Behaviour and Training

The Cat Breeders Association has put together a list of common behaviours your new kitten may exhibit, and advice on how to deal with these behaviours:

•    Scratching: Cats love to scratch and need to sharpen their claws. They will do this on your furniture and/or carpet unless you train them to use their scratching post from an early age. Show them what to do by holding them near the post and scratching their claws on the post. A tip to encourage your kitten to use the post is to put catnip (a herb that cats love) in and around it.

•    Not using their litter tray: There are many reasons why your cat might not be using their litter tray. It may be because of a litter box problem; ensure that you clean the litter tray regularly, make sure it is in a quiet place and far away from the water and food bowls, and it might help to provide one litter tray for each cat. If these tips don't help, confine your cat to a small area with the litter tray, continue socialising with them and let them out with supervision. Once they have been using the tray consistently for a few weeks gradually give them more freedom and keep monitoring the situation. If the situation persists, it may be due to a medical problem, see your vet.  

•    Spraying: This is when a cat backs up to an upright surface and directs their urine towards it. This is a type of marking behaviour and can happen when your cat feels anxious or when they feel that their territory is being invaded. To stop this behaviour, prevent your cat from seeing other cats that wander onto your property, by closing curtains or moving furniture. If you have a male cat, consider having him neutered, as most stop spraying following the procedure.  

•    Taking food out of their bowl: This is quite a common behaviour; cats take the food out of the bowl and eat it off the floor. If your cat shows this behaviour there are two things that you can do that may help; make sure the food in the bowl is in small chunks, and ensure that the bowl is big enough so that your cat's whiskers don't touch the sides.

•    Constant meowing: The best thing you can do to stop your cat if they are constantly meowing is to ignore them. This can be hard as the meowing normally gets worse, but persevere and they will learn that it doesn't get your attention. Another tip to try is distraction; they may be just bored so give them things to play with. If your cat is normally quiet and suddenly starts meowing a lot, they may be ill and you should consult your vet.

•    Signs of illness: There are some other signs that your cat might exhibit that could indicate illness and you should consult your vet; these include refusal to eat, difficulty when urinating, neglecting grooming themselves, repeated sneezing, constant scratching, difficulty breathing and spending a lot of time alone.

•    Climbing: Cats love to climb up high, but this can cause damage to your possessions as well as injury to your cat. You can prevent your cat from doing so by removing furniture that will help them climb, replacing curtains with blinds or putting an alarm on them, placing obstacles or providing them with a cat perch or window perch, which you can buy from pet shops.