Training A Kitten
Posted by Rae and Mark on Feb 20, 2009
Training a cat must begin when she’s still a kitten - the sooner you teach the correct behaviors, the sooner she’ll learn what’s expected of her, as this article shows:
Everything your cat knows, she learned when she was a kitten
A cat’s habits, behavior and personality are all learned as a kitten. Cats have to be excellent teachers and kittens great students in order to impart so much knowledge in the short time of kitten-hood. The down side is that once they learn their lessons, it’s almost impossible to change their habits or behavior. Your best option is to emphasize the learning aspect and enroll them in a good training program.
That’s right. Everything your cat knows, good or bad, she learned in the first weeks of her life. Further, even though she is trainable as she leaves kitten-hood and grows into an adult, it becomes more difficult for her to change the way she does things as she grows older. Is that the reason older cats seem to be crotchety ole’ grouches? And why they won’t move off of your favorite chair without a lot of grumbling? Maybe. But, it’s well documented that the first weeks of a kitten’s life is where they develop all the critical elements of their physiology and personality.
Physical Development and Growth:
The first weeks of a kitten’s life is the most dramatic, growth-wise. At birth a kitten will weigh around 100 grams (3.5 oz). Normal weight gain is about 7-10 grams a day and their weight should double in 14 days. A healthy kitten is plump, firm and vigorous and they will nurse every 1-2 hours. They prefer one teat to nurse and find it by smell. When they’re well fed their stomachs are round and they sleep quietly. If they are crying and moving around, they are not getting enough to eat and may be taking in air when they nurse. Before, during, and after nursing, the queen will lick the stomach and perineal area (the area just above the tail) to stimulate urination and defecation. She’ll do this for the first 2-3 weeks of her kitten’s life.
At 3-4 weeks the kittens will begin to imitate their mom’s eating and drinking habits. Keep a shallow dish for water available for them and you can also allow them to taste a kitten mush mixture of high quality kitten food, kitten milk replacement and hot water blended to the texture of infant cereal. Start off with 3-4 meals a day of this mixture. At first the kittens will explore it, walk in it, and eat some. After that mom may finish the meal herself. Each week decrease the amount of milk replacement, water and time of blending. Weaning will be complete by 7-8 weeks when the kittens should be eating dry food and drinking water on their own.
This growth schedule matches what wild kittens will experience. Mom will nurse them for a while after birth. Then, she will hunt her territory for prey, bring it home and teach her kittens how to eat it. Later she will catch the prey and bring it home alive so that she can teach them how to kill. Kittens need to learn fast because, being easy prey themselves, they are susceptible to predators . They also need to learn fast because mom’s territory is not going to be sustainable for providing food indefinitely. As they grow they’ll eat greater amounts and more often. So, they need to grow up, get out on their own, find their own territory and fend for themselves.
Personality and Socialization
Though cats are solitary creatures, they are not completely loners. Young kittens do not have a developed sense for personal space or territoriality. They’ll snuggle in a ball with themselves or with mom in order to maintain normal body temperature. Conversely, they’ll spread out a little if they’re too hot. As they grow and their bodies develop the ability to maintain itself, they’ll begin to find their own private spaces for resting or sleeping, but still play with each other. In the wild mom will stop providing food for them eventually. She’ll resume protecting her territory, causing her brood to leave or chasing the now adult kittens off. Now they’ll need to establish their own territories and begin the cycle all over again. Domestic kittens may seek their own private space, but since food is readily available, they’ll display less protective territoriality instincts with each other. They’ll include your house as part of their territory, but exclude neighbor cats or other animals from the property.
While they’re still kittens, they’ll stalk and play to develop their balance and coordination. This is the training ground for learning predation and the basic survival techniques that has perpetuated the presence of cats for thousands of years. As cute as the play seems, this play is critical to the survival of the species.
Kittens will learn many things while they are young. For example:
- The food they learn to eat as a kitten, either in the wild or as domestic progeny, will be the food they prefer as an adult. If you feed a variety of foods (quality kitten food, but from different sources such as chicken, beef, seafood, lamb, etc.) they’ll tend to be less picky as an adult. Wild kittens fed only mice will hunt mice as their main source of food as an adult.
- They will learn how to set boundaries in order to identify territory and private space. Kittens raised in closed places such as a cage will not be able to do this as an adult and will appear fearful; unable to establish or identify where the lines of boundary are. Either theirs or anyone else’s. Their personal space will be very small, again making her very fearful, easily threatened and she’ll hide or go into defensive postures easily.
- As already mentioned, play activities of stalking, wrestling, biting and chasing are all directly related to the development of predation techniques. In the wild, the success of an individual cat depends upon how well she learned these tactics, especially the aggressiveness in the application of these methods, when she was a kitten. The Queen plays an important role when she brings home live prey to teach the kittens how to kill and eat prey. The kittens may at first play with the prey, but soon they’ll learn what they’re supposed to do and associate the prey with food for sustenance. Domestic kittens, other than barn cats or other kittens who may receive this ‘on the job training’ come to expect their food to magically appear in a dish from you. Although they’ll retain the instinct to apply the predation methods of ’stalk, chase, kill and eat’, they may not refine them. Consequently, they may stalk and not catch, catch and not kill, and/or kill and not eat any prey that catches their attention. And since domestic cats develop a kitten/Queen identification with their human counterpart, you might find yourself the recipient of a special gift from them in the form of a field mouse, lizard or squirrel.
- Handling kittens born into your home will socialize them with people and other pets in your house. Most Queens will let you pick up her kittens right away. Just don’t worry her by walking away with them. Any young children should not handle kittens without adult supervision to prevent injury to the kitten or the child. Stroking, petting, grooming and medicating kittens will acclimate them so that they’re tolerant of these things as adults. The presence of dogs, birds, gerbils, fish or other pets in a kittens youth experience will teach them to be un-fearful of other animals (and not think of them as food) when they become adults. Of course, as with all things of this world, the theory is not fool-proof, but, generally true. Careful observation and intervention in a kitten’s activities is always useful, with the emphasis on ‘careful’.
- Punishment is not an option for training a kitten. Cats don’t understand punishment and only associate it with the punisher, not the ‘bad’ act. They’ll learn to fear you, and continue any ‘bad’ behavior. Training is best accomplished when the cat or kitten has an unpleasant experience associated with any particular behavior. For example, placing sticky tape over the end of a couch where the kitten is scratching will be an unpleasant experience and the instinct is easily transferred to a scratch post placed nearby. She’ll remember this the rest of her life. If you punish or yell at her, she’ll remember this too, and continue to scratch where she’s not supposed to. Then hide from you when you come into the room.
Simply put, whatever your cat learns when she is a kitten, you will have to live with for the rest of her life. And there’s no real expectation of changing those learned habits or behaviors. It is realistic to expect juvenile and adult cats can be trained. That’s your only realistic alternative to change unwanted behavior after kitten-hood is passed. Still, 99% of who and what she is as an adult can be traced directly to her kitten experiences. And if she’s a kitten in your home, a lot can be traced right back to you.
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Training a new kitten may be a lot of work, but it’s certainly easier to do it when they’re very young compared to when they’re older!
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How To Train Cats
Posted by Rae and Mark on Jan 29, 2009
Kitten behavior that is acceptable must be taught early on, which is one of the key cat training secrets, as this article shows:
Training Your Cat
Tips for successfully training your cat.
Training your cat is very important and for several different reasons. First, a cat that hasn’t been trained, doesn’t know what behaviors are acceptable and what are not, therefore, they are more likely to misbehave because they don’t know they are misbehaving. Having a trained, well behaved cat allows the cat and the owner to bond and have a loving relationship rather than having a misbehaving cat that causes its owner a lot of stress and frustration.
It is very important, as a cat owner, to understand that cats cannot be trained the same way as dogs. They don’t behave the same way and they don’t have the same thinking process as dogs. If you are trying to use the same training techniques on your cat that are designed for dogs, you probably aren’t going to see results. Forcing training techniques on a cat will not work. They are stubborn by nature and if it’s not something that is appealing to them, they are going to ignore you.
The first step to training your cat should be to learn and understand your cat’s personality. There are many aspects to your cat’s personality and they should all be taken into account when choosing the right training tactics. Find out what your cat’s likes and dislikes are and use that information to help you. There are a few simple tips to keep in mind when training your cat:
- Keep your training sessions short. If you drag out sessions for a long time, your cat will most likely become bored and will stop listening.
- Only start training session when your cat is already awake. Don’t wake your cat up for a session because he or she will probably just ignore you.
- Always be sure to reward your cat for obeying you, using treats, food, or showing them affection.
You should also only train your cat for one thing at a time. Whether you are teaching them to do tricks or use the human toilet rather than a litter box, you shouldn’t try to teach them everything all at once. When you’re training your cat, let them master one thing before moving on to another. This will avoid both you and them becoming overwhelmed.
There are many benefits to having a well-trained, well-behaved cat. You will have less stress because you won’t have to worry about how your house is going to look when you get home. You can enjoy a loving relationship with your cat instead of spending most of the time mad at him for misbehaving. Taking the time to train your cat will definitely pay off in the long run and you and your cat will both be happier.
For more information on training your cat, check out Cat-Secrets-Revealed.com, the cat training authority site.
| By Cortney Martin Published: 6/12/2008 |
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Bad Cat Behavior
Posted by Rae and Mark on Jan 27, 2009
Cat misses litter box? Maybe he’s stressed out? Wondering if it’s bad cat behaviour? Well, this article will give you a few clues as to what’s going on:
Bad Cat Behavior or a Cry for Help?
Have you ever wondered why your cat can be perfectly content and then unexpectedly, they strike out as if in frustration? Now you can get some insights as to why and find some natural solutions to help them transform.
If your cat has gone from mellow to mean or nice to nasty, they just may be trying to communicate to you their frustration so you can help them change from being a bad cat into a loving cat. "Stress is too often an unrecognized problem behind the problem," says veterinarian Paul McCutcheon of Toronto. "It can play a tremendous role in nearly every condition that a veterinarian treats."
Causes of Stress in Cats
As humans we can become stressed by not liking our jobs, money or difficulties at home. With cats, some causes of stress can be from:
* Boredom from staying indoors 24/7 and 365 days a year
* Missing an owner who does not spend enough time with them
* Lack of variety and stimulation or exercise in their life
* Interpersonal relationship difficulties with pets being dominant or territorial
* Unpleasant environmental conditions
* Past abuse from a present or former pet owner
* Upset when there is tension and arguing between human household members
* Unnoticed illness or pain
What Problems Can Stress Cause?
Just as in humans, stress can be caused by a variety of cat situations and circumstances. You may feel baffled, confused and angry at your cat’s frustration but try looking at it from their perspective.
OVERALL STRESS: As the stress builds up from those problems, it can begin to make the adrenal glands overwork. When the adrenals become too stressed, that burden will cascade into other organs and may eventually undermine the entire immune system. In addition, if the adrenals become exhausted, the cat will have a hard time coping with that physical stress and any added emotional stress will increase the burden.
SOLUTION: First, take your cat to your veterinarian to make sure there is no physical ailment. Then, make sure your cat gets some exercise and time to play every day. Set up a regular play time for at least 15-20 minutes. The more you get your cat moving and feeling stimulated by chasing, jumping and attacking play toys, the happier your cat will feel. The stress will be relieved by the play time and your attention.
INAPPROPRIATE URINATION: Another common target of stress is your cat’s bladder. If you notice inappropriate elimination of urine outside the litter box, your cat could be trying to tell you that it feels stressed because the litter box may not be clean or perhaps it’s too perfumed or too confining.
SOLUTION: Clean your cat’s litter box more frequently. Twice a day is ideal. If you do it first thing when you get up and first thing after you get home, your cat will appreciate it..and it will only take seconds to do. Also make sure that your cat has plenty of room to turn around in the litter box and try using an unscented litter. A cat’s strongest sense is its nose so perfumes are not welcome.
TERRITORIAL STRESS: Another related bladder problem is urination in front of the owner or it might be urinating on beds, furniture or clothing. That message may carry several meanings. It could be a sign of a severe health problem or loss of bladder control. It might also mean that the cat is trying to say that a person is the source of his or her anxiety. More often than not, the cat is just trying to tell you he misses you and has separation anxiety. S/he may be trying to mark your belongings as his territory because the cat misses your attention and is trying to claim you back. Or perhaps you are giving more attention to another human and forgetting your cat companion.
SOLUTION: Make sure your cat does not have a health problem. Then, after you play, your cat will be ready to relax and spend some time grooming and petting. Trim nails twice a month. Get a good brush or slicker and comb through the fur. Give your cat a nice massage especially on the cheeks and back of the head. That’s really relaxing for them and they often purr, which relaxes you so you get something out of it, too.
Whatever Happens, Be Compassionate
Do your best to be compassionate, even if a cat gets angry or aggressive. Remember that they haven’t created the stress to irritate you. They are just acting out what they feel inside which is probably extreme frustration. They’re just asking for help.
"Examine the animal’s lifestyle and relationship with you, other people or other animals in the household," recommends Dr. McCutcheon. "Is there a new addition or major change in the household that is affecting the pet? Are you spending more time away from home? If you take the time to look beneath the surface of the symptoms, you will often find the real reason for the animal’s stress. Then you can try to modify the situation."
The goal is to have a better, healthier relationship with your cat so that you both can spend a happy, carefree lifetime together.
SOURCES: "The Veterinarian’s Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats" by Martin Zucker and CatsInternational.org, a non-profit educational organization to help people understand their feline companions.
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Cat Training Tricks 2
Posted by Rae and Mark on Jan 23, 2009
This entertaining article, entitled Cat Training Tricks, contains tricks not about how to train your cat, but rather, tricks your cat uses to train you!
Useful Advice for Cats - How to Care for your Human
If you think you own your cat(s) - think again. A humorous look at the cat/human relationship, but seen from the cat’s point of view.
For us cats there are several sweet advantages in having a human as a pet. However, remember you are taking on a big responsibility when you adopt one or more humans. Humans are demanding pets that need daily care and attention.
With responsibility come both advantages and disadvantages. If you adopt a human, you must get used to spending time at home. Your human does not deal well with being left alone - they will get into all sorts of mischief. For example, if you are gone just two or three days you run the risk of seeing posters put up all over the neighborhood. Your human will put out an APB on you ! Often with an embarrassing text that reveals all sorts of personal details - and usually accompanied by an unflattering photo of you - with morning fur and crumpled whiskers. Exactly the kind of thing that attracts ridicule from all the neighbor cats.
So please consider carefully if you are ready for a life with humans. In addition, remember humans generally grow very old, so there is a big chance that you will spend the rest of your life with your human.
Entertaining your Human
The litter box provides a great opportunity for entertaining your human. Naturally there is all the fun your human can have cleaning and scooping out the box. A lot of human time can also be used getting fresh litter - going to the pet store, transporting it home etc. However many humans like new challenges. Utilize your litter box time in the best possible way. Make interesting and artistic renderings of countries or well-known islands. Your human will have lots of fun guessing which one you made. Humans like game shows - so this should be a popular activity. When your human increases in skill, you can also make portraits of family and friends. Start with profile portraits - this will make it easer for your human.
Shedding
Make it a priority to shed indoors on appropriate surfaces. Fleece is a particularly suitable material to shred on. All you need to do is pass close by your human when he or she is wearing fleece. All cat hair within a radius of 2 feet from the fabric will immediately be transferred to your human. No brushing necessary for several days ! Another good solution is to get access to a filled clothes hamper. Jump in and give all contents a good work over. An extra bonus with this method is that most cat hairs will survive a trip to the washing machine. Your human will be stylishly accessorized with cat hair on all outfits.
Extra Food
All chances for a bit of extra food must and should be taken advantage of. Whenever your human is in the kitchen, you have a prime opportunity of getting an extra snack. When your human is busy at the kitchen counter place yourself in your humans blind angle (just behind the ankle is usually a good spot). And the second your human moves one or both feet you jump back screaming your most heart-wrenching cry. Your human will automatically assume that he/she stepped on you. When your human looks back scared to see what is happening look up at him/her with a painful expression on your face (practice this before hand in front of a mirror). Your human’s bad conscience will often result an edible apology.
Grass Etiquette
Before you eat grass, make sure that you are close to a suitable place to throw up. Delicate furniture fabrics, precious carpets, and shoes are all good places. If you choose furniture: aim for the part that has non-removable fabric. When you are getting down to business, make sure you back up a step or two so that you cover the largest area possible. Another technique is to do several items with pauses in-between. Persian carpets will give a good camouflage effect and your little gift will often not be discovered until somebody steps in it.
Preventing your human from wasting valuable time
One of the most important tasks we cats have is to prevent humans from wasting their time. Humans love to spend their time on things with no relevance for cats. For example watching TV, reading, talking on the phone - and many other things that have no entertainment value for us cats what so ever. Many methods are available to prevent human time waste - use your imagination. Some especially effective techniques will be mentioned here.
Watching TV; make sure that you always position yourself between the TV and your human. On the coffee table for example. You can also lie on the TV and let you tail or paws swing down in front of the screen. This method is most effective with small screens where you can cover a large percentage of the screen. It is a bit trickier with a flat screen - and only recommended for the agile kitty. A variation can be used with a computer screen. Flat screens often leave a lot of empty space on the desk - so just get up in front - remind your human of how wonderful you are.
Cleaning; stalk the vacuum cleaner and attack when it passes by. You can also pretend that you want to attack the vacuum cleaner but "accidentally" catch a foot instead.
Garden work; jump repeatedly up-and-down and scatter any leaves that your human has raked together. Attack gardening tools - especially while they are in use. Immediately dig up any newly planted seeds, plants and flowers.
Closed Doors
Under no circumstances accept closed doors that separate you from your human. At all times you have a right to know what your human is doing. If by accident you have been placed on the wrong side of a door you need to make your human aware of this ASAP so he/she can remedy the situation immediately. Loud meows and scratching on the door should be sufficient to get your humans attention. If this is ignored you need to take more drastic measures: Make a sound as if you are going to throw up. All humans in a 50 feet radius can hear this sound. This sound can also be heard through closed doors. The "puke sound" will always result in your human’s immediate presence.
Sleeping Time
It is important for us cats to prioritize our sleeping time. The objective is to get as much sleep done as possible while your human is awake. You will then be especially well rested and bushy-tailed at night when it is your job to keep your human awake. There is the classical "play with toes" approach: attack everything that moves under the duvet. You can also reenact highlights from last year’s Grand National Steeplechase by repeatedly galloping across the bed. A couple of loud meows will give it an extra exiting dimension for your human
Houseguests
Houseguests require special attention and handling. The following procedures should be followed:
- Houseguests that either do not like us or are allergic to us: As soon as they sit down - jump onto their lap.
- Noisy children that run after you and/or pull your tail: It is your duty to punish them - it can be necessary to use both claws and teeth. However, be prepared that this can result in noise that is even more annoying and of an even louder decibel level.
- Guests that try to get in contact with you by ingratiating themselves and speaking in a sweet voice: Should just be ignored. If they try to approach you, back away 5-6 feet - but never further away than they feel encouraged to try again. With a bit of practice this game can he kept going for hours.
Bad Weather
Even in bad weather, it can be necessary to go outside. The rain and wet ground will result in an unpleasant layer of dirt and mud on your paws. However, this can easily be dried off on certain appropriate indoor spots. Find a light carpet, a duvet cover or nice piece of furniture and walk over it a couple of times. When your paw tracks are almost invisible, your paws are clean and you are ready to go outside again.
Training your Human
Sometimes it can be necessary to discipline even the most well trained human. However, do remember never to hit a human. At the most, mark with a soft paw on the human’s arm or hands. Try first to make your human understand what it has done wrong. And most importantly: be patient! The human intellect is relatively limited and it can be difficult for them to understand our wishes and needs.
Even after approximately 5000 years of domestication, the human species still has primitive instincts and it does take time to train your human completely.
Door Training
One of the first things you need to teach your human is to open the front door, the garden door and backdoor when required. This is done by walking up to a door and making an impatient and very loud meow. Make some tripping steps with your back paws obviously indicating that you need to go to the outdoor litter box. When your human has gotten up from the couch and opened the door you decide that you do not really need to go outside right now. Just for appearances, you can stand in the open door and pretend that you are thinking about the situation for a few seconds before you turn around to go inside again. Repeat this procedure several times a day. This will keep your human in good door opening form.
Inspection of the House
A house usually has unlimited possibilities for suitable sleeping spots. Every possibility no matter how theoretical should be investigated and tested. Cardboard boxes, cupboards, drawers, couches and beds are obvious localities, but places such as old slippers (size 11 or higher) open gym bags or kitchen cupboards should not be overlooked.
The house should further be investigated for all possible toys. An old sock can represent several hours of entertainment if you get your claw on a loose end and unravel a couple of miles worth of yarn. You human will love to tidy up after your play.
About the author:
Martine Carlsen is owned by two wonderful silver abyssinian cats, Sonny and Cher. She is also a web designer and the proud owner and creator of http://www.carlsencards.com. And as you can tell from her website, cats play a big part in both her life and her work.
| By Martine Carlsen Published: 10/27/2006 |
We especially love the bit about how they can use their cat litter pans to entertain you.
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Cat Training Tricks
Posted by Rae and Mark on Jan 21, 2009
It’s important to learn how to train a cat correctly, so this article on kitten training tips and cat behavior training will be invaluable to you.
Cat Training Tips
Learn how to effectively train your cat with these great cat training tips.
When it comes to cat training tips, there is one very important thing to keep in mind, you cannot train them the same way you would train a dog. Dogs have a more "aim to please" mentality and are very likely to do what you ask of them; cats on the other hand, don’t give in quite so easily. They are stubborn animals and will make you work for their love and affection, as well as for their obedience.
Cats are predatory animals. They like to hide and attack things, not knowing that they are making a mess of your house. They may steal your socks, jewelry, pens, anything that seems interesting at the time. The easiest way to avoid this is to be sure to keep enough kitty toys in the house and make sure they are kept out where your cat can easily find hem. This will help keep them from becoming bored and focusing their attention on your personal belongings.
A great tip for training your cat is to remember that punishing them won’t have much effect. Unlike dogs that will usually change their behavior after being punished, cats will most likely ignore the punishment and continue with the bad behavior, again because they can be very stubborn. The best cat training tip is to use positive reinforcement. You are much more likely to see results when rewarding your cat for good behavior. When they go to play with their cat toy rather than your watch sitting on the coffee table, reward them. You can reward them with a kitty treat, praise them with words, or perhaps even better, play with them. If they see you engaging with them, they will know that behavior is not only acceptable, but also encouraged. Playing with them also allows for a good bonding time with your cat, allowing them to become more comfortable with you.
Another great cat training tip is to keep them on a strict schedule. Cats are creatures of habit, they enjoy being on a schedule. Try to feed, groom, and play with them at the same times every day. If they never know what to expect from day to day, they can become anxious and stressed out, which will ultimately cause behavior problems.
Although these are not the only cat training tips out there, they are two of the most important and just by following these couple ideas, you can drastically improve your cat’s behavior and help prevent future bad habits from occurring.
For more cat training tips, check out Cat-Secrets-Revealed.com, the cat secrets authority site.
| By Cortney Martin Published: 5/5/2008 |
Cat litter training is also a crucial activity, and litter boxes for cats are the most common way of doing this.
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