Playing with your kitten

Play with your kitten

A kitten’s life is all about playing and having fun.  To begin with kittens will play with their littermates and mum, and it’s usually at this stage that they learn to inhibit their bite and use of claws so that they can have as much fun as possible without hurting each other.  When kittens go to new homes, the focus of this play can be transferred on to us, so it is extremely important that we continue to ensure that they play with us in a safe and appropriate way.  Always use appropriate toys, preferably fishing rod toys as this keeps the kitten’s teeth and claws away from your hands.  Throw toys away from you, so that they have to chase and pounce on them. Tasty treats can placed inside some toys, and this adds an extra challenge to a kitten, as once he has chased and caught the toy, he then has to work out how he will get to the reward inside. Provide a small soft toy for those kittens that like to grapple and wrestle, and encourage them to play with this instead of you.  Never ever encourage a young kitten to play with your fingers, hands or feet.  It might seem funny or harmless at the time, but that will soon change when you have a large adult cat that chases, bites and scratches people.

If you have a kitten that seems focus on hands and feet, don’t punish him or tell him off.  Simply remain as still and as quite as possible until he stops.  Then, refocus his attention on to a suitable toy and praise him enthusiastically.  This way he will learn that hands and feet are boring, and that playing with toys is much more exciting and fun.

A scratching post inside the house is helpful in protecting your furniture, even if your kitten is able to go outside. The post should be covered in material that is not found anywhere else in the house (such as string), so that the kitten does not learn to scratch other items, like your carpet.  Some scratching posts come in the form of activity towers, which are ideal for kittens as they love to play and hide.

Some particularly excitable kittens may try to play with a family cat or dog, and if they are happy to play in return, always supervise in case things get out of hand.  If the kitten is pestering your other pets, get your kittens attention and distract them away by using a favorite toy.  Repeat this process consistently until the kitten learns that play with you is much more fun then play with them.  You’ll also find that your other pets will be more accepting and tolerant of an enthusiastic kitten if you help them out in this way.

For further information, see Keeping your cat in shape.

Text from Blue Cross Charity