Common Kitten Training Mistakes

Bringing home a new kitten is an exciting time filled with many adorable moments for new kitten parents. However, bringing home a new kitten does come with many challenges. A new kitty needs a lot of training which can be fun but will take a lot of hard work. Kitten training can be made much easier and enjoyable for new owners if they avoid these common kitten training mistakes:

Too Much Time Alone

Young cats need a lot of attention and care. Having your kitten spend too much time alone can make training more difficult. Although it is important to ensure your kitten gets used to being alone from a young age, too much alone time can cause them to act out. It will be more common for your kitten to have accidents in the home or find an unwanted chew toy if left in the house alone for too long.

Rushing the Process

Many new kitten parents think they are doing something wrong if they aren’t training at record speed. It is important to stay patient and not rush the process out of frustration. Coming into a new home can be a big adjustment for a new kitty. It is important to be patient as they learn their new surroundings and boundaries. Try focusing on only a couple of important commands at a time and enjoy the small wins as they come.

Table Scraps & Jumping

There is no doubt that saying “No” to those big brown kitten dog eyes is a near-impossible task. However, setting boundaries is one of the most important tasks. Kittens learn behaviors early on that can lead to much bigger problems down the line. It will be challenging to stop this behavior once you start feeding your cat food scraps from the dinner table. Although a kitten begging for food may be cute, it won’t be when you can no longer have dinner without them begging.

No Down Time

All play and no sleep can be really hard on a young kitten. Being overtired can cause a young kitten to act out. An early bedtime and multiple naps throughout the day are an important part of their training. Many families want to spend all day playing and getting to know their new kitten, but they need breaks. If your kitty doesn’t get rest, it will be more difficult to establish routines.