Kitten Socialization – Piedmont Small Animal Encourages Playful, Calm, and Well-Adjusted Kittens in The Plains, VA
Congratulations on your new kitten!
At Piedmont Small Animal in the Plains, VA we whole-heartedly believe in kitten socialization. We wish you a long happy relationship, with all the joys of a cat’s graceful companionship and love. We hope that your kitten grows into a confident cat, able to cope with the inevitable stressors of life. Help your cat be prepared to handle things like the addition of new pets, home improvement projects, vet visits, food changes, taking medications, moving households, car rides, visitors, your absence during vacation… without reacting with anxiety, fear, and urinating outside of the litter box! How can you make sure your adorable new kitten becomes a cool cat and not a scaredy-cat?
Socialize them!
But what exactly does that mean? The answer lies in the extraordinary ability of the young kitten to take in and make lasting impressions about the world around them. Kittens are naturally curious but grown cats are naturally cautious and automatically categorize anything unfamiliar as threatening. Your kitten should be offered a wide variety of opportunities to explore and to interact with different people, animals, sights, sounds, and activities. And that’s where we come in!
Our job is to introduce our kittens to everything they will or even might encounter in their adult lives in a positive way. How do we make things positive for kittens? Basically by giving them food! Food is good. Play is good. Food and play make new, potentially scary things good. Pairing novel things with food and play generally make kittens happy with that novel thing.
The key is to have a purposeful program of daily practice including handling, introducing new people, animals, foods, sights, sounds, and activities. Use a kitten socialization checklist and practice one item daily. Be savvy. Watch to make sure your kitten stays relaxed, if she shows signs of fear or stress, stop, slow down, and introduce the new activity or thing more slowly. Make every introduction fun.
Kittens should be trained to willingly enter their carriers, just like puppies are crate trained, just like horses are trailer trained. Carriers should be part of your kitten’s everyday routine. They should be a place to rest and be the place where your kitten can find treats or is fed.
Train your kitten to accept medication by giving them a soft treat, (like a piece of Pill Pocket) twice a day. That way if you ever need to medicate your cat, hand them their favorite daily treat loaded with the pill and watch them gobble it down!
Avoid the “picky eater” by giving small amounts of different textured, shaped, and flavored foods. Mother cats teach kittens how to hunt and thereby teach them what is safe to eat. If you feed kittens only one food, they will naturally avoid all other foods as adults.
Up to ninety percent of cats will have inappropriate urination at some point in their lives. Barring a medical condition, think of this as a signal, a “peemail” if you will. This is a cat’s signal that they are experiencing stress, anxiety, or fear. A well-socialized kitten is far less likely to experience stress, anxiety, and fear. To avoid this common problem of inappropriate urination, socialize your kitten and enjoy your friendly, happy cat!
For more information on kitten socialization, check out these sources
The San Diego Humane Society Kitten socialization checklist.
Purchase and watch the video, “Kitty Kindergarten, Creating the New and Improved Cat Through Socialization” by Sophia Yin
Fear Free Kitten Socialization Checklist from fearfreepets.com
“Think Like a Cat, How to Raise a Well Adjusted Cat – Not a Sour Puss” Pam Johson Bennett
Call Piedmont Small Animal today to learn more about Kitten Socialization at (540) 364-4954 to schedule an appointment, or complete our Contact form.
