By starting your kitten off on the right "paw" you can eliminate many behavior problems before they have a chance to blossom. We want you and your new kitten to get off to a good start. If you have any problems or questions about training, please give us a call!

Using the Litter Box:

Until the habit of using the litter box is firmly established, confine the kitten to a small room with its litter box whenever it cannot be closely supervised.

• Place the box in an area that is easily accessible and provides some privacy.
• Provide atleast two (2) boxes if you have more than one (1) cat.
• Scoop the box daily and completely clean every week.
• Avoid using strong smelling disinfectants to clean the box.
• Do not medicate, punish, scold, or do anything else disagreeable to the cat when it is in the litter box.
• If you change the brand of litter, gradually replace the old litter with the new over a five (5) day period.
• Don't rub the pets nose in urine or stool if it misses the box.
• Neuter or spay the pet soon after it reaches six (6) months of age.
• Call our office at the first sign of house soiling for more help. Long term problems can be very difficult to correct.

Scratching Furniture:

• Provide a scratching post in an easily accessible location.
• Make sure the scratching post is sturdy.
• Try scratching posts with different surfaces (wood, rope, carpet, fabric, etc.) to find which one the kitten prefers.
• Whenever the kitten scratches the post, immediately give a food reward.
• Closely supervise the kitten and punish unacceptable scratching by squirting it with a water gun during the act.
• When the kitten cannot be supervised, confine it to a room where the only acceptable scratching surface is its scratching post.
• Booby trap furniture that you want to protect.
• Pin or tape balloons to the side of furniture
• Place mousetraps (which have been set and placed upside down) on or around furniture.

Chewing On Plants:

• Mist the plant with water, then sprinkle cayenne pepper on the leaves.
• Booby traps (see above).
• Play Biting:
• Don't encourage attacks toward your hand.
• Direct attack play behaviors toward thrown toys (try ping pong balls) or toys on a string.
• Discourage biting or attacking with a water gun or blast of compressed air (cans are sold at camera and computer stores).
• Some kittens will play bite after a predictable amount of petting. Anticipate this response and keep petting sessions short.