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Kitten Care Bringing Up BabyProviding good kitten care will help to ensure that your
new bundle of fur will grow up to be a confident, healthy cat. It can
all be very exciting having your first kitten, but it does come with
a responsibility to play an active role in their upbringing. However
it is a fine line between spoiling them and giving them the confidence
to interact in the human world. Too much spoiling and cosseting and
the kitten may grow up not possessing the skills to look after themselves
properly.
Kitten care during the first seven weeks.Kittens are born without having any sense of fear, which is great news for us humans, as we want the kitten to see us as their friends and not as a big scary giant. These first few weeks are a vital time to socialise the kitten to humans. Without this contact during this time a cat may never become accustomed to people and so become feral cats. It is very rare for a feral cat to become truly domesticated. My sister homed a feral kitten, he was older than seven weeks and so even though he lived in a domestic situation from that young age he never really got on with people. In fact the only person able to go near him was my sister, everyone else would end up covered in scratches.This seven-week window is known as the “sensitive period”, where experiences during this time will effect and mould the sort of cat they will become. During this time it is important that:
The more experiences introduced during this “sensitive period” the better
and it is a very important step in providing good kitten care. As the
kitten has no fear during this time they will explore and get used to
all the sounds, smells and different types of creatures in their world.
Kkittens that do not receive these experiences will often grow into very
shy scared cats that like to keep them selves to themselves. It is very
difficult to change this behaviour in later life.
NOTE: When re-homing a kitten from a shelter or from a breeder it is important to find out as much as you can about their upbringing so far. Kittens that have not been properly socialised will need far more of your attention and even then they may never become easy pets to live with. Early LessonsMost cats are excellent mothers and will teach her new brood all the catty things they need to know but as an owner we must stand by to give her a helping hand or to reinforce certain lessons. This type of kitten care can often be overlooked as we think that the mother cat will teach them everything they need to know, but without our intervention, sometimes things can go a little awry. The mother cat will teach her kittens about hunting, play, toilet training and which food to eat, your role in helping with these lessons are:
Kitten care, not punishment.
It is very tempting for kitten and cat owners to punish
their pets when they do something wrong, just like we would our children.
However cats do not have the same understanding of punishment. They do
not automatically associate a punishment with a certain misdemeanour;
instead they will associate it with the person. So instead of providing
a positive outcome i.e. stop chewing the chair for example, you are creating
a negative one between your cat and yourself. This can lead to aggression
towards you and even avoidance, which in some extreme cases could result
in the cat going off to find new owners.
So from an early age it is important to practice these rules and teach your furry youngster the right and wrong way to behave. Reward good behaviour always with a positive experience, something that your particular cat really enjoys, it could be:
Reward bad behaviour with a negative experience by taking something away that your cat enjoys. The most powerful of which is the removal of attention. So:
The cat will perceive this as a bad experience and will not want to repeat it. Final words on kitten careIt is easy for us to look after a kitten nutritionally and medically these days, as everything is so accessible. Special kitten food can be bought from every supermarket and our local vets can carry out vaccinations and neutering relatively cheaply and easily. But too often the important kitten care of socialisation and early training experiences are overlooked and this when done correctly from the beginning will prevent many future behavioural problems and will ensure that you have a happy contented confident cat who will bring many benefits to the family for many years.
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