Starting as we mean to go on - installing good habits in kittens

[Not Jackson Galaxy]

Hello everyone! I am very excitedly preparing to receive two lovely kitties in hopefully a week and 2 days (but who's counting...)

I'm thinking about good habits and how to help our future selves and wondered if you had any advice?

I'm starting with aiming to train them to use scratching posts/boxes by getting them to chase string onto them and hope that they feel how nice they are to scratch.

I'm thinking that any meows or attention seeking behaviour before 7am should be ignored from day 1 to avoid them learning to wake us up for food or whatever.

Now i've never ever successfully got a cat to take a pill I think! So should I try normalising holding them, touching round their mouths, opening their mouths to look at gums as well, stroking their necks, that kind of thing?

And should I get them used to claw trimming type touch?

Anything else?

 

[ArtNJ]

Well firstly, you aren't doing anything the kitten won't like until it is well bonded with you and used to the home, which may be days or a week or so.

If you intend to cut nails regularly, definitely start getting them used to touching the paws. You shouldn't need to do anything to get the kitten using the litterbox. Just put a box in the saferoom and the kitten will do the rest. Scratching posts are hideously tricky. Your idea of luring with a toy may work a little. Catnip may work a little. But for me, what mainly works is praising when they use the post (in a way that doesn't distract them!) and doing a loud "no!" when they scratch the wrong thing (only once the kitten is bonded). And being patient. It can take a while. Cats just aren't for people with antique furniture imho -- your couch, armchair and a spot or three on the carpet will take some hits before you can get a kitten mostly reliable.

Definitely don't respond to garden variety meows when you are in bed. Of course, for the first week or so they roam the house you have to be extra cautious about them getting danger somehow via something you didn't think to kitten proof, and you may need to get up to investigate strange sounds and noises even longer than that -- cats can create a lot of mischief when bored.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Congratulations on your upcoming new kittens!! Not exactly responding to your questions directly, but you might find some helpful tips in these TCS articles:
Kitten Proofing Your Home: 13 Practical Tips – TheCatSite Articles
New Cat Checklist: What You Need To Get Before Bringing Kitty Home – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Not Jackson Galaxy]

Yes that is true, my whole aim is to avoid traumatising them now and in the future!

Thanks for the links, will have a read now.

One thing I was thinking...my house is quite big and their litter boxes will be in the utility room downstairs. Will they be able to take themselves there from upstairs when they need to? Will they remember, will it be too far/too many scary stairs etc?

 

[FeebysOwner]

One thing I was thinking...my house is quite big and their litter boxes will be in the utility room downstairs. Will they be able to take themselves there from upstairs when they need to? Will they remember, will it be too far/too many scary stairs etc?

To start off, they should be introduced first to a safe room, and their litter box should be there too. After you've let them start to get used to the rest of the house, I would keep at least one, probably should be two, for them to find easily. You can always set another downstairs - for the future. But, I would wait until they are settled in and using the more closely located boxes before trying to transition them to one downstairs. With a big house, you really should have more than one litter box, even after they reach adulthood.

 

[klunick]

Hello everyone! I am very excitedly preparing to receive two lovely kitties in hopefully a week and 2 days (but who's counting...)

I'm thinking about good habits and how to help our future selves and wondered if you had any advice?

I'm starting with aiming to train them to use scratching posts/boxes by getting them to chase string onto them and hope that they feel how nice they are to scratch.

I'm thinking that any meows or attention seeking behaviour before 7am should be ignored from day 1 to avoid them learning to wake us up for food or whatever.

Now i've never ever successfully got a cat to take a pill I think! So should I try normalising holding them, touching round their mouths, opening their mouths to look at gums as well, stroking their necks, that kind of thing?

And should I get them used to claw trimming type touch?

Anything else?

I have never had to train our cats to use a scratching post necessarily. They instinctively knew what to do with a scratching post. If you catch them scratching at the furniture, you will need to distract them either by clapping loudly or throwing a toy in their general direction. Good luck on getting them to not wake you up before 7am. Cats may not make any noise to get you up. Sitting on me was always one of their favorites. Or since you have two, them running around the bed playing with each other will likely wake you.

 

[Willowy]

How old will the kittens be when you take them home? If under 12 weeks, you should have a litterbox in the same room they spend most of their time in. If under 5-6 months, it's probably best to have one on the same floor of the house at least, to avoid accidents.

While we do want to instill good habits in kittens, don't be too strict about it, they're just babies. It would be like saying that you won't allow a human baby to cry for his bottle because he won't be allowed to cry for food when he's an adult. There are developmentally appropriate things that babies do that they'll outgrow naturally and don't need to be purposely extinguished.

 

[klunick]

To start off, they should be introduced first to a safe room, and their litter box should be there too. After you've let them start to get used to the rest of the house, I would keep at least one, probably should be two, for them to find easily. You can always set another downstairs - for the future. But, I would wait until they are settled in and using the more closely located boxes before trying to transition them to one downstairs. With a big house, you really should have more than one litter box, even after they reach adulthood.

When I first got Boone and Gracie, they were kept confined to my room for a few weeks. Then the main floor while supervised and back in my room at night. Then the main floor day and night. Then finally downstairs. I still have one litter box in my room and two downstairs. I have heard the "rule of thumb" is one box for each cat plus a spare.

 

[susanm9006]

I think you are thinking along the right lines. Cats pick up routines and rituals very early. So yes, I would ignore them until you are ready to get up. And as far as touching their mouths and paws you want to start doing that as well but at first only when they are sleepy and less likely to object. It is important when teaching touch to always be soft and gentle with it and to quit if it seems upsetting to them.

Some suggestions:
You definitely want to get them see their carrier as a good place, so leaving it out, adding treats and trying to teach them to go into it on command so in case of emergencies or vet visits they will go willingly.
You never want to feed them or give them a treat as soon as you come in from somewhere so they don’t start mobbing you as soon as you are in the door.
Never ever feed them anything you are eating.
You want to nip any climbing of you. Can be cute with a kitten but painful when they grow up.
You want to be sure there are no breakable or loose items on tables or furniture. Drop and watch it break is a game you don’t want them to learn.
Same with toilet paper play. Better to leave rolls up til you need them then have them find out what fun can be had in the bathroom.

I am sure there will be more and others will come along with ideas as well.

 

[klunick]

I think you are thinking along the right lines. Cats pick up routines and rituals very early. So yes, I would ignore them until you are ready to get up. And as far as touching their mouths and paws you want to start doing that as well but at first only when they are sleepy and less likely to object. It is important when teaching touch to always be soft and gentle with it and to quit if it seems upsetting to them.

Some suggestions:
You definitely want to get them see their carrier as a good place, so leaving it out, adding treats and trying to teach them to go into it on command so in case of emergencies or vet visits they will go willingly.
You never want to feed them or give them a treat as soon as you come in from somewhere so they don’t start mobbing you as soon as you are in the door.
Never ever feed them anything you are eating.
You want to nip any climbing of you. Can be cute with a kitten but painful when they grow up.
You want to be sure there are no breakable or loose items on tables or furniture. Drop and watch it break is a game you don’t want them to learn.
Same with toilet paper play. Better to leave rolls up til you need them then have them find out what fun can be had in the bathroom.

I am sure there will be more and others will come along with ideas as well.

Boone and Gracie learned pretty quickly that when they see me starting to fix our dinner that it's close to their dinner time (wet food. dry is out 24/7). They make sure they are close to the kitchen so they can hear me in the pantry getting their bowls out and the sound of the can opening.

Boone mobs me as soon as I get home and it has nothing to do with thinking he will get a treat. He is very bonded to me and I've been gone 12 hours so he is excited that Mommy is home and can love up on him again.

Both try to climb the backs of my legs when I am feeding them their dinner. More of a "stretching move" on the back of my legs just to let me know they are there and hungry.

I have had to rearrange stuff in the living room and kitchen as they learned how to climb up on different areas. I never had anything breakable per se but Gracie learned that my sock gnomes that I made are possible chew toys. Or that plants on my kitchen table are fun to chew on. I am sure once they get bigger and can go higher and higher, more stuff will be moved around.

 

[ArtNJ]

Kittens have "accidents" even with a box in the room they are in sometimes. Not all of them are 100% rigorous about litterbox use yet. Not having a box on a level where they will be is asking or trouble.

 

[klunick]

Kittens have "accidents" even with a box in the room they are in sometimes. Not all of them are 100% rigorous about litterbox use yet. Not having a box on a level where they will be is asking or trouble.

To piggy back on this... when we first got our kittens, they were scared to come out from under my bed which meant they'd go potty under there if I was around and they had to go. In fact, the first time I "heard" them use the box was when I had turned out the lights and was laying in bed like I was asleep. I did get my hands on Gracie and put her in the box on Day 1. She only stayed there a second before running for cover but I wanted to show at least one of them where the box was and hope they'd figure it out. Seemed to figure it out quickly and I would stay away if I saw they were in the box so they'd finish going.

 

[Not Jackson Galaxy]

They will be 8-9 weeks when we get them. yes I was planning that at first they would be confined to the kitchen with the adjoining utility having the litter boxes in.

I get you about asking for trouble. Will there be a way to remove the upstairs litter box/es in time? Just so I don't have 4 boxes all over the place to be honest. My last cat took over the bathroom adjoining our bedroom with 4 litter boxes and the rest of the floor covered in puppy pads, we couldn't use that room for ourselves. She was a nightmare that i do not want to replicate. My husband might have a fit too.

 

[Not Jackson Galaxy]

I think you are thinking along the right lines. Cats pick up routines and rituals very early. So yes, I would ignore them until you are ready to get up. And as far as touching their mouths and paws you want to start doing that as well but at first only when they are sleepy and less likely to object. It is important when teaching touch to always be soft and gentle with it and to quit if it seems upsetting to them.

Some suggestions:
You definitely want to get them see their carrier as a good place, so leaving it out, adding treats and trying to teach them to go into it on command so in case of emergencies or vet visits they will go willingly.
You never want to feed them or give them a treat as soon as you come in from somewhere so they don’t start mobbing you as soon as you are in the door.
Never ever feed them anything you are eating.
You want to nip any climbing of you. Can be cute with a kitten but painful when they grow up.
You want to be sure there are no breakable or loose items on tables or furniture. Drop and watch it break is a game you don’t want them to learn.
Same with toilet paper play. Better to leave rolls up til you need them then have them find out what fun can be had in the bathroom.

I am sure there will be more and others will come along with ideas as well.

Great suggestions thank you

 

[klunick]

They will be 8-9 weeks when we get them. yes I was planning that at first they would be confined to the kitchen with the adjoining utility having the litter boxes in.

I get you about asking for trouble. Will there be a way to remove the upstairs litter box/es in time? Just so I don't have 4 boxes all over the place to be honest. My last cat took over the bathroom adjoining our bedroom with 4 litter boxes and the rest of the floor covered in puppy pads, we couldn't use that room for ourselves. She was a nightmare that i do not want to replicate. My husband might have a fit too.

I am in the middle of transitioning my kitten to use the litter boxes in the basement. I started out with two in my room. Then I removed one from my room and put it downstairs along with a second box down there. Just have to get the last box out of my room. I have noticed the kittens using it less and less so hopefully soon! For a time reference, I have had the kittens since the end of May so I am going slow but not too slow if you know what I mean.

 

[ArtNJ]

A box on every level not only reduces the chance of problems, it its just a lot easier. Smell less with less frequent work. All of that said, if there is a box on the main level of the home where the cats get fed and spend most of their time, that could certainly work. Just keep in mind that with only one box for two kittens you might have to scoop daily. I have 4 boxes for two cats, and my current cats are angels about it, so I can scoop twice a week which I consider a blessing.

 

[Not Jackson Galaxy]

Oh i'm prepared to have more than one box, just hoping not to have them spread around the whole house forever.
Twice a week! Wow. I got used to dealing with her excretions several times a day.

 

[klunick]

Oh i'm prepared to have more than one box, just hoping not to have them spread around the whole house forever.
Twice a week! Wow. I got used to dealing with her excretions several times a day.

I scoop at least twice if not three times a day. With having multiples, there is always a "gift" in the box at any given time. In the beginning I did wait longer to scoop as I wanted them to "smell" their stink in the box so they'd remember to use it again and again.

 

[ArtNJ]

Oh i'm prepared to have more than one box, just hoping not to have them spread around the whole house forever.
Twice a week! Wow. I got used to dealing with her excretions several times a day.

Yeah, I've had cats that wouldn't stand for that in the past even with a 2 to 1 box ratio in the past, but my current two are angels about it. It also helps that I have two big boxes in the furnished basement where they spend their nights.

 

[susanm9006]

I am in the middle of transitioning my kitten to use the litter boxes in the basement. I started out with two in my room. Then I removed one from my room and put it downstairs along with a second box down there. Just have to get the last box out of my room. I have noticed the kittens using it less and less so hopefully soon! For a time reference, I have had the kittens since the end of May so I am going slow but not too slow if you know what I mean.

What I have always done when moving litter boxes is to move them only a foot or two every couple days. If moving a box downstairs, you continue to move the box until it is at the top of the stairs and then place a box at the bottom preferably within view before the final move of the upstairs box down. But I would not try to get a kitten to use just a basement box. When they have to go they have to go and most can’t or won’t go that far away. Waiting until they are nearly grown is a better idea.