10 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR KITTEN

Category: Cat Care, Pet Health | Tags:

Date: August 7th, 2012

1.  Socialize your kitten.  A cat’s personality is a unique blend of inherited traits and early experience.  Make sure he gets plenty of contact with people and a stimulating home environment.

2. Train your kitten.  It builds a strong relationship between the two of you.  Some cats are more trainable that others, but all are capable of learning such behaviors as sit and come, and using a scratch post.

3. Set limits.  This means rewarding him when you see him doing things you like- such as scratching on his post, and re-directing him when he does things you don’t like.

4.  Kitten-proof your home.  Look up, look down and all around to find all the things they could conceivably get into or get hurt by.

5. Play with your kitten.  Don’t underestimate your cat’s need for interactive play and exercise.

6.  Teach your kitten not to use his teeth and claws on people.  Find an acceptable substitute like a laser pointer, feather toy etc.  Don’t let people play with your kitten with their hands, so the kitten thinks your hand is a toy, i.e. allowed to bite or use his claws.

7. Leave your kitten’s claws alone unless you have no other choice.  Declawing involves removing some of the bones of the toes as well as the claws.  If you give your cat plenty of things to claw at and play with, you shouldn’t have a problem!

8. Put collars and tags on, and microchip your kitten too.  If you use a collar, make sure it is a breakaway collar. So many pets get lost every year, and no one ever thinks it will happen to them!

9. Alter your kitten.  Spaying and neutering improves a kitten’s chances for good health.

10. Buy pet health insurance.  Many pets lives have been saved thanks to pet health insurance.