Teach kitten it's okay to be handled
To start this post off - I do understand that ultimately, one cannot fully dictate a cat's behaviour, and that especially with kittens, how they act when they young isn't how they act when they are older, and I am fully prepared to accept no matter what I do, my kitten may never want to cuddle, and that's fine!
My 'resident' cat (7yrs next month) (a term that is increasingly irrelevant as Lillie (>13 weeks) has now lived here almost 4 weeks) started off when I first got him 5 years ago only occasionally sat on or near me, was mostly just content to get pets but not cuddle. Now 5 years later he will more often than not as soon as he can tell I am waking up he comes to snuggle, he will sit on my lap more often, when I lie down for naps he will come join me. So point being even if Lillie doesn't end up like that I will still have River! And it also means I understand cat's temperament can change and I'm fine with that.
So, as above, I know for a large part the type of cat Lillie is and will become is out of my control, but I was wondering what I can do as an owner to make her more used to and hopefully enjoy being held, handled and cuddled. After all, she is a young kitten and likely hasn't had much experience to really know much about it. I know if you expose a cat to too much affection too quick it can overwhelm them - it needs to be something they want otherwise it's a negative experience.
So is it a case of handling her and holding her for certain times a day, and increasing it, as it is for other things with cat training? If so, what pace would you suggest - in terms of how long should I start with and how much should I increase it by?
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Teach kitten to tolerate baths
Again, I 100% am aware cats do not need baths as routine, they clean themselves. However, sometimes they do. I only ever bath River if he has gotten himself unusually dirty - when he was younger this was sometimes a case of getting into dusty or dirty places, but now that he understands off-limit areas better, it usually only ever happens if he has soiled his carrier while he is in it - in which case he gets a bath, cat shampoo and a rinse.
When River was younger, he resisted and thought these. He was never violent against me, but he would constantly attempt to scramble out of the bath, be it by clinging on to the side or on to me, and would be moaning the entire time. 5 years later and he is such a good boy. He certainly doesn't want to have baths, but if I put him in one, he has completely stopped fighting it - either he has learnt they are not that bad or that it's over faster if he doesn't. He will just stand there and let me wash him. Same situation with trimming his nails - he's still funny about his back paws but he never fights with his front anymore.
With it being Lillie's formative years, I'd like her to learn baths aren't bad like River has. What would be the suggestion here - should I give her exposure baths (i.e. baths when she doesn't need them) so she learns being in a tub of water isn't a bad thing? How often, for how long?
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Other things
Any other suggestions I should make the most of the time I have a kitten in her formative years to teach her? Someone mentioned clicker training so I'll look at that. River is sort of harness and leash trained (in that his previous owners leash trained him, but they lived in a more rural area, and River was an indoor/outdoor cat - I have only ever lived in urban areas near main roads, so I don't let River out because a. I am not convinced it is safe and b. I usually live in a maisonette and would have no idea if he wanted in and as someone with OCD and anxiety, I'd be constantly checking for him. River quickly adapted to being indoor only with absolutely no complaints, but as he is scared of traffic (which is fair, cars are scary), he has now associated his harness and leash with loud noises, so I need to retrain him to not), so I would also like Lillie to be too. I find it easier to transport cats without a carrier, and as long as he isn't near cars, River prefers to not be inside one either. Obviously there are loads of guides online about leash training so I can read one of those.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks all for reading and for your help!
To start this post off - I do understand that ultimately, one cannot fully dictate a cat's behaviour, and that especially with kittens, how they act when they young isn't how they act when they are older, and I am fully prepared to accept no matter what I do, my kitten may never want to cuddle, and that's fine!
My 'resident' cat (7yrs next month) (a term that is increasingly irrelevant as Lillie (>13 weeks) has now lived here almost 4 weeks) started off when I first got him 5 years ago only occasionally sat on or near me, was mostly just content to get pets but not cuddle. Now 5 years later he will more often than not as soon as he can tell I am waking up he comes to snuggle, he will sit on my lap more often, when I lie down for naps he will come join me. So point being even if Lillie doesn't end up like that I will still have River! And it also means I understand cat's temperament can change and I'm fine with that.
So, as above, I know for a large part the type of cat Lillie is and will become is out of my control, but I was wondering what I can do as an owner to make her more used to and hopefully enjoy being held, handled and cuddled. After all, she is a young kitten and likely hasn't had much experience to really know much about it. I know if you expose a cat to too much affection too quick it can overwhelm them - it needs to be something they want otherwise it's a negative experience.
So is it a case of handling her and holding her for certain times a day, and increasing it, as it is for other things with cat training? If so, what pace would you suggest - in terms of how long should I start with and how much should I increase it by?
---
Teach kitten to tolerate baths
Again, I 100% am aware cats do not need baths as routine, they clean themselves. However, sometimes they do. I only ever bath River if he has gotten himself unusually dirty - when he was younger this was sometimes a case of getting into dusty or dirty places, but now that he understands off-limit areas better, it usually only ever happens if he has soiled his carrier while he is in it - in which case he gets a bath, cat shampoo and a rinse.
When River was younger, he resisted and thought these. He was never violent against me, but he would constantly attempt to scramble out of the bath, be it by clinging on to the side or on to me, and would be moaning the entire time. 5 years later and he is such a good boy. He certainly doesn't want to have baths, but if I put him in one, he has completely stopped fighting it - either he has learnt they are not that bad or that it's over faster if he doesn't. He will just stand there and let me wash him. Same situation with trimming his nails - he's still funny about his back paws but he never fights with his front anymore.
With it being Lillie's formative years, I'd like her to learn baths aren't bad like River has. What would be the suggestion here - should I give her exposure baths (i.e. baths when she doesn't need them) so she learns being in a tub of water isn't a bad thing? How often, for how long?
---
Other things
Any other suggestions I should make the most of the time I have a kitten in her formative years to teach her? Someone mentioned clicker training so I'll look at that. River is sort of harness and leash trained (in that his previous owners leash trained him, but they lived in a more rural area, and River was an indoor/outdoor cat - I have only ever lived in urban areas near main roads, so I don't let River out because a. I am not convinced it is safe and b. I usually live in a maisonette and would have no idea if he wanted in and as someone with OCD and anxiety, I'd be constantly checking for him. River quickly adapted to being indoor only with absolutely no complaints, but as he is scared of traffic (which is fair, cars are scary), he has now associated his harness and leash with loud noises, so I need to retrain him to not), so I would also like Lillie to be too. I find it easier to transport cats without a carrier, and as long as he isn't near cars, River prefers to not be inside one either. Obviously there are loads of guides online about leash training so I can read one of those.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks all for reading and for your help!