5/6/2015

KittenBehaviorBasics:TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates

NOVEMBER20,2014

KittenBehaviorBasics
Whattoexpectinyourcat'sfirst18months(andhowtomakethemostofthem)

Gentletouching,holding,playingandother
interactionswithyouareveryimportantto
yourkitten'sdevelopment.iStockphoto
Mothersarekeytohavingahappy,securekitten:Wellsocializedcatsaremorelikelytohavewellsocializedkittens.Kittensoftenmirrortheir
mothers'calmorfearfulattitudetowardpeoplethisisanormalpartoftheirsocialization.
Butyoucanplayavitalrole,too:Bypetting,talkingtoandplayingwithyournewkitten,youcanhelpherdevelopgood"peopleskills."
Herearegeneralguidelinesforkittens'stagesofdevelopmentthatprovideanoutlineofwhattoexpectduringtheirfirst18monthsoflife.
You'llalsofindtipsthatwillhelpyouandyourkittengetthemostoutofthethoseimportantfirst18months.

Birthtotwoweeks:yourkitten'sneonatalperiod
Kittenlearnstoorienttowardsound.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/kitten_behavior_basics.html?credit=web_id103701348

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KittenBehaviorBasics:TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates

Eyesbeginopeningtheyareusuallyopenbytwoweeksofage.
Competitionforrankandterritorybegins.Separationfrommotherandlittermatesatthispointcanleadtopoorlearningskillsandaggression
towardpeopleandotherpets.
Kittenswhoaregentlyhandled15to40minutesadayduringtheir
firstsevenweeksaremorelikelytodeveloplargerbrains.

Twotosevenweeks:yourkittenbecomessocial
Bythethirdweek,senseofsmelliswelldeveloped,andkittencanseewellenoughtofindhermother.
Bythefourthweek,senseofsmellisfullymatureandsenseofhearingiswelldeveloped.Kittenstartstointeractwithlittermatesandcanwalk
fairlywell.Theteethstarttocomein.
Bythefifthweek,eyesightisfullymature,andkittencanrightherself,run,placeherfeetprecisely,avoidobstacles,stalkandpounceandcatch
"prey"withhereyes.
Kittenstartstogroomherselfandothers.
Bythesixthandseventhweeks,kittenbeginstodevelopadultsleepingpatterns,motorskillsandsocialinteractionabilities.
Kittensareusuallyweanedatsixtosevenweeks,buttheymaycontinuetosuckleforcomfortastheirmothergraduallyleavesthemforlonger
periodsoftime.Orphanedkittens,orthoseweanedtoosoon,aremorelikelytoexhibitinappropriatesucklingbehaviorslaterinlife,suchas
suckingonblankets,pillowsoryourarm.Ideally,kittensshouldstaywiththeirlittermates(orother"rolemodel"cats)foratleast12weeks.

Sevento14weeks:thetimeyourkittenwillplaythemost
Socialandobjectplayincreaseskitten'sphysicalcoordinationandsocialskills.Mostlearningisbyobservation,preferablyoftheirmother.
Socialplayincludesbellyups,hugging,ambushingandlicking.
Objectplayincludesscooping,tossing,pawing,mouthingandholding.
Combinedsocial/objectplayincludestailchasing,pouncing,leapinganddancing.

Threetosixmonths:yourkittenstartsrankingthehousehold
Kittenismostinfluencedbyher"litter,"whichmaynowincludeplaymatesofotherspecies.
Kittenbeginstoseeanduseranking(dominanceorsubmission)withinhousehold,includinghumans.

Sixto18months:yourkittenisanadolescent
Kittenincreasesexplorationofdominance,includingchallenginghumans.
Ifnotspayedorneutered,kittenexperiencesbeginningsofsexualbehavior.

AllStages:Interactionsareimportanttoyourkitten
Kittensorphanedorseparatedfromtheirmotherand/orlittermatestooearlyoftenfailtodevelopappropriate"socialskills,"suchaslearninghow
tosendandreceivesignals,whatan"inhibitedbite"(acceptablemouthingpressure)means,howfartogoinplaywrestlingandsoforth.
Playisimportantforkittensbecauseitincreasestheirphysicalcoordination,socialskillsandlearninglimits.Byinteractingwiththeirmotherand
littermates,kittensexploretherankingprocess("who'sincharge")andalsolearn"howtobeacat."

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/kitten_behavior_basics.html?credit=web_id103701348

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KittenBehaviorBasics:TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates

Kittenswhoaregentlyhandledbypeople15to40minutesadayduringthefirstsevenweeksaremorelikelytodeveloplargerbrains.They're
moreexploratory,moreplayfulandbetterlearners.Skillsnotacquiredduringthefirsteightweeksmaybelostforever.
Whilethesestagesareimportantandfairlyconsistent,acat'smindremainsreceptivetonewexperiencesandlessonswellbeyondkittenhood.
Mostcatsarestillkittens,inmindandbody,throughthefirsttwoyearsoflife.
AdaptedfrommaterialoriginallydevelopedbyappliedanimalbehavioristsattheDumbFriendsLeague,Denver,Colorado.Allrightsreserved.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/kitten_behavior_basics.html?credit=web_id103701348

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