Your adorable kitten claws all the time but you don't know how teach a kitten not to scratch ?
As it is much more complicated to train a cat when it is already an adult, it will be necessary to start train your kitten From the earliest age. Here are some tips to help your kitten stop scratching you all the time.
Why does my kitten scratch all the time?
A kitten makes its first acquisitions in the weeks following its birth in contact with its mother and its litter brothers and sisters. Little by little, he learns the basics of socialization (not to bite, not to scratch, to wait his turn to suckle, to play while respecting the other kittens…). In fact, it teaches every baby to respect limits that should not be exceeded. When it does not respect them, the mother cat knows how to reframe it with a kick of the paw or even a little nudge.
But to make all these acquisitions, the kitten must stay a minimum of time with its mother and the other kittens in the litter. The ideal is to let the kitten grow up with its mother until the age of 3 months. When a kitten is not fully weaned, that he is withdrawn too soon from his mother, he did not have time to learn not to bite or not to scratch. Suddenly, he will tend to nibble and scratching all the time your hands, furniture, fabrics ...
It's up to you to quickly correct these behaviors which can degenerate as they grow older and thus prevent your kitten from scratching all the time!
Teach your kitten not to scratch all the time
All kittens tend to scratch, but to prevent them from continuing, you need to put limits on them as soon as possible.
Here are some tips for teach your kitten not to scratch all the time :
Teach a kitten not to scratch while playing
- To prevent your kitten from scratching your fingers while playing with you, always take a toy or object so that your hands are not used. In this way, your kitten will attack the toy before scratching your hands.
- As soon as your kitten starts to scratch, you will have to stop the game and shout NO to him, showing that you have been in pain.
- As soon as he starts scratching you again, you have to stop playing again and repeat NO again and so on ...
- And if, despite everything, the kitten does not stop scratching all the time, you can use the strong (but harmless to the kitten) method. A simple water jet on the muzzle with each scratch will make your kitten understand that it is not necessary to scratch! To do this, just use a spray bottle filled with water and send a tiny jet each time the kitten tries to scratch you.
Train your kitten not to scratch
You have to train your kitten very early so that it does not scratch you but above all that it does not scratch a child or a baby ... Scratches can also damage the interior of your home. Indeed, it is not uncommon for kittens to scratch the legs of chairs, upholstery, sofa or walls.
Here are some tips to keep your kitten from scratching:
- Install him with scratching posts and a cat tree;
- Stand near the cat tree to do the training sessions.
- Start playing with your kitten and every time he tries to scratch you, shout NO and redirect to his scratching post or cat tree. By repeating this method several days in a row, your kitten will understand that he should not scratch you but that he can scratch his cat tree.
- If this method is not effective with your cat because it is too wild or too stubborn, you can use the solution of spray (see above).
- Know that you should never let your cat scratch you because if you let it happen only once, he will not understand why you refuse it the next time. To establish a good relationship and a good education, one must always have a consistent and routine attitude.
As soon as your kitten starts to grow, remember to cut her claws (see how to cut the claws of his cat?)
Also learn How to leave a kitten alone the first time?