If you are judging your cat by its size and having thoughts that training it would be just like training your dog, then you are completely mistaken. The main difference here is that cats are more independent and least interested in the opinion or training is given by their owners.
Don’t worry training your cat is not an impossible task as with proper techniques and patience you can turn your kitten into a happy and obedient companion in no time.
1. Understand the reason for their misbehavior
As much you would like to believe that your kitten is showing undesirable behavior just for fun or spite there may be an actual reason for it. This is why the first step in their training would be to understand the main reason for their behavior.
For example, you might have seen that your kitten always urinates outside the litter box no matter how many times you have trained them.
It is possible that the reason your kitten urinates outside the litter box is that it has some urinary problems due to which they are unable to reach the litter box in time.
This is why you need to show your kitten to a veterinarian to rule out any medical behavior as the reason for their undesirable behavior.
2. Try to socialize your kitten
As the medical reasons have been ruled out by your vet, then try to understand the reason for their behavior.
Kittens react the most due to change. They don’t adjust well to the new house, surroundings, etc.
It is best to socialize your kitten at a young age to avoid bad behavior at a later stage. If your kitten isn’t socialized or used to people at a young age, their bad behavior is bound to increase later.
Try to socialize them with people of all ages, genders and physical appearances. You don’t need to socialize them the whole day; ideally, 5-10 minutes are fine for a day.
3. Use positive and negative rewards for discipline
Giving positive reinforcements to kittens is the easiest way to train them. You can reward your cat whenever you find them behaving well.
Remember to do it every time your cat does the same behavior which will eventually make your cat repeat it and abandon the old behavior. A reward can be their favorite food or a tasty treat.
If you want your cat to stop their misbehavior, then you need to react in a certain way every time your cat misbehaves.
You can ignore them, not talk to them or walk away to let them know that you are angry. They will slowly stop their undesirable behavior.
4. Try to keep them busy
Your kitten may be acting out because she is bored. You might see your cat staring at you and laze around all day which eventually becomes their habit, and they don’t want to do anything else than to sleep.
Try to keep them busy from the start so that they don’t become habituated and be lazy all day. You can plan some activities together for the day to keep them busy.
5. Make your house cat-friendly
If you see your cat climbing up the kitchen counter to see a view or going to areas it shouldn’t then it is time to make more cat spaces in your house.
All you need to do is put up a bench in the adjacent area so that whenever your cat needs to see the view, then it can use the bench.
You need to make sure that they understand that they use the area and not go to places they shouldn’t. You can also assign specific places for them to drink water, eat food, etc.
6. Train your cat to eat at specific times
The next step would be to make your cat get an eating schedule. You need to train your cat to eat at assigned times and not leave the food out all day.
This will help them set a routine and avoid undesirable behavior.
7. Make them use the litter box
Whether you have a small kitten or a full-size cat, the most undesirable behavior exhibited by cats is urinating everywhere.
It is better to train them to use the litter box as early as possible so that they don’t make a habit of doing it later.
8. Use soft training sessions
The key to train your cat is not to yell but use soft training sessions. Call out their name often and train them to obey certain commands like “sit,” “stand,” “walk,” etc. to avoid undesirable behavior.
Training your cat is not as easy as training your dog but can be done without utmost ease by following the above – mentioned steps. The key here is to start at an earlier stage to avoid any misbehavior in the future.
