Training a Kitten

Having a kitten involves taking on a lot of responsibilities. Your new kitten will need to be fed, possibly bathed and there are all manner of other chores which come along with bringing a kitten into your home. One of the most important parts of your duty as a cat owner is to teach your new kitten how to behave properly – this will take time and effort, but is a necessary part of cat ownership.

It’s easiest to train a cat when it is still young; good news if you’ve just adopted a kitten! Fortunately, training a cat is usually easier than training a new dog.

Training a kitten begins with understanding their behavior and how they perceive the world. Typically, your kitten will be affectionate and playful and aside from a little rambunctiousness, pretty well behaved. However, watch your cat’s mood – if you see changes in its behavior, it can indicate a problem. Once you find the cause, behavioral problems are generally easily corrected.

Here are a few helpful hints to training your new kitten:

1. Kittens need lots exercise. Your kitten will need toys to play with and some playtime participation on your part. A bored kitten can do a lot of damage once its begin exploring the home for things to play with.
2. Your kitten’s claws are not yet sharp enough (and they are not strong enough) yet to do the kind of damage an adult cat will while scratching. This is good news for your furniture, but you need to take advantage of this time to teach your kitten where they should and should not scratch.

Kittens respond well to positive reinforcement. When your kitten learns to obey a command or behaves well, offer praise and treats. Negative reinforcement will only cause your cat to fear you; it will take a long time to teach them anything afterwards if they are afraid of you.

Kittens are great pets and a lot of fun around the house. However, they will take some patience and persistent instruction in order to learn how to behave properly and become a member of your family.