Socializing kittens?

Hello!
I was wondering if anyone has ever tried socializing a kitten, the way you would with a puppy. I am wondering if this would work.
What I mean by this is with a puppy you are supposed to take them to different environments and get them used to different types of people, animals, noises, surfaces, places, and so on so they will grow up to be well-adjusted and not fearful/aggressive.
I am wondering if this might work to help a kitten be better adjusted, outgoing, non-fearful of things. I am planning to get a kitten sometime soon and I would love to be able to take it when it's older to do therapy work at a local hospital or nursing home, so I would need to make sure it is comfortable in different environments, and friendly.

hiya, my cat misty is one of the most people cats ever, from when we got her we let her have the space of two rooms, our living room and kitchen (the most busiest rooms in the house) here she got used to alot of different noises, surfaces, children and adults. once she becam comfortable in this environment, we introduced her to othe rooms, by doing this slowly she became more adapted to different environments. Remember your home can be very big and very noisy to a small cat. When she has got used to home and is comfortable, u may then introduce her to other cats and dogs. i hope this helps, sadie x

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Hello!
I was wondering if anyone has ever tried socializing a kitten, the way you would with a puppy. I am wondering if this would work.
What I mean by this is with a puppy you are supposed to take them to different environments and get them used to different types of people, animals, noises, surfaces, places, and so on so they will grow up to be well-adjusted and not fearful/aggressive.
I am wondering if this might work to help a kitten be better adjusted, outgoing, non-fearful of things. I am planning to get a kitten sometime soon and I would love to be able to take it when it's older to do therapy work at a local hospital or nursing home, so I would need to make sure it is comfortable in different environments, and friendly.

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Kittens are very different than puppies. If you are not home during the day, I would really suggest that you consider getting 2:

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catsinpairs.htm

If you cannot get 2...then I would really recommend adopting an already friendly adult cat.

Katie

Yes, I know they are different than puppies. I have had cats for about 14 years now, I just have not had a lot of experience with raising kittens to adulthood (only stray/orphaned kittens raised till old enough to find homes, or older stray kittens) which is why I was wondering if anyone has tried socializing... I was also wondering because I saw an article about "Kitty Kindergarten" classes which seems similar to "Puppy Kingergarten" for dogs, which is socialization classes...

I already have one friendly adult cat in the home.

I socialized my kittens (after they had their shots) by letting friends/family handle them when they came to visit. Any of the show rex kittens, I'd take to Petsmart with me as a fun ride - one to get them used to car traveling (not to the vet only) and two, to socialize and meet people.

The one, Tommy, was a big hit. One of the clerks fell in love with him (he was already spoken for) and insisted I put him on her check out counter. Tommy was totally unafraid of dogs, people and loved attention. I'd put him on the counter, he'd walk up and down the table, checking out whatever people put there (canned food, etc.) and walk across the keyboard, head butting for pets and kisses. People were totally shocked that the kitten did not run - but actually demanded the attention.

He made a great show cat too

However, I would not recommend you turning a kitten "loose" like I did - very few kittens are like Tommy; but you could hold your kitten and let people pet or hold them in the store.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Yes, I know they are different than puppies. I have had cats for about 14 years now, I just have not had a lot of experience with raising kittens to adulthood (only stray/orphaned kittens raised till old enough to find homes, or older stray kittens) which is why I was wondering if anyone has tried socializing... I was also wondering because I saw an article about "Kitty Kindergarten" classes which seems similar to "Puppy Kingergarten" for dogs, which is socialization classes...

I already have one friendly adult cat in the home.

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This session will include:
• How cats learn
• Kitten-proofing your home
• Preventing litter box and scratching problems
• Providing play opportunities
• Crate-training your kitten
The second and third sessions are one hour from 6:30
These sessions will include:
• Socialization with other kittens
• Discussions about handling with people
• Clicker training your kitten
• Grooming, nail trimming and dental care

I would envision all classes to hold a similiar type course. It's not completely geared towards "socialization" but also addresses the needs of a cat such as grooming etc.

Katie

Hi Katie,
Where did you get that info? Is there a website where you found it?
It looks a lot more involved than the class I heard about...

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Hi Katie,
Where did you get that info? Is there a website where you found it?
It looks a lot more involved than the class I heard about...

Click to expand...

I did a search for Kitten Kindergarten.

Katie

I attended Kitty Kindergarten and socialization is covered as well as general aspects of "kitten care" as TNR mentioned above. The course instructor, animal behaviorist, Steve Dale, supports introducing your kittens (and cats) to other kitties, dogs, people, vets, carriers, etc to help with socialization and promoting happier, healthier kitty lifestyles. It was a very interesting course that I would highly recommend if you do or do not have a kitten to bring. If you live in Chicago, watch for Treehouse Shelter website events. They have sponsored the course in the past. I do not know if they have another one planned, but you could probably email the shelter for more information. Obviously, you need to ensure safety of your kitten first, but he advocates bringing your kitty to new situations and places (like your vet for play time instead of shots) when young.

Thanks scoomoo, that sounds exactly like what I was thinking of in term of socialization... So apparently at least some people do recommend it. Now I just have to hope they actually offer a kindergarten class after I get my kitten before it's too old to attend! (I'll probably attend one before then if they have one, without a cat.)

I went without a kitty but learned a lot and found it very interesting. Steve Dale's kitties have traveled extensively with him and put on amazing showsn public places for many people who are surprised to see a cat do things other than sleep!