How to Ensure a Kitten Grows up to be a Confident Feline

Bringing a new kitten home is an exciting time that involves a lot of fun and games. It's great watching them growing up and learning all about the things they discover around them. It's a lot of fun watching a kitten play but it's also really important for them to have positive experiences because at this young age they are very impressionable. If things don't go smoothly, you may end up with a scaredy cat"" and nervous about just every situation they come across later on in life.

The Early Days Are All-important

Just like kids, kittens need to have a great time when they're young and they need to feel safe and secure. This is when their personalities and characters are forming and developing and which depends very much on the type of interaction and handling they receive in those all-important first few weeks and months of their lives. Kittens pick things up quickly and this means both the good and the bad experiences they may be confronted with.

Kittens learn fast what may hurt or scare them and what may be really nice. They are born with they eyes closed but it's in the second week that this all changes and when they begin to take everything in – this includes the sounds, sights, smells and the touch of humans – at this early age they are more sensitive than ever.

It's between week 2 and 5 that a kitten's brain development really kicks in and they start to soak up the world around them. It is during this time that kittens need all the right kind of stimulation to become friendly feline characters that enjoy being around and cuddled by people.

Early Socialisation is Essential

If you are thinking about getting a kitten, you need to make sure you choose a reputable breeder who really does handle and socialise their kittens from an early age. The better the experiences a kitten has early on, the more chance their brains have of storing a positive memory rather than a negative one. This in turn helps them when it comes to how they should respond to any new situations they are presented with later on in their lives. If a kitten has loads of positive experiences and memories when they are young it helps them become more adaptable when they're mature cats.

If a kitten has lots of negative experiences they will be more fearful of situations which in truth present no dangers to them and this includes a strange arriving in their home or any unexpected and strange sounds all of which will send them into a tizz for no apparent reason. Typical behaviour of a cat that's had too many bad experiences as a kitten include the following:

• Shyness around strangers
• Anxiety
• Nervousness
• Inactivity
• Aggressive behaviour
• An unwillingness to go outside of their comfort zone

A cat that has not had a lot of positive experiences when they were kittens are typically less keen on exploring their environment and they may be less inclined to play or interact with people they don't know. This can be a real problem if they need to be examined by a vet or go to a cattery when owners are away on holiday. Moving home for them is a real nightmare and for their owners too!

Best Time to Bring a Kitten Home

The best time to bring a new kitten home is when they are anything between 12 to 16 weeks old. However, the majority of people introduce a kitten into the home when they are 7 or 8 weeks old but in truth the longer a kitten is allowed to stay with their litter mates and mums, the better it is for them. This is because it allows them to learn more social skills which in turn means they tend to be less fearful and able to adapt to new situations. When they are taken to their new home the transition is that much easier for them to cope with.

There is a downside to introducing a kitten that's 16 weeks old into your home, which is that you would not know how much handling they received from different people during the all-important first weeks of their lives. You would not know if they have been introduced to all those strange sounds that are common place in the home. This includes the dreaded vacuum cleaner, washing machine noises, clothes dryers, hair dryers and anything else they might find very scary. In an ideal world, you should only choose a kitten that has been given all the right handling and experienced only good things but sadly, this is not always the case.

How to Help Your Cat Be More Confident

If you own a shy or fearful cat, in truth there is not much you can do to change their personalities or scaredy-cat characters - but - there are certain things you can do to help them be a little more confident about things and around strangers. You can expose them to things they find challenging and do so gently every day. If your cat just doesn't feel comfortable around strangers, invite a new friend around as often as you can so your cat gets used to seeing different people in your home. If they hate being touched, you need to introduce them to the concept of being stroked albeit it very slowly and gently showing a lot of patience and perseverance.

The more strange things you introduce your cat to on a regular and consistent basis, the more they will start to accept and feel comfortable about. You also need to play interactive games with them which will stimulate their brains and help form a bond with you. Every time things go well, you need to offer your cat a reward in the form of a favourite treat. Cats, when introduced to new experiences throughout their lives become happier and more relaxed characters all round. The thing to remember is that learning and socialisation skills are things that cats need to use every day so they don't end up losing them.

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