Since Bianca was taken from her mom too early what things should I do to teach her to behave? She keeps swiping at Jon's and my face and she has really sharp little claws. I'm not sure how to keep her from doing that, but it needs to stop!
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How Do I Prevent Behavior Problems?
- Thread starter kscatlady
- Start Date
You must foster her instead of her cat mom, teaching to behave.
There are several ways.
Here, as you are very near, to blow at her face is quite effectfull (LDG advocates this).
Otherwise, if you can hiss cat-alike is effective.
If not, you must contend with saying a clear NO. Not shouting of course.
Usually these helps, if repeated enough of times: some patience is necessary.
Good luck!
Think of her as you would a little child. She needs to learn not only what is not OK - but what IS ok. Cats work best with redirection and positive reinforcement. So make sure you praise her a lot whenever she's doing good things - using the litter box, playing approprpiately - being a good girl.
Whenever she's not doing something OK, blow that short, sharp puff of air in her face, say "no" firmly (so she learns the word no), and redirect her to something OK. If she doesn't redirect or won't stop - deny her the pleasure. Put her down and walk away from her. Ignore her.
Getting mad at cats does nothing - they aren't pre-programmed (for the most part) to make people happy.
Of course - she is a little kitten, so it's natural for her to be "swipey" and "bitey." Her mom would bop her in the forehead or hiss at her to let her know she didn't like the behavior - but cats don't see humans as other cats, so that short, sharp puff of air in the face is more effective for us.
Also - those sharp little claws should be clipped! The younger you start them, the better. When she's sleeping, touch her paws. Get her used to that. Then progress to pushing her little claws out. When she's comfortable with that, clip one at a time if necessary. Keep treats handy. But when we started - we did one claw at a time. Sleeping kitten - clip one claw - kitten wakes up, gets treat - and that was it. We did one claw every day. By the time you've done them all, it's time to start 'round again. The younger they are, the quicker they get used to it, and the faster you'll be able to get them all done at once.
Whenever she's not doing something OK, blow that short, sharp puff of air in her face, say "no" firmly (so she learns the word no), and redirect her to something OK. If she doesn't redirect or won't stop - deny her the pleasure. Put her down and walk away from her. Ignore her.
Getting mad at cats does nothing - they aren't pre-programmed (for the most part) to make people happy.
Of course - she is a little kitten, so it's natural for her to be "swipey" and "bitey." Her mom would bop her in the forehead or hiss at her to let her know she didn't like the behavior - but cats don't see humans as other cats, so that short, sharp puff of air in the face is more effective for us.
Also - those sharp little claws should be clipped! The younger you start them, the better. When she's sleeping, touch her paws. Get her used to that. Then progress to pushing her little claws out. When she's comfortable with that, clip one at a time if necessary. Keep treats handy. But when we started - we did one claw at a time. Sleeping kitten - clip one claw - kitten wakes up, gets treat - and that was it. We did one claw every day. By the time you've done them all, it's time to start 'round again. The younger they are, the quicker they get used to it, and the faster you'll be able to get them all done at once.
