When we adopt a kitten we have the obligation to guide him towards correct behavior so that his coexistence with us is pleasant and he is a polite and happy petin our home. It's not nice for him to bite or destroy your furniture. It will also be important to teach him how to use the litter box.
Cats are intelligent and immediately grasp what we want to teach them. However, his playful nature and lively temperament must be properly and positively educated. Whether it's a Siamese, a European cat or a cat without a breed, you have to follow a line for it. If you continue reading our site, you will be able to find out how to train a cat since he is littlecorrectly:
Kitten's arrival home
The first day of the puppy's arrival home will be essential. During this short period we must show a lot of affection to our little friend so that he fully trusts us and is receptive when it comes to learning. Caresses and words in a kind tone will make the kitten purr, thus showing its pleasure. When he licks us, it will be the sign that he already considers us to be his family.
Another essential action will be show him the location of all his personal objects: toys, bed, feeder, waterer and container with sandYou will soon learn how to use them. You must also always have clean and fresh water, which we will renew frequently.
Once the cat is adapted to his new environment, it will be time to start teaching him some things that we explain below so you know how to train a cat from a young age.
Training a cat to use the scratching post, the litter box and toys
It is advisable to have a scraper from the first day and encourage him to play with it regularly so that your cat learns to use it. To do this, we can choose a dynamic scratcher, which includes toys and other objects. If not, it will be enough to stimulate him ourselves, in this way we will avoid destructiveness towards the furniture of the home.
It may happen that the kitten learns to sharpen its nails on the sofa, and that it does so when you leave home. In this case, we will continue to motivate the cat to play with the scratching post and we will reward him every time he does so to reinforce the behavior. We can use tasty food rewards or pets and kind words.
Teaching him to use the litter box is another of the essential tasks that we must teach a kitten. We must choose one that is easily accessible and we will take you there after eating, waking up or after an intense game session. Every time he does well we will reward him and, if he relieves himself in another place frequently, we will move the litter box to that area to be able to congratulate him later.
The little cat should be provided with toysfor him to learn to "hunt". Rag mice, small balls, feathered rattles, etc. With very simple toys, many of which you can make yourself, the cat will have a great time.
If you throw the objects at him, the point will come where he will bring them to you with his mouth so that you can throw them again. If you want some ideas, do not hesitate to visit our article on toys for small cats. Remember that the key to motivating him to play is to be present in the game. If we don't spend time with him, he will soon get bored with the toys he has.
All these elements are part of the environmental enrichment of cats, essential for proper education and, in general, to keep it well stimulated and motivated. In addition to offering a variety of toys that allow them to develop their instincts in a positive way, including various scratching posts in the home and having sandboxes for them to relieve themselves, it is very beneficial for them to provide spaces in which they can hide. Cats love cardboard boxes and for them they are one of their favorite hiding places. We can simply leave different boxes around the house or take advantage of them and build a house that also allows you to rest while feeling safe. However, it is possible that we do not have the necessary time and, therefore, acquiring the cardboard box for cats in the shape of a house that MascoFy offers is one more option than recommended.
Teaching the cat not to scratch or bite
By nature small cats like to fight with their hands, attacking the fingers with nails and teeth. It is convenient that they lose this innate habit as soon as possible, which could become an annoying vice. The ideal is to follow this step by step:
- When the cat is still very small, before three weeks of age, we must allow it to nibble and explore, since it is typical of this stage and essential for its exploratory behavior.
- From the age of three weeks, every time the cat bites or scratches us, we will emit a little screech and stop playing with him. Since the game is very important at this stage, the cat will begin to associate the end of the game with his surly attitude.
- Avoid overexciting your kitten so that he doesn't tend to bite or scratch
- Use fishing rod type toys so that your cat learns that these objects can scratch and bite them if he wishes. Remember that this is normal behavior in cats and that we should allow him to show it if he wants to, yes, always towards his toys
If this problem is habitual in its behavior, do not hesitate to review the basic tricks to prevent your cat from scratching and biting you. Remember that it is important to work it right from the beginning.
The lurking cat
The cat is a feline that its atavistic nature pushes it to hunt on the prowl For this reason when they are small they like to hide and jump suddenly on your feet when you pass by. It's a custom that they lose relatively quickly, since on more than one occasion you accidentally step on them and they soon realize that you don't know how to play the docile victim, demonstrating it in a very painful way.
Dangerous places
It is very important that the cat associates the kitchen as a "taboo" place. There are several reasons: the most important is that tripping over him can cause a lot of damage to you or him; the other is that if it is a cat thief it can steal something tasty from you, or cause some damage. The fires, the oven and the knives are elements that he doesn't know that can do him a lot of damage
Especially if the cat has shown interest in this place, we will place the feeder and drinker in another area of the house, depriving it of access to this room. It will also be very useful for "garbage cats" who love to snoop around the kitchen. In this sense, it is very important to highlight that cats do not like to have food and water bowls near the sandbox, they are very neat animals and, therefore, they prefer to have the different areas separated from each other.
Educating through positive reinforcement
Small cats are mischievous, and even more so when they are "teenagers". For this reason it is very important to know some techniques to use, as is the case of positive reinforcement in cats, very useful when learning how to train a cat since he was little.
- Reward your cat with food, kind words or caresses whenever he shows a behavior that you like, so that he understands that this is positive and that he should do it.
- If your cat likes to scratch you to demand your attention, ignore him completely, so that he learns that scratching does not get any results. On the contrary, you should reward good behavior, such as approaching you in a relaxed way.
- Avoid punishing or scolding him when he shows behavior you don't like. Sometimes cats demand attention and, even if you end up punishing them, they will keep trying because their goal is your attention. In this case, you will have to spend more time with him and dedicate games or caresses to him.
- You can use No on occasion, but only if you catch your cat "red-handed" otherwise scolding him is useless. Even so, we recommend that you only use a serious tone of voice, you should never use physical punishment, corner him or make him feel afraid.
Games and mental stimulation
For a cat to learn tricks and be mentally agile, it will be essential to spend time playing intelligence games for cats. You can buy toys in the market, but you can also make them yourself at home or use everyday objects for it. The classic game of shell game with food is great for the feline to start feeling stimulated
Playing with him and making him "think" will help us a lot in his education. Repetition and the use of positive reinforcement in cats are essential elements to make our kitten understand what we are trying to convey to him.
