Socializing Kittens

Proper Socialization, the Best Gift You Can Give Your Feline Friend

Jun 2, 2007 Darlene Cheek

There are things that all kittens need in order to be properly socialized, including plenty of human interaction and lots of things to play with.

Kittens are just like children. They learn from you and by playing and exploring. Many of our parents use to say, “Don’t handle the kittens or you will make them sick.” We’ve heard that mother cats will abandon a litter if you touch her babies. So we’re afraid to even touch a kitten, and we aren’t sure how to handle situations where kittens are raised underfoot, especially when there are other cats or young children in the house.

Research shows that kittens who are handled every day for the first month of their lives are not only friendlier cats, but also learn faster and accept new situations easier. Socializing your kittens properly is really the best thing that you can do for them. A well-socialized kitten will be a happy and emotionally healthy cat.

Things you can do to help socialize kittens:

• Handle your kittens daily from the moment they are born if the mother cat will allow you to.
• Touch and rub the kitten’s paws, ears, and face. This will help for future nail clipping, combing, or when medication needs to be given.
• Allow visitors to hold your kittens. The more people the kittens are introduced to, the easier they will accept strangers as adult cats.
• Allow children to hold the kittens! Ask them to sit on the floor or on the couch and play with the kitten gently. This is good experience for the kitten and the child.
• Let your kittens meet other animals. You don’t want to leave kittens unattended with other animals, but it is good for them to accept other animals in case they ever need to be boarded or if they go to a home that has dogs or other types of pets.
• Allow your kittens to hear normal, every day noises at their regular volumes.
• Practice holding kitten like a baby, cradled in your arms. Cats show their belly as a sign of trust.
• Leave a kitty carrier out and available, possibly with a blanket inside. Your cat will go in there to sleep, and if you ever need to put her in there for a vet visit or travel, you’ll have less difficulty getting her in the crate.
• Make sure your kitten has lots of toys to play with, most importantly a scratching post.
• Allow your kittens to be part of your every day family life after they are about 4 weeks old.

Things you should avoid when socializing kittens:

• Never tease or allow children to tease kittens!
• Don’t allow kittens to bite or scratch when playing. This causes aggressive behavior.
• Don’t allow children to be too rough with kittens or they might dislike children when they are adult cats.
• Avoid sudden, loud noises when possible.
• Never let kittens go to their forever homes until they are at least 8 weeks old.

Remember that kittens that are raised underfoot as members of your family will be much more confident, happy, and social kitties as adults. Don’t be afraid to handle them, cuddle them, and kiss their little faces a thousand times a day if you want!

You might also enjoy, "Raising Kittens," or "Where to Find a New Cat or Kitten."

If you have any kitten questions, join us in the discussion area for "Kitten Question and Answer."

The copyright of the article Socializing Kittens in Cats is owned by Darlene Cheek. Permission to republish Socializing Kittens in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Lily, Tortoiseshell Persian Kitten