How to Teach a Cat to Roll Over

I started teaching my Desert Lynx cat to do tricks when he was about 5 months old. 

All you need is a click pen (or something that makes a clicking noise) and some kitty currency---I use Whiskas Temptations cat treats.  It doesn't matter what flavor, my cats love these.  Just like in the commercials, they come running when they hear the crackling of the bag.

So here's how I taught my cat to roll over:

Well, before this trick, I showed him to "lay down."  I think it will be easiest if your cat knows this command first, actually.

Once he was in the laying down position, I would put a treat up to his nose and pull it to one side.  The cat would follow the treat with his head until his body flipped over.  When he returned to a laying down position, I would click my pen (or clicking device) and give him the treat.

One important thing to remember when trying to teach a cat tricks is that even with an incentive, they are not all that excited about completing the task and receiving praise.  Even though my cat knows his tricks, when I ask him to do them with treat in hand, sometimes for 2 minutes, he will walk around me doing everything but what I'm asking of him. His focus is only on the treat he smells.