staring at the grandfather clock. Then the clock chimed, and he ran over to the feeder and stared at it until a few seconds later, when it dispensed the food. He doesn’t do this, except around feeding time.

So, it’s just pavlovian: he’s learned to associate the clock chime with the feeder, and has a general idea when feeding time is based on how hungry he is. Still, it’s a neat party trick to tell guests we have a cat who can read a clock and tell time.

I leash/harness train mine. It’s nice to be able to mostly walk them around outside like dogs. Also I train them to ride on my shoulders for transportation. That way when they get too lazy to walk back to the house or I need to carry them around for any other reason I can just plop them on my shoulders and they will ride there, keeping my hands free. My neighbors probably think I’m crazy.

u/VegaLyrae’s suggestions are all excellent.

I used treats to show her I like it when she boops my nose with her nose. Now she just does it when I slow blink at her and she comes over and boops my snoot then I take a single finger and gently stroke her cheeks. Then she just loafs on my chest and purrs.

Fetch: grab the toy if they play with it and it ends up close by, use verbal reinforcement

Names: the cats recognize everyone’s name in the hous thanks to reinforcement learning

Locations: the cats know where I’m going and can beat me there because I tell them where I’m going, sounds like reinforcement learning again?

Activities: set phrases like “let’s go”, “come on”, “let’s get some food”, “jump up”, etc, all by reinforcement training.

Paw-touching: slowly touch more and more often, for longer, until nail clipping is a breeze. Hmm… Might be reinforcement training again.

To end bad behaviors, hiss, it’s a built-in “no” for cats.

Mine knows: touch, spin, high 5, up (stands on his back legs), lie down

Hand signals over verbal signals. They listen better and it freaks your friends out when you rub your finger together and all your cats show up.

As a kid, my mother taught ours to sit, shake, lie down, roll over, and to dance/stand (stand on 2 feet). It took a lot of training to get him to do it but it was sorta worth it. 🤷

Ignore me.
Wake me up.

Knock my shit over.
Fit in the box.

My cat has mastered all these tricks.