We all want our kittens and cats to be a happy member of the family so socialising at an early age is important to help them grow up to be confident and friendly.
All interactions should be gentle and positive, take it slowly and stop or move away should they start to act fearful, relaxed and friendly behaviour is what you want to achieve.
Play is a great way to socialise your kitten, stimulate and exercise them all in one go! Encourage stalking, pouncing and chase, mimicking movements of things you think they might find interesting such as a leaf blowing along the ground, and don’t forget to let them win occasionally – its no fun to lose all the time and never catch your target, rewardingtheir hard work with a hidden treat or for when they catch the ‘mouse’.
Should your kitten get a little too excited and scratch discourage this by making a yelping noise, similar to that a litter mate would, and stop play they will learn the limits to their play. A kicker toy is good for kittens to have a good wrestle with without hurting you!
