Training Kittens to Have Manners
Cat Training Basics for Your New Pet
Training kittens does not have to distract you from the joy a new kitten brings to your household. Even as you work on cat training, you can still enjoy the way she mews and purrs and chases imaginary prey and wrestles with your hand as you pet her—except those antics that are adorable for a kitten can lead to painful cat biting or a deep cat scratch if she continues those behaviors as an adult.
Terry Marie Curtis, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVB, a clinical behaviorist at the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, says the places you might see a cat scratch, the type of aggression she directs at people, and annoyance behaviors all frustrate unprepared new kitten owners. Some cats develop bad habits just because training kittens isn’t always the first priority when you have a new fuzzball.
First and foremost, consult your veterinarian to assure that the naughty behavior is not health-related. After the kitten passes her exam, try these tricks to deal with those bad manners.
Expect to See Your Cat Scratch
Scratching is a normal activity no matter her age. A cat scratches for one of two reasons—to shed her claws, or as a social indicator marking her territory.
“It is part of grooming behavior, serving to loosen the old layers of the claw and to hone the claw to a sharp point,” Dr. Curtis says. “It is also part of marking behavior, serving to provide visual and olfactory cues to other cats.”
If you don’t provide appropriate scratching surfaces during your initial cat training, you might find your favorite couch in shreds. Instead, place stable vertical or horizontal sisal boards and cardboard or carpet scratching posts throughout the house. Experiment to determine which surface your kitten prefers. A little catnip sprinkled on the scratching posts will entice even the most finicky kitty.
Keep your kitten’s nails trimmed, too. This will prevent her from scratching to shed her claws. Ask your veterinarian to recommend the best type of trimmer for your kitten, and keep some styptic powder handy in case you cut into the quick or the living part of the nail and cause bleeding.
Stop Cat Biting in its Tracks
Humans delight in playing with their kittens, but, many times, this ends up in adult-cat biting. Play-wrestling with hands or feet only encourages cat biting, Curtis says.
Instead, employ a simple cat-training technique and play with your kitten using interactive toys, such as fishing poles, feather wands or laser lights. These will teach your kitten that it’s OK to wrestle and play, but not with a human’s hand or foot. Kittens love to play stalking games too, hiding behind a chair to seize their humans’ ankles or legs when they walk by. Though this type of pouncing cat biting may seem like aggressive behavior, the kitten actually sees the human as a giant toy.
“In cases of play-motivated aggression, the cat tends to take a stalking stance and pounce on its victim,” Curtis says. “Many owners think that their cat hates them, but in fact the reverse is true – the owner is the most fun thing around!”
As with the play biting and scratching, training kittens to act mannerly can include toys to redirect exuberance. Be sure your kitten has plenty of catnip mice and crackle balls to stalk instead of your feet.
Meow All You Want
Kittens meow excessively and counter surf when they want a human’s attention, but basic cat training will handle these behaviors.
“Annoyance behaviors tend to be attention-seeking behaviors, so it’s important to give your kitten attention in a good way,” Curtis says. “And that means playing with your cat and providing an outlet for all of its energy.”
If you ignore the bad behavior, eventually the kitten will learn that doing it will not get her the attention she wants. Nighttime meowing, for example, could be your kitten’s call for food or water. If her bowls are full and she still meows, ignore her.
“The most important thing is to ignore your cat when it meows once you’ve made sure that everything is OK,” Curtis says. “Otherwise, the cat will learn that this is a reliable way of getting you up and getting attention – cats are very smart this way!
Training kittens to have manners while they are young will ensure well-behaved adult cats. A little attention and a lot of toys go a long way in limiting overly playful—and trouble-making—tendencies.
Wendy Bedwell-Wilson writes about pet and lifestyle topics from her home in Hawaii where she lives with two spoiled cats, an exuberant Pointer puppy, and her husband.