Introducing Your New Kitten To Existing Cats And Or Dogs
If you have an adult cat, keep the kitten away from them for up to 14 days. Your adult cat may smell at the door, make sure you reward calm behaviour with affection and treats. Once your older cat seems comfortable, swap them over, so that your new kitten can explore while your older cat checks out his safe spot. Once they seem comfortable, you can place your new kitten in a cat carrier and watch the interaction closely. If they appear fearful or aggressive, separate them, and return to the beginning.
With dogs, the process is similar. Keep them apart for 14 days and then supervise first interactions through a glass door so they can see each other. When you think they are ready, place your dog on the lead and allow them to meet indoors. Supervise all interactions and make sure your kitten has places they can jump up to escape if needed.
The key to creating a harmonious household is to take things slowly and supervise all early meetings.
As with all behaviours you want to encourage, reward and reinforce positive behaviours with well-timed treats and praise, and take any progress steps slowly.
Create A Cat Friendly Environment
Creating an environment in which your kitten feels safe will build up their trust in you and will definitely help them to love you. Cats love to be high off the ground especially if they are needing a snooze!
Try and keep some windowsills clear for them to climb onto or clear a suitable shelf.
If you dont provide somewhere like this, you might soon find your kitten trying to clamber onto the top of a wardrobe!
Cat trees are popular with kittens too and although they are expensive, they can be a good purchase as they give your kitten somewhere to play and somewhere to climb for a good view.
Youll find some pretty awesome cat trees at a budget price
Pet Your Cat In His Favorite Spots
According to animal-behavior researcher Dennis C. Turner, who edited whats considered the cat bible, The Domestic Cat: The Biology of Its Behaviour, most cats dont like having their bellies rubbed. Instead, they usually like being tickled around their necks or stroked down the back, he says. But all cats are different, so watch your pets body language to make sure hes enjoying the petting youre giving. Avoid these 12 dangerous mistakes too many cat owners make.
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When To Start Handling Your Kitten
The sooner you handle and play with your kitten, the greater chance you have of raising a tame and cuddly cat. This is especially true of;feral kittens;whose parents are setting a wilder example for them. The best time to start taming a kitten is around four to eight weeks, aiming for the younger end of that range if possible.1
Around this age, kittens start discovering their personalities, playing with their siblings, and weaning from their mothers. Use feeding time as an opportunity to interact with them. Kittens are learning new things and forming their impressions of the world, so be sure they have a positive impression of humans.
How Do I Deal With Inappropriate Behavior
Cats can be demanding creatures so its important to instill good manners early on. Inappropriate behavior such as swatting, excessive vocalization, and biting should not be tolerated. If your kitten begins to exhibit these behaviors, quickly and quietly leave the area and cease all interactions. Once the kitten is calm and quiet, resume interactions. The goal is for the kitten to learn that calm, quiet behavior warrants attention while aggressive actions do not. Make time daily for appropriate interactions with your cat that include play and petting.
Disciplining a young kitten may be necessary if its behavior towards people or property is inappropriate, but punishment should be avoided. A sharp, No! may be all that is needed to stop your kitty in his tracks. However, remote disruption that associates the consequences with the action may be considered. For most kittens, hand clapping or rattling a can of beans can divert attention and be intimidating enough to inhibit undesirable behavior when you are present.
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What Attracts Cats To You
Create time for the cat. Spending more time makes it get used to the idea of you being around.
Learn your cats likes and dislikes in terms of food, environment and behavior. Knowing this, gives you a better shot since you get to know what to engage it in more.
Observe your cats body language. Cats experience a range of emotions from happy, sad and other feelings involved.
Its body language will assist you to understand what it is feeling e.g. fear, irritation or discomfort. This allows you to respond accordingly.
Cats are quite adorable. Allow them to approach you and be nice to them.
Felines are naturally very playful and engaging them in play could be a good way to bond. Ensure they also have enough daily play time for themselves.
Humans have their limits and so do animals. If you are trying a cat to like you, respect its boundaries. Give them space when they dont want to interact with you.
Learn to talk to your cat in a soft and calm voice, they associate this with friendliness. Moreover, cats hate loud noises therefore, loud voices will scare them.
You can also use appealing smells to pull the cat to you. Cats love the smell of olive, catnip, lavender, mint, basil, peppermint just to mention but a few.
Consistency And Habitual Guidance
While the process seems a bit tedious, cats that are socialized well when they were young will tend to bounce back faster than cats that havent. You might only need to go through step one and theyre completely fine later.
Some cats might be a bit shook for a day and then be completely fine the next. Other cats might need a couple of days if the event was seriously negative.
Owners just have to remember that cats are highly habitual creatures and will require lifestyle consistency. Consistency means setting a proper routine for your cats, whether its socialization time, mealtime, or playtime.
For help to create an optimal routine for play, read more about Play Scheduling!
For meal scheduling and why its important for cats, click here!
The more routine you give your cats, the easier it is for them to bounce back after surprising/stressful events. Your cats will be more resilient to these types of events and more quickly adapt to changes as they get into the groove of their routines and schedules.
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How To Gain A Cats Trust:
Cats are independent creatures that usually do not depend on others, sometimes they even take a longer period to trust their owners and respond less quickly. Here, you have to push yourself and help your feline to get habitual with your house environment.
To make the cat get friendly and trust you can use the following ways-
Introduce Your Cat To The New Kitten
When you bring your kitten home, allow your cat to sniff it while the kitten is in a carrier or your arms. Go directly to the room previously designated and set up for your new kitten and allow the kitten to explore. The litter box, food bowls, bed, and some toys should all be easily accessible. Do not let your older cat have unsupervised access to the kitten.
At night, when you are not home, and whenever you are unable to supervise the kitten and your older cat, keep the kitten in its designated room with the door closed. As your cat gets curious, it may stick its paw under the door, sniff under the door, and listen to the kitten. Do this for about a week, depending on how your cat is acting with the changes. Dont forget to provide a lot of attention to your older cat after playing with your kitten. Itll need your attention and support and the scent of the kitten on your clothing will help it get used to the newcomer.
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Dont Assume Your Cat Will Love You More If Hes An Only Cat
Whether or not a cat is happy around other felines is really unpredictable. Some cats will feel more secure as the only cat in the house, and others will feel more secure in a multi-cat household, Vitale says. A shy kitty might come out of his shell if you adopt a companion cat, but you cant count on it. You should probably be worried if your cat shows any of these 15 signs hes angry at you.
How To Read A Cats Body Language
Meowing and purring are only a small part of a cats communication. To really speak their lingo, you have to look at their body and behavior, Radosta explains. These are the telltale signs that a cat is in a friendly mood and wants to interact with you:
- Tail is shaped like a question-mark
- Pupils look like slits or almonds;;
- Ears are forward
- Cat walks right up to you
On the other hand, avoid making contact with a kitty if you notice any of these signs:;
- Round pupils
- Tail moving back and forth
- Ears are sideways or back
- Cat stays beyond your reach
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Adapt As An Older Cats Health Declines
Help Kittens Feel Comfortable
First things first, set up the crate theyll be staying in and make sure its off of the floor cats feel safer if theyre higher up where they can see their surroundings. After you bring the kittens inside and get them set up in their crate, give them an initial two-day adjustment period before trying to socialize them too muchthe change of scenery can be stressful! When you do start to spend time with them, begin by moving slowly and speaking softly, and try to keep loud TV or music down. For very young kittens, a soothing technique is to wrap a ticking clock in a towelit reminds them of their mommas heartbeat.
After theyve been with you for a few days, try leaving a TV or radio on so they can get used to people voices and sounds. If there arent other pets around, you can leave the crate in a busy part of your home, like the living room, so they can begin to see and hear other areas of the home.
Like anyone, kittens react positively to positive experiences and negatively to negative experiences. Dont hold back! Reward kittens when they do well, like come up for snuggles, and avoid scolding.
If a litter of kittens are slow to socialize, you might want to separate the kittens into individual crates or spaces so that they can rely on people more. Or you can make sure to spend some quality time alone with each one. When they feel more comfortable with you, they can be reunited with their brothers and sisters.
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Clip His Nails By Setting His Mood
A healthy cat is a happy cat and his good mood will make him less likely to snap and dislike you. For your cats healthy life start trimming his nails at an early age. In a perfect world, youd start training your cat to accept nail trimming as a kitten, when he is learning how the world works.
Some cats dislike touching their paws so you can make them comfortable before their nail clipping. Similarly, you can take care of your cats privacy by giving him some space before nail clipping. Stay away from windows and other pets to make him feel comfortable.
Keep Calm And Stay Positive
If youre a dog person, you may be used to interacting with pets in a jumpy, excited manner. But according to our experts, that kind of behavior tends to send cats running. Dont make any sudden movements, gestures, or sounds, says Brian. The more predictable you can be in your actions, the more trusting the kitty will be of you, she says.
In addition to staying cool as a cucumber, Brian advises engaging in behaviors that cats can associate with positive results. Brian recommends giving the cat food or a treat in greeting and making a habit of using the cats name. Make everything positive, so everything good happens around you, she says.
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Allow Them To Become Familiar With Each Others Scent
One way as to how to introduce cats is to let them become familiar with each others scent early on. Wait until they are comfortable in their own separate spaces first. Once theyve settled down already, allow them to explore each others scent while still keeping them apart.
For example, you can pet them separately, and let both of them smell your hands after you pet the other. Gradually allow them to explore each others spaces and items such as food and water bowls, beds, and toys while making sure that the other is not there. Give them treats to associate the new scent with something positive.
How To Get A Cat To Like You According To Scientific Study
I have always been a dog person;for one important reason only:;cats dont like me. However, according to a new study, there’s a specific;technique for how to;get a cat to like you.;
I know it might seem impossible because these feline friends are hard to trust;.
But there are people who love cats, so there must be some sort of trick to it, right?
I know I love kittens, and cats are just older kittens, but for some reason, Im scared of them and that might be the problem.
Domestic animals can sense your fear and then they will be afraid of you just as much as you are of them.
According to a;study from;Nature journal Scientific Reports, cats are sensitive to human cues that facilitate competition between different species of the same ecological area, including cues to the emotional state.
Knowing this is key to getting a cat to like you.
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Cats Are More Likely To Cuddle When It’s Cooler
It may sound a little silly, but your cat is far more likely to want to be cuddly and;lie on you;if your house is a little cooler. Cats are more likely to seek out your lap in the winter;when they’re feeling cold. This is also why your cat is more likely to;sleep;on you at night. If you’d like to offer your kitty a warm place to sleep when she’s not snuggling with you, check out the;Thermo-Water Bolster Bed. This bed uses a warm, water-filled mattress and super plush bolster for the utmost in comfort and warmth for your cat.
Some people have reported success with luring their cats near them with a treat. But this can have varying results. Some cats get excited and energetic when a treat is near, so they won’t be interested in cuddling at all.
Remember, every cat’s personality is different. Some kittens will be naturally cuddly and always want to snuggle in your lap and follow you from room to room. Others may be more independent but still desire pets when they’re not adventuring. Celebrate your cat’s unique quirks and make sure to give that little furball lots of cuddles and scritches.
1. Phillips, Mike. “The Best Age for Taming Feral Kittens.” Animal Alliance New York City, 1 May 2013,;.
2. Petful. “How to Bond with Your Cat ,” Petful.com, 1 May 2020,;.
Ways To Bond With Your Cat
1. Give your cat a ritual to look forward to.
Cats enjoy certain rituals just as we do. They appreciate the little understated gestures.
Bartholomew Oliver, a cat rescue worker in the Atlanta area, says she makes a point to give her cats their own special greeting when I wake up or come home, just to let them know Im glad to see them.
Some of her cats like kisses, while others enjoy butt scratches. But whatever their thing is, thats what they get in hopes that it makes them feel wanted and valued, Oliver says.
Rituals are a great way to bond with your cat and demonstrate how much she means to you, explains writer ;even though some people would call her little cat rituals silly. They are things I do daily with them, and I believe my cats would miss these rituals if they stopped. I would miss them, too.
2. Massage your cat.
We find massage to be a good way of releasing stress and so do cats. People dont realize how stressed cats get. There are certain dos and donts:
- Do be gentle and use the palms of your hands, not your fingertips.
- Dont use massage oils or lotions.
Ballner believes that massage can transform a temperamental tiger into a compliant kitty and socialize a scaredy cat. That last one especially makes sense. Massage might be the first kind touch that an abused or poorly socialized cat has ever known.
3. Have a daily half-hour play session.
4. Give your cat the gift of music.
Who knows? You may discover your cat loves music.
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